UWI, ACS sign MOU on the Caribbean Sea
THE University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the Caribbean Sea.
The documents were signed by UWI vice-chancellor E Nigel Harris and ACS Secretary General Ambassador Luis Fernando Andrade Falla at the ACS offices in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in April.
Harris referred to the Caribbean Sea Ecosystems Assessment Report (CARSEA) — undertaken as a part of the United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment — as one of the collaborative efforts which set out in very clear terms the important relationship between the Caribbean marine ecosystems and the daily life of the people in the region.
Since the CARSEA Report, UWI has entered into several collaborative arrangements with international and regional organisations in order to develop and deliver on projects that will be beneficial to the marine ecosystems.
He reiterated UWI’s commitment to delivering on the recommendations and the promise of that report, and noted that the UWI/ACS MOU took that one step forward by deepening the relationship between UWI and ACS and providing a broader perspective for the co-ordination of projects and activities to comply with their specific mandates.
Since 1998, the ACS has pursued a Caribbean Sea Initiative (CSI), mainly through promoting the UN Resolution towards the sustainable development of the Caribbean Sea for present and future generations at the UN General Assembly.
In 2008, the Caribbean Sea Commission (CSC) was established as a part of the CSI with the mandate to promote and oversee the sustainable use of the Caribbean Sea.
UWI expertise is well represented on the commission by scholars and scientists, such as Professor John Agard, Professor Robin Mahon, Dr Michelle Scobie, Dr Timothy Shaw, Dr Patrick McConney, and Dr David Smith of the Institute for Sustainable Development, Mona.
In his speech, Ambassador Falla acknowledged the contributions of these “experts on environment issues and international relations (who have) made available to the CSC their knowledge, experience, networking with agencies (and are contributing to) projects and programmes of a regional and international nature”.
