Minister of the Environment, Dr. Denis Lowe????

Barbados is currently participating in an international sustainable development conference in New York, USA.

Minister of the Environment, Dr. Denis Lowe, heads a delegation to the ???Review Session of the 4th Implementation Cycle of the Commission on Sustainable Development’. ??CSD-18, which started Monday, May 3 and runs until Friday, May 14.

CSD-18 is the fourth implementation cycle of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), during which the Commission will focus on thematic cluster of issues including: chemicals; waste management; mining; transport and the Ten Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns.

As a precursor to developing global enabling mechanisms to address the challenges associated with this cluster, the conference will review progress, highlight lessons learnt, and where applicable, identify options for new policy interventions. The deliberations at CSD-18 will provide an opportunity to share experiences and develop potential partnerships as it relates to hazardous waste management for Barbados

The workshop will be divided into two segments, a technical forum, which runs from May 3 to 11, and a ministerial session from May 12 to 14. The technical work programme will include reports on inter-sessional events, thematic and regional discussions and multi-stakeholder dialogue.

The high-level ministerial segment, meanwhile, will feature ministerial statements/ interactive discussions on the way forward to overcome barriers and constraints.?? It will also provide guidance on areas of focus for the policy year.

Four Ministerial Roundtables entitled: Sustainable Consumption and Production; Managing Mining for Sustainable Development; Meeting the Challenge of Transportation needs in the 21st Century and Strategies for Sustainable Chemicals and Waste Management; will take place simultaneously.

In addition to the formal proceedings, there will also be a number of partnership events, side-events and learning centres as part of the official programme of the CSD.

This is Barbados’ reporting year to the UNCSD, and as such, the national report will be presented to CSD-18.?? National Reporting to the CSD is the key instrument through which it fulfils its mandate to review and monitor activities undertaken by Governments to implement Agenda 21.??

The Draft National Report to the Commission on Sustainable Development, will serve as the basis for the Government of Barbados’ intervention at the CSD.

Established in 1992, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) is charged with reviewing the implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme of Action emanating from the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Sustainable Development (UNCED), held in Brazil in 1992.??

Agenda 21 is a comprehensive blue print of action to be executed nationally, regionally and internationally by the United Nations, national governments and major societal groups in relation to all aspects of human impact on the environment.

As such, it covers social and economic factors regarding changing consumption patterns, demographic dynamics, health and the integration of the environment into decision making. It also deals with protection and conservation issues and the means of implementation of its recommendations through science, education, technology transfer and financial mechanisms.

cgaskin@barbados.gov.bb

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