This year’s National Youth week address was delivered on behalf of the Hon Premier, Dr. Ellis Webster, by the Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources, Mrs. Quincia Gumbs-Marie.
The 1987 Brundtland Report defines sustainable development as development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This definition has been used consistently across the globe to communicate the need for environmental conservation; investment in renewable energy; strategic public spending; and innovative technological development.
It is used as common ground for countries on opposite ends of the climate change impact spectrum to measure resilience against responsibility and gain an appreciation for how smaller, developing nations (like Anguilla) continue to shoulder the disproportionate burden of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures… when their contributions are almost negligible.
In Anguilla, this definition of sustainable development is brought into focus through the lives of our young people as they struggle to enjoy a good quality of life in a deteriorating world. As we prepare to celebrate the start of National Youth Week on September 27th, I encourage us all to take the time to unpack the theme: “Economic Diversification and Food Security: Optimising Anguilla’s Green and Blue Economy.” This theme is not just an arrangement of words but a blueprint for us to realise the vision of sustainable development in Anguilla – a vision that we cannot bring to fruition unless we prioritise the role of our youth, because for us, this journey is personal.
The economic thriving potential in Anguilla has been historically tied to the use of our natural resources – consider tourism, boating, fishing, agriculture, salt picking and manufacturing. Yet for many, there remains the belief that we can continue to seek economic diversification as a goal separate from the sustainable use of our natural resources and it is time that we understand that this is impossible.
The concepts of green and blue economy recognise that we must act upon the inseparable relationship between natural capital and economic growth, especially for communities like ours in Anguilla which rely on natural resources for their livelihoods and sustenance. These concepts of green and blue economy are predicated upon striking a balance between survival and conservation, diversification and protection, health and productivity. This balance is essential to achieving food security in Anguilla and the stakes are extremely high as we strategically try to increase crop production as our terrestrial resources become more strained. We have to be measured in our efforts to expand our fisheries industry while closely monitoring potential impacts on our marine resources.
Now, more than ever before, we are faced with the reality that this generation of youth and those that will succeed them are at risk of inheriting a world where resources are deplete and the population cannot be sustained. This is the reality that sets the context for National Youth Week where the solutions that we devise must all reflect sustainability.
The Government of Anguilla endeavour to empower our youth with the passion, creativity and vision to correct past failures where possible, adapt to what cannot be undone, and equip them with the resilience to survive and recover from what is yet to come because life, especially life in Anguilla, is worth living.
