And I do congratulate you for the leadership that the Turks & Caicos Islands are providing at this extraordinary moment in world history when all the nations of the world and all the regions and all the leaders are gathering in Indonesia, in Bali, in only 3 weeks for the beginning of a negotiating process to attempt to formulate an effective treaty that will lead us toward a solution for the climate crisis.

This is intended to replace the Kyoto treaty that is now in effect in many parts of the world but not in the United States, not in China, not in Australia. So I want to congratulate you for your leadership and vision and I want to take this opportunity to talk with you about the place of the Turks & Caicos Islands within this region, the place of this region within this hemisphere and this truly global nature of this problem”.

Most of the facts he cited in his speech could be found in his book entitled “The Inconvenient Truth”.

Mr. Gore also mentioned the melting of the north polar ice caps at a rate never observed before. He stressed that rapid environmental deterioration, and heat imbalance will affect planetary patterns including all life forms.

“This is the best of times and the worst of times”, he said, referring to the urgency of the environmental and climatic changes happening and the need for people to act upon them. He continued to challenge governments to take climate change in a global context.

He said that climate change issues are local, regional and global – that Caribbean countries need to give a “helping hand”. He also explained how greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) affects global temperature and how people can help by reducing greenhouse emissions. Simple energy conservation practices, a change of lifestyles, among other things could help in reducing greenhouses gases.

He cited three reasons why the relationship between people and the environment has worsened. Mr. Gore believed that the first reason is “population explosion”, followed by “technological advancement” and then the “way of thinking”.

He explained that something must be done at all levels and technological advancement must be used properly to save the earth and mankind.

THE CONFERENCE OVERVIEW

Thinking Green: Economic Strategy for the 21st Century

The Conference was held from November 18 - 20, 2007 at the Beaches Resort which has been Green Globe Certified by the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) and featured topics to address the U.N Millennium Development Goal of Ensuring Environmental Sustainability.

The Turks & Caicos Islands are blessed with a unique environment; over 200 miles of sandy beaches; extensive fringing reefs demarcating its perimeter; azure waters; lush vegetation and brilliant tropical weather. It is this extensive natural wealth that underpins the socio-economic legacy of these islands.

Consequently, the Turks & Caicos Islands is determined to put the environment and associated issues at center stage. The Turks & Caicos Islands Government is committed to propagate and put in place sound environmental practices, raise environmental awareness and seek solutions to various environmental issues. The Government has declared 2007 as “Year of the Environment” under the theme “Giving Mother Nature a Helping Hand.”

This move aims at raising the level of environmental consciousness amongst the residents, expatriates, migrant workers, non-government organizations, civic societies, businesses and religious groups.

In light of the rapid technological advancements and anthropogenic pressures to the environment, the Turks & Caicos Islands hosted the Environment Conference to enable small island nations to assess their local environmental issues in light of the global challenges. This Event is consistent with the TCI Environment Charter (2001).

The Environmental Conference was conceived to serve two important objectives. At the local level, the Conference served as the culmination of the activities for the ‘Year of the Environment’.

At the international level, the Conference placed global environmental issues at the forefront of the consciousness of participants and examined the mutual interdependency between local actions and global initiatives.

The conference also provided an opportunity for the Caribbean Heads of Governments and the Ministers of Environment and Natural Resources to dialogue with NGOs on policy initiatives, legislative agenda and technological innovations and research. Moreover, it provided opportunities for individuals to explore avenues for regional cooperation in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Specifically, the TCI Environmental Conference 2007 aimed to achieve the following:

1. Highlight environmental challenges and opportunities in small nations.
2. Enhance relationships among government officials and the environmental
community.
3. Focus on environmental issues in relation to development.
4. Provide an opportunity for information, education and communication (IEC).
5. Address policy matters/legislative issues

TOPICS DISCUSSED

The main topics which were discussed were as follows:

“Nature and Economy: Addressing the Delicate Balance”

The President of the Caribbean Development Bank, Professor Compton Bourne, delivered the first paper. He stressed the relationship of sustainable development and environment. He emphasized the inseparability of environment and development, and that environmental degradation could compromise socio-economic gains. Finally, he challenged governments and non-government organizations to be receptive and sensitive to signs and symptoms of environmental catastrophe brought about by mismanagement and anchored on wrong policies.

DEVELOPERS IN THE TCI HAVE PUT "ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT" TO THE FOREFRONT OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT PLANS..............

