Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 06, 2018 (SKNIS): The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis in collaboration with the Republic of China (Taiwan) hosted a side event branded “Community Based Adaptation in Islands: Recycling Plastic to Mitigate Climate Change” on Tuesday, December 04, as part of an activity of the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) currently being held in Katowice, Poland.
St. Kitts and Nevis is represented by Cheryl Jeffers, Conservation Officer and Derionne Edmeade, Environmental Education Officer. Commenting on the side event, Ms. Jeffers noted that, “The session examined the partnership schemes in islands that can help to build resilience of ecosystems, through community awareness and livelihood sustainability recycling programmes.”
The conservation officer expressed thanks to the government and people of Taiwan for the support provided thus far. She reminded the audience that “coastal areas and ecosystems of islands are highly vulnerable to climate change and, as such, partnerships such as these are highly welcomed.”
She used the opportunity to briefly highlight the national issues related to single-use plastics, adding that in St. Kitts and Nevis plastics have been identified as an emerging problem.
“The increase in the use of single-use plastics has led to an increase in the amount of plastics being deposited on our coasts and in our marine environment. The solution to breaking our addiction to plastic lies in a multi-faceted approach with a combination of public awareness and policy action,” she said. “The solution to solve the plastic problem will lie in a multi-country approach to tackle a problem that is similar across the region. It is recognized that the solution to the reduction of plastic use and disposal in St. Kitts and Nevis, and our region, will not be a simple one nor will it be short term and, as such, long-term planning will therefore be critical if we are to be successful,” she added.
The conference, which runs from December 02-14, 2018, is being hailed as a “Paris 2.0” and the most important Conference of the Parties since COP21 (2015), where the Paris Agreement was adopted. The Paris Agreement entered into force on November 04, 2016, and at this conference Parties are expected to complete the mandate agreed in 2016 to adopt the rules, modalities and procedures necessary for its implementation.
The Taiwanese delegation comprised of Dr. Eugene Chien, Chairman of Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy; Szu-Chi Kao, Director and Research Fellow; I-Chan Cheng, Deputy Secretary General from Environmental Quality Protection Foundation; Alex Shyy, Deputy Secretary General for International Cooperation and Development Fund ( Taiwan ICDF), and Yuh-Ming Lee, Secretary General, Center for Cooperate Sustainability.