Port of Spain, October 30, 2019 –

The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) welcome the
news that a national advocacy campaign by civil society organisations (CSOs) across Trinidad and Tobago (TT) has resulted in an announcement by the TT Government that Cabinet is actively considering signing and ratifying the Escazú Agreement. This follows the submission of a Cabinet note on the subject by Planning and Development Minister, Camille Robinson-Regis, earlier this month.

The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) was informed of this significant development via official correspondence from the ministry dated October 17, 2019.

In the letter, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Planning and Development, Maurice Suite, wrote, “Thank you for relaying the concerns of the civil society organisations in Trinidad and Tobago with regards to the signing and ratification of the Escazú Agreement. The issue of the signing and ratification of the Escazú Agreement is the subject of a Cabinet note that has been submitted to Cabinet by the Honourable Minister of Planning and Development and is now under active consideration by the Cabinet.”

This letter was preceded by one from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), dated October 9, in which the OPM acknowledged receipt of our Escazú petition and cover letter – hand-delivered to the OPM by CANARI on September 6 on behalf of civil society organisations (CSOs) across the country. In this earlier correspondence, the OPM informed CANARI that our “correspondence was forwarded to the Ministry of Planning and Development for attention.”

CANARI and its partners will continue to ramp up its advocacy activities for the Trinidad and Tobago Government to sign and ratify the Escazú Agreement in the coming months. The clock is ticking until September 2020.

The Escazú Agreement is the first regional environmental treaty for Latin America and the Caribbean and seeks to ensure that all people have access to information, participation and justice in environmental matters, an essential foundation for good environmental governance. The Escazú
Agreement is open until September 26, 2020 for signature and ratification. So far, five countries have ratified the Agreement, including Bolivia, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Eleven countries need to ratify for it to enter into force.

Follow CANARI’s Facebook and Twitter pages for updates on the Escazú Agreement Trinidad and Tobago advocacy campaign.

Twitter: @CaribbeanCANARI https://twitter.com/caribbeancanari?lang=en Facebook: CANARI Caribbean https://www.facebook.co/CANARICARIBBEAN/

About CANARI: The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) is a regional technical non-profit institute which has been working across the islands of the Caribbean for 30 years. Our mission is to promote and facilitate stakeholder participation in the stewardship of natural resources in the Caribbean. Our work focuses on Equity, Ecosystems and Biodiversity, Resilience, and Participatory Governance. See here for more information on CANARI: http://www.canari.org/.