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BARBADOS NEWS

IDENTIFYING GOALS FOR GREEN AND BLUE ECONOMY IN BARBADOS

November 26, 2018

In early November, representatives from PAGE met with lead decision-makers and stakeholders of the green economy transition in Barbados. The meetings – involving the Prime Minister, Minister of Environment Trevor Prescod, along with various representatives from the Barbadian government, and academia, the acting UN Resident Coordinator, the European Commission and the Caribbean Development Bank and Ambassador Elisabeth Thomson – were held to discuss further goals and priorities of the PAGE programme in Barbados.

Having recently elected a new government, Barbados has reaffirmed its commitment to a green economy and, more specifically for the island nation, its enthusiasm for developing the blue economy. Barbados PAGE’s objectives are to integrate inclusive green economy goals and targets into SDG-aligned national economic and development planning, to implement evidence-based sectoral and thematic reforms in line with inclusive green economy priorities, to strengthen capacities at the national level and to improve the inclusive green economy knowledge base.

During the meetings, the Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley, affirmed her support to PAGE, highlighting PAGE’s alignment with Barbados’ green and blue economy priorities. She addressed the need for technical support, training and skill development for all people at all levels. She committed to support PAGE by establishing an inter-ministerial and cross-sectoral committee as well as to provide participation at the national level. Going forward, PAGE’s work in Barbados will support policies and economic incentives to drive sustainable entrepreneurship, jobs in the green and blue economy as well as leverage access to new resources for implementation.

As a result of the fruitful discussions, PAGE will develop a work plan in collaboration with the Barbadian government. Several key points of action have been identified. Early inputs into this process include plans to:

review the existing national green economy policies, strategies and plans
survey opportunities, identify skills gaps and develop knowledge tools to build skills for green jobs in the green and blue economy
to develop a pilot to encourage green transformation of the agro- and fish sub-sector processing to support production and export development; and
to conduct trainings for the public sector, to develop green and blue economy-centered academic curricula, and to establish a knowledge hub to build capacity, and sustain knowledge and skills beyond PAGE.

Green Economy: A Building Block for Growth in Barbados

March 7, 2017

15 February 2017, Bridgetown, Barbados – The Minister of Environment and Drainage of Barbados, Dr. Dennis Lowe, highlighted the impact that the green economy has had on the country, “moving from a fringe concept on the environment to a widely embraced approach for economic prosperity, and a key building block for Barbados' forward growth strategy”.

His statement came during PAGE’s mission to Barbados on February 7-10, which had two main objectives. First, the government of Barbados and key stakeholders defined the kind of support the country needs from PAGE, building on the green economy opportunities and recommendations identified in the Barbados Green Economy Scoping Study. Second, it defined the activities to be carried out under the one-year inception-stocktaking phase of PAGE in the country, running from January 2017 to December 2017.

The mission occurred at an interesting moment in time, with celebrations over Barbados’ 50th Anniversary since Independence. It also coincided with the launch of a new solar photovoltaic panel assembly plant, expected to create 200 new jobs for the country. These efforts support the achievement of the National Strategic Plan (2006-2025), “Building a Green Economy: Strengthening the Physical Infrastructure and Preserving the Environment”.).

At the institutional and policy level, a number of important developments have taken place. The Parliament recently adopted the GESS as a national informational document, illustrating bi-partisan support for a transition to a green economy. In the same vein, green economy was recognized as a driver in Barbados’ new Physical Development Plan. The concept of green economy is being mainstreamed across ministries, with various ministries launching their own green economy initiatives.

The mission included meetings among relevant UN agencies, key ministries such as the Ministries of Environment and Drainage; Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade; Finance and Economic Affairs; and Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development; Minister of Labour, Social Security and Human Resource Development; PAGE funding partners, along with other key stakeholders from business, labour, academia and civil society.

The PAGE inception workshop identified priority areas for the first year of PAGE support, including green jobs, green industry, a system of evaluating progress of green economy metrics and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) outreach for capacity building on green economy.

PAGE will also seek to address challenges faced regarding youth and employment, as they will be engaged in designing sustainable innovations, and telling their stories as a part of a communications campaign “Harvesting stories of green economy pioneers”. A communication strategy, including competitions, prizes and the use of social media will be launched in an effort to connect with and generate the interest of youth.

