Saint Kitts and Nevis to host meeting on climate change adaptation in the Caribbean

The Sector for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, in collaboration with the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis and with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, will be convening a high-level meeting in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, on 8-9 March 2011, on “Climate Change Adaptation in the Caribbean: Science, Ethics and Policies.”

The meeting will, along with regional experts, bring together ministerial and governmental officials, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) representatives with a view to examining how climate science and ethics can be brought to bear on policy construction at both the local and international level.

In drawing on local knowledge and UNESCO’s own technical experience, the event will be vital in the construction of shared regional vision for discussions at the international level. Furthermore, coming on the heel of the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, it will also create the foundations for the articulation of a collective Caribbean response to its outcomes.

The meeting will also serve to identify specific ethical challenges in the areas of science and adaptation with respect to which appropriately designed national and local policies can be developed, and pursued, at regional level with UNESCO expertise and support. In its role as a capacity builder, UNESCO will use the meeting to support and enlarge the work of already existing Caribbean expert networks with a view to fostering further discussion on climate change science, ethics, and adaptation. Most importantly, the event will function as a forum which will facilitate dialogue between Caribbean ministers responsible for climate change policies.