Project aims at making people more environmentally conscious

ST. KITTS - Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas hopes that the "Small Islands'Voice 2004 Project" will make the people of St. Kitts and Nevis more environmentally conscious in preserving the beauty and rich history of the twin-island Federation.

Dr. Cambers, well-known and internationally-respected environmentalist and UNESCO consultant, has been one of the main support persons in this new initiative.

"In this globalised world, where Small Island States are becoming more and more marginalized, the initiative of UNESCO is to bring the voice, to bring the perspective, to bring our own analysis of the situation to the rest of the regional and international communities," said Douglas in an interview with United Nations Radio in New York.

He said choosing St. Kitts and Nevis as the Small Island State in the Caribbean Sea is important, as the nation will be able to lend its voice, especially that of the young people, on issues of sustainable development and how this impacts on the environment.

"I believe that this initiative will allow us to access the media regionally and internationally, thus bringing the voice and the perspectives of the young, ordinary citizen of small islands in the Caribbean to the issues that deal with development and the environment from a global perspective," said Douglas.

Asked if St. Kitts and Nevis has the capability of ensuring the success of the project and whether the feelings of the communities on various issues from community leaders can be obtained, Prime Minister Douglas noted that the Federation is the smallest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere, with a well-organised society and community with a literacy rate of 98 per cent and people therefore are able to voice their opinions, as they are living in a free and open democracy.

"We believe that if we are going to make our mark and survive in what is becoming a more hostile world, our people have to become more an more involved in preserving the country. In knowing that, we are going to pursue tourism development. Thus the country must be inviting. Our verges, rain forest, beaches, our people and our culture must all be sustained and preserved," said Prime Minister Douglas.

He added that the UNESCO-supported initiative "will bring out all of these in our people. It will support the government's perspective that people development cannot be sustainable without a major concern for the preservation of the environment."

"I believe that when this pilot programme has come to an end after two years, there will be tremendous benefits for us in St. Kitts and Nevis, because it will have created frameworks, structures and systems that will remain with our people as we continue to enhance sustainable development and to preserve the environment as an important aspect of our own development in the future," said Prime Minister Douglas.

SOURCE: Daily Herald 06/02/02, 6 February 2002