Friday, March 29, 2024

Biodiversity News

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Castries, Saint Lucia, October 29, 2014 - The Centre of Food Security and Entrepreneurship of the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus (UWI) and Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology are set to formalise an important collaboration, to support Saint Lucia’s transition to a Green Economy Sector for wealth creation.

The Government of Saint Lucia has indicated interest in developing a Green Economy initiative for the country and has been working closely with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the University of the West Indies to achieve this objective.

Saint Lucia is also undertaking concurrent developments that merge well with this Green Economy initiative. In essence this thrust will help the country progress in a manner that factors social, economic and environmental considerations equally into the mix of its development paradigm.

Saint Lucia has also been engaged in setting up systems for biosafety management to protect human and animal health and the environment from any possible negative impacts of genetically modified organisms.

A biosafety framework is being implemented to allow safety in the creation, transport, handling and use of the products of modern biotechnology. Regulatory, administrative, public education/ participation and risk assessment and management systems comprise the framework for effective biosafety management in the country.

These systems are being established to help the country regulate the use and development of the products of modern biotechnology to help enhance socio-economic development on the island.

Saint Lucia’s rich biological resources hold much potential for exploration and development of new products,services and industries, especially drawing upon the traditional knowledge of the country, related to its biological resources. In this respect, the country’s biological resources offer a golden opportunity to lift the country from its financial difficulties by contributing to wealth creation.

As such, on Tuesday November 4, 2014 the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology and the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalising collaboration on food security and related issues, including biodiversity, natural resources and other environmental assets.

The overall goal of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is for the parties to consolidate, develop and detail their cooperation to achieve their common goals and objectives with regard to the management of biological resources.

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