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Castries, St. Lucia, 10th April, 2007:- Tuesday April 10th 2007 marked the 6th Anniversary of the St. George’s Declaration (SGD).
The St. George’s Declaration, another success story of the OECS Secretariat, was officially launched on April 10, 2001 in Saint Lucia.
The SGD’s guidelines assert how human conduct affects the environment, and provides courses of action as well as a commitment to manage such conduct. National commitment to the St. George’s’ Declaration is reflected in the National Environmental Management Strategies (NEMS) in all the OECS member states. The NEMS provide the perceived framework for environmental resources management in particular and programmes on environmental sustainability in general. |
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The SGD is a milestone in its historical development, given that it marked the beginning of a comprehensive environmental agenda for the OECS.
Valerie Isaac St Hill, Programme Officer at the OECS Environment and Sustainable Development Unit, OECS ESDU has confirmed several evident achievements among OECS Member countries as a result of the St. George’s Declaration:“Antigua and Barbuda for example reported using their NEMS as the national programming framework for environment to negotiate a three million US dollar project on sustainable island resources management from the Global Environment Facility. St. Lucia is currently implementing an EU funded project focused on Economic and Agricultural Diversification and Poverty Reduction through Integrated Natural resources management. The NEMS provides the foundation for this project”.
Based on their NEMS development and requirements St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, St. Lucia and Grenada obtained support for institutional strengthening for environmental management with funding provided by the Caribbean Development Bank.
Ms. St. Hill told the OECS News Link that initiatives undertaken to improve environmental management performance in the OECS Member States have influenced the establishment of a Ministry dedicated to sustainable development in St. Kitts-Nevis as well as departments and directors of Environment in Anguilla and Montserrat. In addition, there is on going activity on legal frameworks for environmental management in Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Anguilla, Grenada and the British Virgin Islands.
All nine OECS member countries embrace the St. George’s Declaration as their covenant to sustainable development for all in the region.
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