UNESCO meets St. Kitts media

ST. KITTS-Gillian Cambers and Claire Green, two members of an arm of UNESCO met with members of the media in St. Kitts to update them on a new initiative that will provide people from small islands the opportunity to voice their opinions on environment development issues.

These opinions will be included in the 10-year review of the "Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States" adopted in Barbados in 1994.

Media members present cut across print and electronic media and with the rising number of media establishments in St. Kitts, a wider cross section of views was obtained on the role of the media, in relation to the entire project.

Gillian Cambers, who is based in Puerto Rico, informed the media present that St. Kitts stands to benefit immensely from the project, as the views that come out of the project will be put together, sifted and discussed inter-regionally. More important, it will ensure that the public gets to play a more significant role in environmental development.

Australian born Claire Green, who is based at the UNESCO office in Paris, France, indicated that the first aspect of the project has started, in the form of a pre-pilot survey, where a sampling of the opinions of 50 persons will help to formulate the framework for a bigger survey which will target the opinion of 1% of the population of the Federation, on environmental-development issues.

It was explained that environmental-development issues, as far as the project is concerned, extend to cover every aspect of living in St. Kitts-Nevis.

Green, supported by resident UNESCO representative Dauna Manchester-Joseph, clarified that persons should guard against feeling that environment matters would refer to land or marine use only, with respect to plant life or marine life. She cited examples such as bad roads and unsanitary health conditions.

The point was also highlighted by a journalist present that with respect to the environment, the majority tends not to pay adequate attention to this issue, unless a major disaster has taken place.

The UNESCO group plans to meet with the media as soon as the test survey is completed, to share more information on the project.

St. Kitts is one of three small islands, globally, that have been selected for this project.

SOURCE: Daily Herald, 08 February 2002