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REGIONAL TECHNICAL MEETING FOR THE ATLANTIC/CARIBBEAN/MEDITERRANEAN REGION
The second regional technical meeting for the Atlantic/Caribbean/Mediterranean region was held in Trinidad and Tobago from 28 June - 2 July. The meeting was coordinated by the Caribbean Community (Caricom) with the assistance of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The report of this meeting is contained in document A/CONF/167/PC/8.
The meeting noted the constraints on small island developing States in pursuing sustainable development and the subsequent options. These options were developed as a series of programmatic actions on priority areas at the national, regional and international levels, as well as some cross sectoral actions. The priority areas were identified as the management of environmental problems of small island developing States, the integrated management of natural resources, and capacity building.
Programmatic areas noted within these areas included natural and anthropogenic environmental disaster preparedness; climate change, sea level rise and climate variability; pollution and waste management; coastal zone management and marine resources; energy resources; tourism; fresh water resources; land resources and human settlements; biological resources; national institutions; regional institutions; regional transport and communications systems; science and technology including indigenous knowledge; human resource development including education, training, health and pollution; finance including insurance; and information management.
As a general recommendation, the meeting encouraged the participation of NGOs and other major groups in policy formation and called for further work on developing a vulnerability index that would better reflect the particular situation of small island developing States. The meeting noted that the Global Conference, with the involvement of national, regional and international communities could provide a unique opportunity to develop supportive and integrated approaches to programme development.