Individuals and organisations that participated in the national consultation to help inform Trinidad and Tobago’s report to the Stockholm+50 international environmental conference in June, will re-convene on Wednesday August 3 to discuss and review its outcomes. The meeting will bring together young people, women, civil society groups as well as representatives from labour and business in a two-hour virtual session from 10 am to noon. It will be led by National Coordinator, Dr Cindy Chandool.

The aim of the meeting is to report back to participants on the outcomes of Stockholm+50 and brief them on T&T’s National Report to the conference. The National Report reflected the concerns, views and ideas expressed at a National Consultation hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the Hyatt Regency on May 23. This event was preceded by a number of forums facilitated by UNDP with youth, indigenous people, women, business, labour and civil society organisations which also helped to inform the report.

Among the recommendations that came out of the National Consultation and were fed into T&T’s National Report to Stockholm+50 were the need to:

· promote sustainable agriculture through incentives and assistance to vulnerable groups;

· continue discussions and updates on action taken with stakeholders;

· communicate with stakeholders using different strategies to inform and increase awareness on environmental issues; and

· facilitate greater involvement of youth, women, CSOs and vulnerable groups in decision-making processes.

The report also cited opportunities and solutions discussed at T&T’s national consultation. These included opportunities to convert the economy to a greener and less fossil fuel dependent model, to promote sustainable agriculture and tourism, to scale up green initiatives by entrepreneurs and small businesses, and to ensure greater inclusivity for vulnerable groups.

It also noted that the youth were “eager to be involved to a greater degree in decision making about environmental issues”, adding that all groups backed the idea of Environmental education with “new forms of education that revolve around hands-on experiences with the environment.” At the virtual gathering on August 3, individuals who had travelled to Stockholm to participate in the conference are scheduled to share their experiences with attendees.

Stockholm+50 commemorated the 50th anniversary of the first global conference on the environment to be held under the auspices of the United Nations in 1972. This year’s event was held at a time of deepening crisis, warranting an expeditious and accelerated response to the problems of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. The point was underscored in a joint statement with the following ten recommendations issued by the two co-presidents in the closing moments of Stockholm+50:

1. Place human well-being at the centre of a healthy planet and prosperity for all.

2. Recognise and implement the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment

3. Adopt a system-wide change in the way the current economic system works to contribute to a healthy planet

4. Strengthen national implementation of commitments to a healthy planet

5. Align public and private financial flows with environmental, climate and sustainable development commitments

6. Accelerate system-wide transformations of high impact sectors

7. Rebuild relationships of trust for strengthened cooperation and solidarity

8. Reinforce and re-invigorate the multilateral system

9. Recognise intergenerational responsibility as a cornerstone of sound policy-making

10. Take forward the Stockholm+50 outcomes

Persons interested in attending the session on August 3 can register through the following link: https://undp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEscuGtpz0qHdUC8Nn5N-q1iNWVjRpftP5Y

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