On Monday May 23, UNDP hosted a well-attended national consultation to inform Trinidad and Tobago’s Report to the international meeting, Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity” which takes place on Thursday and Friday of this week (June 2 -3).
Delivering the feature address, Minister of Planning and Development Pennelope Beckles-Robinson drew a parallel between Trinidad and Tobago’s National Development Strategy 2030 and the historic connection between the environment and economic development made 50 years ago at the 1972 Stockholm Conference: "Though set in two worlds and decades apart, a unifying thread of placing the environment at the centre of social and economic development ties Trinidad and Tobago to the 1972 Stockholm Declaration as has been articulated in Theme Five of this country National Development Strategy 2030."
The Trinidad and Tobago National Consultation was one of 230 Stockholm+50 national events supported by UNDP over the past three months. The events attracted more than 15,000 in-person participants with another 30,000 virtual participants. More than 50 percent of the participants were women. These in-person and hybrid consultations were supported by UNDP’s SparkBlue discussion space.
The responsibility to support the National Consultations across 57 countries was given to UNDP by the Government of Sweden which is co-hosting Stockholm+50 with the Government of Kenya. The findings and recommendations emerging from these consultations were captured in national reports that will be presented to the Stockholm+50 meeting and in a Global Synthesis Report to inform the Stockholm+50 meeting and post-Stockholm follow up.
They will also help consolidate national policy frameworks such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans I(NAPs), National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), green recovery, and sector strategies for accelerated implementation of the Decade of Action.
Participants at Trinidad and Tobago’s National Consultation for Stockholm+50 which took place at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain on May 23