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Bahamas gears up to address climate change
the flat islands could become unlivable due to sea level rise

By Indi Mclymont-Lafayette, Journalist

Nassau, Bahamas. March 9, 2009, (Panos) - The Bahamas government is moving to put measures in place to help the extremely vulnerable islands adjust to what one government official calls a possible ‘death sentence for small islands.’

The draft Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan(BSAP)provides an overview of the key environmental issues in Antigua and Barbuda.

Emphasis is being placed on health related illnesses as the Environment Division gets set to host its second Global Environment Facility Integrating Watershed & Coastal Areas Management project’s (GEFIWCAM) public consultation.

The event, slated for October 30 at the Wesleyan Junior Academy, aims to address the protection of the McKinnon Watershed and catchment.

The $560,000 project is being promoted as part of the division’s Integrated Watershed and Coastal Areas Management (IWCAM) project, in an effort to ensure improved management of this environmentally sensitive water body (particularly in relation to pollution from sewage), for the benefit of the residents as well as the environment.

Coastal degradation
By Onika Campbell
Kingston Jamaica

United Nation Environment Program (UNEP) representative Heidi Savelli Soderberg, on Saturday, outlined startling revelations that coastal degradation has left the Caribbean in troubled waters.

Savelli Soderberg during her power-point presentation told journalists at the three–days workshop being held at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica that recent assessments in the Caribbean indicate that suspended solids in the coastal and marine environment are already leading to severe environmental impacts in the region.

“Key economic sectors are threatened by sedimentation of excess runoffs and future scenarios indicate potential increases in the amounts transported from land to sea,” The UNEP representative said.

Onika Campbell

Local environment officials, in Japan are reporting that the world-bank is on a drive to raise least $5.5 billion with the U.S., U.K. and Japan, this year for climate change funds.

Environment Education Officer Carol Faye- George who is currently in Japan said the funds would seek to help poor nations use clean technology and tackle global warming.

She said that in July, Antigua & Barbuda would be attending another meeting where the bank will agree to set up the funds at the board and raise the money by autumn.

George said that the disclosure was made during the three-day meeting in Kobe, a prelude to the summit in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.

By Onika Campbell

The link between the loss of biological diversity and global climate change was the hot topic at the opening of the 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 9) in Bonn, Germany.

According to an officer, who spoke to this newspaper via email "Climate change and the loss of biological diversity are the two most alarming challenges on the global agenda?"

While emphasizing the link between the two, the source said, "Nature conservation is climate protection and climate protection is nature conservation."

The officer said that more than 6000 participants are at conference in Bonn, Germany.

By Onika Campbell

While the prices of products on the local market remains the same, world fertilizer prices continue to soar and farmer Carmona Samuel said the situation is becoming untenable.

Samuel in an interview with explained that “ten years ago fertilizers were sold for $20 and $30 per bag, today, its $105 and $106 or somewhere within that region.”

“The food we sell still remains at the same as the prices 10 years ago and today it is much harder to grow the things that we used to grow.”

The farmer who was a member of the now dormant farmers association hinted that the increasing price of fertilizers on the world market to trigger shortage of local produces.

By Onika Campbell

President of Antigua & Barbuda Environmental Awareness Group (EAG) Dr Brian Cooper disclosed that migratory bird numbers plummeting globally are warning signs of a changing environment.

Dr. Cooper in an interview draws attention to the link between migratory birds and wider biodiversity as well as the overall state of our environmen.

According to the EAG president birds are considered to be some of the best indicators for the status and trends of wider biodiversity as they connect, and are inhabitants of, virtually all ecosystems in the world.

This year, the twin island state joins the rest of the to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day "Migratory Birds - Ambassadors for Biodiversity"

By Onika Campbell

The link between the loss of biological diversity and global climate change was the hot topic at the opening of the 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 9) in Bonn, Germany.

According to an officer, who spoke to this newspaper via email "Climate change and the loss of biological diversity are the two most alarming challenges on the global agenda?"

While emphasizing the link between the two, the source said, "Nature conservation is climate protection and climate protection is nature conservation."

The officer said that more than 6000 participants are at conference in Bonn, Germany.