Minister Osborne and OECS Ministers Are Meeting Targets for Environmental Sustainability

Minister of Agriculture David Osborne handed over the chairmanship of the OECS Council of Ministers for the Environment at a meeting last week in Martinique.

Minister Osborne transferred the chairmanship to the Elected Executive Councillor with the Environment and Energy Portfolio for Martinique Mr. Louis Boutrin.

The May 14th to the 17th COMES 6 meeting was also attended by the Director of Environment Ernestine Corbett.

The meeting brought together Ministers with an Environmental portfolio from OECS Member States, international and regional development partners, and OECS environmental technicians.

It focused on five major themes.

These being Harnessing Strength from Diversity, Leadership, Coordination and Mobilisation, the Environmental Sustainability Agenda, Collective Creativity and Innovation and the Private Sector as a critical partner for sustainable development in the OECS.

The meetings reinforced the commitment of the OECS Environmental Clusters to tackle environmental matters including Sargassum, genetic benefit sharing, a comprehensive look at waste management and renewable energy among other environmental areas.

The OECS Environmental Cluster pledged wholehearted support for environmental sustainability in the Overseas Territories member states through funded projects, capacity building and skill transfers.

Last year’s, COMES 5 was held in Montserrat under the chairmanship of Minister Osborne and ran under the theme “Building Resilience on the Frontlines of Climate Change.”

The event saw an honest assessment of the achievement of the mandates set during the last meeting in Montserrat, many of which were met or are in the process of being addressed.

The 2020 OECS Council of Ministers for Environmental Sustainability meeting will be held in St. Kitts and Nevis.