There is no such thing as a graduated Small Island Developing State (SIDS).
In fact, said Minister of the Environment and Drainage, Dr. Denis Lowe, all the developmental gains of SIDS could be erased simply by one weekend of significant rainfall.
Dr. Lowe made this point recently as he spoke on issues of climate change, during a courtesy call from Regional Environmental Officer for the Environmental Hub for Central America and the Caribbean, Viki Limaye, at his Warrens Tower II, Warrens, St. Michael, office.
Dr. Lowe explained that Barbados and other SIDS were still facing challenges of beach erosion, which often impacted on the quality of marine life and biodiversity and caused damage to coral reefs.
Noting that Barbados had made several strides in its efforts to combat climate change through initiatives such as the Green Economy Scoping Study and its waste management programme, the Minister noted that there was a need to look at the criteria that was used when the World Bank graduated countries.
He explained that despite its achievements, Barbados was challenged by its human resource capacity to carry out the work to be done under the various programmes.
Ms. Limaye noted that the United States had pledged additional funding to the Caribbean, and gave the assurance that she would advocate on the region???s behalf. She added that she wanted to understand the impacts of climate change to see how best the resources could be aligned.
julia.rawlins-bentham@barbados.gov.bb