St. Kitts and Nevis chairs IV Inter-American Meeting of Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Sustainable Development

Published 11 October 2023

Basseterre

Buckie Got It, St Kitts and Nevis News Source

St. Kitts and Nevis chairs IV Inter-American Meeting of Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Sustainable Development

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, 5^th October, 2023 – St Kitts and Nevis chaired the IV Inter-American meeting of Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Sustainable Development in Nassau, Bahamas on Wednesday 4^th October, 2023. The event was facilitated by the Inter-American Council for Integral Development, a subset of the Organization of American States (OAS) from October 3-4, 2023.

Hon. Dr. Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Sustainable Development et al, chaired the OAS meeting, held under the theme, “Climate Action: Building a Hemispheric Agenda to Secure Our Future.”

Dr Clarke told the gathering that climate change impacts are to be sustainably addressed within the region and that there must be access to reliable data, as well as incorporating that same data into the decision-making process at all levels.

She said, “There is an urgent need to build and improve on our data collection and data analysis processes which will ultimately facilitate better decision-making. Data is the secret key to survivability in the future. Data drives where resources are channeled. Therefore, resourcing and funding our Data Units or Statistics Departments will be fundamental to achieving an equitably and climate-resilient future.”

As chairperson, Hon. Dr. Clarke guided the High-Level dialogue in the following areas:

1. Managing Critical Water Resources:
2. Protecting the Ocean and Coastal Areas:
3. Investing in Climate-Resilient Agriculture:
4. Support for Vulnerable Populations:
5. Integrated Actions for Comprehensive Adaptation:

The presentation set the tone for further conversations among the Ministers of Sustainable Development across the OAS and centered on actions that could be taken concerning adaptation. The overall goal of the meeting was to pursue common goals for the sustainable development of the Americas.

Other topics tabled for dialogue included:

• “Building an Inter-American Plan for Climate Action”
• “Priority Areas of Action for Climate Mitigation in the Americas”
• “Disaster Risk Management: Science and Data for Decision Making for Risk and Building Resilience in the Americas”
• “Innovative Financing for Climate Action”
• “Towards Implementation the Inter-American Climate Change Action Plan”
• “Cooperation and partnerships for implementation of Inter-American Climate Change Climate Action Plan”
• “Adoption of the Declaration of Nassau and the Inter-American Climate Change Action Plan”

The session invited multilateral development banking partners like the International Development Bank (IDB), Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the World Bank to further the conversation on mobilizing and increasing access to climate finance for mitigation and adaptation efforts that are deemed essential for the Americas, particularly low-income and vulnerable communities.