OECS Environment Ministers will begin meeting in St. John’s this week for their 9 th session of the OECS Environment Policy committee (EPC).

The Ministers will consider recommendations from the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the OECS Environment and Sustainable Development Unit, OECS-ESDU. TAC will finalise recommendations when it convenes its 13 th session also in John’s from July 12 th to 13 th. The recommendations from the TAC are to further strengthen and give effect to national as well as regional policies that guide the management and proper use of natural resources in the OECS. The agenda for the 9 th EPC meeting comprises several emerging initiatives involving collaboration among the OECS Member Countries. These emerging initiatives include areas such as Energy, Multilateral Environmental Agreements and Harmonized Framed Biodiversity Legislation. A major issue is the shaping of an OECS Environment within the context of the proposed Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME).

The Ministers of Environment will also explore various options for integrating national and sub-regional decision making processes for environmental management. Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Environment Wilmouth Daniel will chair the 9 th OECS Environment Policy Committee meeting. Minister Daniel has replaced the Hon. Furgusson John of St. Lucia.

The Environment Policy Committee is updated on activities by Member States, in support of the St. George’s Declaration (SGD) of Principles for Environmental Management in the OECS. In this regard the EPC often pays specific attention to Principle 21 of the SGD and its implications enshrined in the St. George’s Declaration whereby “Each Member State agrees to review the Principles outlined in the declaration and the status of their implementation within no more than three years and d etermine, after the review, whether and how the Principles of this Declaration should be formalised into a more binding agreement between Member States.”

Among the accomplishments over the past 12 months is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the OECS and the Province of Nova Scotia in Canada. The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the OECS and the Province of Nova Scotia was held at on July 13 th 2004 during the opening ceremony of EPC 8 in St. Lucia.

Contact:
Peter Murray programme Officer OECSESDU. 453-6208 email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Kendol Morgan, Senior Communications Officer email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Raymond O’Keiffe , Communications Officer OECS Sec. email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it