Professor Bourne’s presentation was followed by the short but concise presentations by the panelists composed of Dr. Marian Delos Angeles, Senior Environmental Economist of the World Bank, Professor Geoffrey Lipman, UNWTO Assistant Secretary General and Hon. Dr. Michael Misick, Premier of TCI.

From the standpoint of the World Bank, environment/nature should be viewed as an economic asset. Dr. Delos Angeles challenged the delegates to bring nature into economic accounts – measure sustainability and do careful accounting of natural capital. Likewise, Professor Lipman pointed out that governments should account for the economic contributions of environment such as eco-tourism. Similarly, Premier Misick talked about nature and environmental preservation giving as an example the developers in the TCI who have put “environmental conservation and development” to the forefront of their development plans. Dr. Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Secretary General of Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) moderated the session.

“Environmental Governance: Strengthening & Advancing Environmental Policy”

Dr. David Smith of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) delivered the main paper of the session. Panellists were Hon. Floyd Hall, TCI’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr. Keith Nichols, Head of Unit of OECS Environmental and Development Unit and Dr. Elizabeth Taylor, Executive Director of Coralina. The session was moderated by Dr. Nicolas Drayton of the Ocean Conservancy.

(1) high degree of uncertainty,
(2) complexity of biological and ecological responses and
(3) threshold effects in biological communities. He also cited some effects of climate change such as rise in sea level, melting of glaciers and ice sheets, change in sea surface temperature, changes in precipitation and water availability and drought.

1. Environmental conservation, management and socio economic development are interdependent and attention must be focused to balance economic development with environmental stability. Environmental integrity should not be sacrificed in favor of economic gains.

2. Science says that Global Climate Change is in our midst, we must boldly face and adapt to it.

3. The effects of Global Climate change are being felt by all sectors.

4. The Caribbean countries, especially small island nations, are vulnerable to the effect of global climate change.

5. Concerted efforts (regional initiative or cooperative projects) are necessary to combat the potential effect of global climate change.

6. Valuing the environment is important and must be recognized, understood & internalized by all concerns.

7. Political will is a necessary ingredient in any environmental development projects.

8. Participatory approach/community involvement (all-levels) is important in any environment-related projects.

9. Comprehensive EIA is a necessary tool to minimize environmental problems during & after the implementation of the project.

10. Rehabilitation/restoration of the coastal ecosystems (i.e. mangrove forests) is a necessary approach to mitigate the effect of global climate change in the coastal communities. Mangrove forests consist the first line of defense when sea water level will rise.

11. It is feasible to maintain a sustainable livelihood in protected areas provided the necessary safety nets are in place.

12. There are evidences that coral reefs are affected by global climate change. There are efforts to restore the damaged/affected coral reefs in some parts of the world, including the TCI.

13. Comprehensive waste management must be properly addressed because whatever land-based wastes will end up in the sea.

14. Alternative sources of energy that are suitable in the island nations must be explored, e.g. solar power, wind power, etc.

15. Environmental problems have no territorial boundaries, and must be dealt with by everybody because environmental problems are everybody’s concern.

16. We have all the tools in place – the science community needs to get with the management community, the management community needs to get with political directorate to aggressively address climate change.

“THE ECONOMIC DISRUPTION COULD BE DEVASTATING, EVEN TO THE EXTENT OF REQUIRING POPULATION RELOCATION INTO OTHER ISLANDS”

CONFERENCE OUTCOME

The conference was thought to be a great success, and brought together many speakers and panelists from around the Caribbean and even further including the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Jamaica, Montserrat, Nigeria, UK and USA.

The conference was such a success that The Premier of the Turks and Caicos wants the Environmental Conference to become an annual event. He challenged delegates to return to their political leaders and inform them of the success of this year’s conference and prepare for further engagement.

The Premier, Dr. Michael Misick, went onto say that in light of the increase awareness to climate change, special attention needed to be given to the Less Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States such as the Turks and Caicos.

“My government supports the conclusions of the UN conference that more attention should be given to nations that are at greatest risk and that our concerns should be at the center of the global agenda on climate change”.

He went on to add that the TCI are especially vulnerable to any rise in sea level, since much of our infrastructure is concentrated in the coastal zone, and that failure to adapt to global warming and climate change could lead to grave socio-economic costs.

“The economic disruption could be devastating, even to the extent of requiring population relocation into other islands” declared Misick, who is also Minister for Tourism.

And for more information on the conference
go to Turks and Caicos Conference

Tourism : Turks and Caicos Private luxury Villa : Dominica