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| Minister of the Environment and Drainage, Dr. Denis Lowe,??addressing the reception for the Caribbean Green Economy at Almond Beach Village. (J. Rawlins-Bentham/BGIS) |
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) must be resilient in order to achieve sustainable development.
This was stressed by Minister of the Environment and Drainage, Dr. Denis Lowe, as he addressed a cocktail reception for the Caribbean Green Economy at Almond Beach Village last night.??
He said: "When we speak of resilience we are not only talking about it in terms of our people, we are talking about resilience in terms of our economies; we are talking about resilience in terms of the structures of our societies; we are talking about resilience in terms of our environment."
Dr. Lowe told those present that one of the key points which stuck with him from day one of the forum, which was officially opened by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart yesterday morning, was the need to create enabling environments to allow developed and developing countries to see opportunities available.
Those opportunities, he said, would include green energy, green jobs, the establishment for new technology and opportunities to get people involved as partners in the effort.
Noting that Barbados was just one of a family of states in the Caribbean and Latin America and had committed itself to the process, Dr. Lowe noted that there were others also on the journey.
"What we learn now is intended to be a template for others to borrow from, so that we are not in the business of reinventing our best practices, but rather, sharing our best practices," the minister added.
He explained that to maximise the benefits of an enabling environment, countries must ensure that the process did not lead them to "learned helplessness". "In other words, we are not enabling countries and people to practise the things that they have done all their lives, and that have netted them no sustainable results. That is not going to lead to resilience," Dr. Lowe said. ????????????????????????
He further pointed out that enabling environments must teach people how to shift from one paradigm to another; how to take on the challenges of new directions; how to take risks and be courageous in taking risks; and how to move forward a step at a time.
"So, that in the end we would be able to leave behind for future generations the kind of prosperity and posterity that would lead to the continuation of this great work," Dr. Lowe concluded.