Anguilla is the first of the nine OECS member territories in which there has been a national launch of the Global Climate Change Alliance Project on Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Land Management in the Eastern Caribbean.
This was achieved on Tuesday, March 11, the opening sesssion of a two-day meeting at La Vue Conference Centre. Those at the meeting included the members of the Anguilla Alliance Committee, as well as Mr Chamberlain Emmanuel who is leading the Global Climate Change Project, based in St Lucia; and Mr Cornelius Isaac, who is leading a sustainable land management project within the Social and Sustainable Division of the OECS Secretariat.
Mr Emmanuel said Tuesday’s first national launch of the project in Anguilla was “testament to the interest and readiness demonstrated by relevant agencies comprising the National Committee led by Permanent Secretary Ms Aurjul Wilson [in the Ministry of Home Affairs].”
He went on: “The Project Technical Team and, by extension, the Social and Sustainable Development Division of the OECS Secretariat, looks forward to working with your team to realise both quick wins and strategic results, and to extend, to the people of Anguilla, relevant benefits from complementary initiatives already rolled out in other Member States.”
The Climate Change Project in Anguilla and the other OECS Member States is financed to the tune of 10.6 million Euros from the European Union. The financing is to improve the region’s natural resource based resilience to the impacts of climate change. According to Mr Emmanuel, it has not yet been determined how much of the money would be allotted to each territory. He indicated that if the available money was not sufficient to finance a particular project undertaken by any of the states, counterpart financing would be a likely option.
The project comes against the backdrop of predictions of sea level rise – resulting from climate change – possibly leading to storm surge, erosion and other costal hazards, threatening vital infrastructure, settlements and facilities.
Anguilla’s Deputy Governor, Stanley Reid, announced the names of the island’s National Global Climate Change Alliance Committee as follows: Ms Charma Fleming, Coordinator with responsibility for the Environment and Sustainable Development in the Department of the Environment; Mr Bancroft Battick, Chief Engineer in the Department of Infrastructure; Ms Anthea Ipinson, Chief Projects Officer in the Ministry of Economic Development, Investment, Commerce and Tourism; Mr Andre Samuel, Deputy Director with responsibility for Strategic Research Programmes in the Department of the Environment; Mrs Mary Clare Haskins-Banton, Crown Counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers; Mr Leslie Jason Hodge, Director in the Department of Lands and Surveys; Mr William Vanterpool, Director of the Department of Agriculture; Ms Kafi Gumbs, Director of the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources; Ms Melissa Meade, Director of the Department of Disaster Management; and Mr Vincent Proctor, Principal Planning Officer in the Department of Physical Planning. The Committee, through its Chairperson, Ms Charma Fleming, reports to Ms Aurjul Wilson, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs with responsibility for the Environment.
Ms Wilson spoke on behalf of the Minister, Mr Jerome Roberts. She summed up her presentation as follows: “Sustainable land management for Anguilla must be built on the context of embracing climate change. This is key to preserving the resources upon which we have built our economic, social and national prosperity as well as securing them for generations to follow.”