Though the manufacturing base in Barbados is small, there are several advantages to implementing a green economy as there is a well-educated workforce and opportunities to specialize and deepen the fishing and tourism industries and improving energy and energy efficiency in construction.

The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus has also been instrumental in establishing competencies in green economy and oceans which can be used to inform and develop a regional forum to share best practices among SIDS.

The agriculture, fisheries, building/housing, transport and tourism are the key sectors identified by the Barbados Green Economy scoping study, which will contribute to the green economy transition. The industries expect to benefit from improved socio-economic performances.

PAGE celebrates the joining of three new countries: Barbados, Kyrgyz Republic and Brazil (Mato Grosso State)

May 26, 2016

26 May 2016, Nairobi, Kenya – The Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) celebrated the joining of three new countries to its community: Barbados, Kyrgyz Republic and Brazil (Mato Grosso State).

The announcement was made during the second session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-2) in Nairobi, Kenya, at a press event which featured the participation of the Minister of Environment of Barbados and high level representatives from Brazil (Mato Grosso State) and Kyrgyz Republic, as well the Director for Sustainable Development, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Nik Sekhran. The event was also attended by Ministers of Environment and high level representatives from South Africa, Germany, Republic of Korea, United Arab Emirates, Norway and the European Commission.

Mr. Daniar Imanaliev, Deputy Minister of Economy, Kyrgyz Republic, said: "The support that we will get from PAGE will help us to transition from a brown economy to a green economy. PAGE's support will help us to achieve true sustainability".

In her speech, H.E. Bomo Edna Molewa, Minister for Environmental Affairs, South Africa, said: "New PAGE countries, you have joined the team that is winning the world".

PAGE represents a mechanism to coordinate UN action to assist countries in advancing the 2030 Agenda and reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all, given its clear focus on generating sustainable growth, employment, income and wealth in an inclusive manner while reducing environmental risks. Achieving the SDGs will require deepening and expanding bilateral and multilateral advisory mechanisms, networks, and partnerships such as PAGE to support countries. This is called for by SDG 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

In his speech, H.E. Denis Lowe, Minister of Environment and Drainage, Barbados, said "The PAGE movement is vitally important to the advancement of the green economy globally".

PAGE new countries

From Left: Nik Sekhran, UNDP; Elliot Harris, UNEP; H.E. Denis Lowe, Env. Minister, Barbados; Daniar Imanaliev, Dep. Minister of Economy, Kyrgyz Republic; Pavan Sukhdev, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador;

The media roundtable provided an opportunity to engage in a discussion on the importance of partnerships for achieving the SDGs. The purpose was to demonstrate that cross-disciplinary and deep institutional partnerships, of the kind called for in SDG 17, are possible and in fact in place to deliver on key aspects of the 2030 Agenda, including sustainable and inclusive growth with full employment. The event also enhanced visibility of participating countries and agencies wishing to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, in particular by focusing on the key role of greening economic policies and setting a new frame for defining and measuring economic performance.

Bringing together the expertise of five UN agencies – the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) PAGE seeks to put sustainability at the heart of economic policies and practices to advance the 2030 Agenda. Working closely with national governments, private sector and civil society, PAGE has been assisting partner countries to embark on inclusive green economy trajectories since 2013. Currently, eleven countries are officially included into the Partnership and receive direct support from PAGE: Burkina Faso, China (Jiangsu Province), Ghana, Mauritius, Mongolia, Peru, Senegal, South Africa, Barbados, Kyrgyz Republic and Brazil (Mato Grosso State). The Partnership expects to assist an additional 9 countries, bringing the total up to 20 by 2020.

During the event the 2016-2020 Operational Strategy and the 2015 PAGE Annual Report were launched, showcasing PAGE alignment with the international sustainability agenda, a growing number of country and action partners, and the upscaling of country activities and global engagement.

Mr. Kwang-Hee NAM, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea, shares his views on PAGE

H.E. Bomo Edna Molewa, Minister for Environmental Affairs, South Africa, takes the floor

The intervention of H.E. Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Minister, Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates

From Left: Mr. Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission, and Pavan Sukhdev, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador

From Left: Pavan Sukhdev, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, and H.E. Vidar Helgesen, Minister for Climate and the Environment, Norway