Port of Spain, March 06, 2017 – Change agents and innovators in key sectors in Trinidad and Tobago are ushering in a new phase of regional dialogue towards the development of a new Caribbean economy that aims for long-term prosperity and resilience through equitable distribution of economic benefits and effective management of ecological resources.

Since 2010, the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) has been engaging Caribbean stakeholders in dialogues to explore ‘green economy’ in the Caribbean context and the pathways for transformation of our economic development models. One of the needs recognised is to engage local stakeholders, including civil society and resource users in communities, in movements to shape and create the green economy policies that respond to local realities. The Green Economy Coalition, of which CANARI is a member, responded to this need with a global project Creating enabling policy conditions for the transformation towards an inclusive green economy being funded by the European Commission.  CANARI is managing the Caribbean component of this global initiative under the #GE4U: Transformation towards an inclusive green economy in the Caribbean project which will encompass regional, sub-regional and national components (see www.canari.org/GE4U).

Through the #GE4U project, CANARI will explore opportunities and further develop knowledge, networks and readiness of Caribbean stakeholders for green economy transformations. At the launch of the project on February 15, 2017, CANARI’s Executive Director, Nicole Leotaud noted that in the face of continued tough times for Caribbean economies “The green economy concept offers a lens to view our enduring quest for sustainable development from a fresh perspective, one that favours social equity, environmental sustainability, cultural resilience, economic competitiveness and good governance.”

In Trinidad and Tobago, CANARI is partnering with the Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development, the Enterprise Development Division, to implement the GETT Going: Green Enterprises in Trinidad and Tobago going forward project to build readiness and catalyse action towards supporting green and social enterprises in Trinidad and Tobago.

Under the GETT Going project, the first meeting of the Trinidad and Tobago Small and Micro Enterprise Action Learning Group (TT SME ALG) was held on February 15-16, 2017, at the Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project in St. Ann’s, Trinidad. Members of the TT SME ALG will work together over the next two years to collectively assess current initiatives, needs, constraints, and opportunities for green and social enterprises and their markets and how these can act as a pathway to a green economy in Trinidad and Tobago and by extension, the Caribbean.

About #GE4U: The #GE4U: Transformation towards an inclusive green economy in the Caribbean project is part of a global European Commission-funded project Creating enabling policy conditions for the transformation towards an inclusive green economy being implemented by the Green Economy Coalition. See here for more info on the#GE4U project: http://www.canari.org/ge4u.

About CANARI: The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute is a regional technical non-profit organisation which hasbeen working in the islands of the Caribbean for more than 25 years. Our mission is to promote equitable participation and effective collaboration in managing natural resources critical to development.  Our programmes focus on research, sharing and dissemination of lessons learned, capacity building and fostering regional partnerships.  See here for more information on CANARI’s Green Economy programme: http://www.canari.org/programmes/issue-programmes/green-economy.php.

 IMAGE: Representatives from various sectors across Trinidad & Tobago attending the launch of the #GE4U project