fp Turks and Caicos

The Turks and Caicos Islands new Climate Change Committee, appointed by the Advisory Council in April, will soon publish a Green Paper for consultation and embark on an awareness campaign.

“The Green Paper is intended to serve as a platform to facilitate consultations with stakeholders in the public and private sectors and civil society on the implications of climate change for the Turks and Caicos Islands,” said Jewel Batchasingh, deputy director of the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources, one of the bodies represented on the committee.

“It is hoped that this Green Paper will generate informed discussion about a viable climate change strategy for the Turks and Caicos Islands and ultimately lead to the development, adoption and implementation of such a strategy as a key pillar of national effort to achieve sustainable development,” Batchasingh said.

Small, low-lying coastal islands like the Turks and Caicos Islands are regarded as most vulnerable to global climate change and accompanying sea level rises. Options for responding to climate change risks should be discussed with all key stakeholders.

In addition, as part of efforts to strengthen private and public sector institutional capacities to respond to climate change, the Ministry of Environment and District Administration is collaborating with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre and the United Kingdom Department for International Development to develop a National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan and a Climate Change Public Educations and Outreach Strategy.