‘[Beryl is] evidence of the entrenchment of the Caribbean region as the canary in the coal mine of the climate catastrophe’

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image via Canva Pro.

From the region's diverse heritage and culture to the political developments that have impacted the region, 2024 has been a year that showcased the Caribbean's resilience, creativity, and spirit — especially as they relate to environmental issues, which have consistently held a top slot in our year-end reviews since 2017.

From the community level to the global stage, environmental challenges — and by extension, the fight for climate justice — remain the cause that brings the region together as netizens and advocates help shape global conversations with a unique Caribbean perspective. Nearly 40 percent of regional Global Voices articles this year comprised stories about the environment, the highest ever ratio since we've been doing these annual coverage summaries. Here's a look back at some of the climate-focused stories that defined the past year across the archipelago.

The climate crisis reaches ‘catastrophic’ levels

The biggest climate-related story of the year was the passage of Hurricane Beryl in late June/early July. Yes, the storm broke many records — the most quickly organised Category 4 hurricane on record, a significant early-season storm with an atypical trajectory — but it also broke many lives and livelihoods, leaving small island infrastructure and economies reeling.

The University of Miami's Tropical meteorology researcher Brian McNoldy went on record as saying that warmer ocean temperatures — the highest ever logged for that time of year — played a key role in Beryl's speedy formation. In a blazing opinion piece for The Bridge, however, artist and advocate Holly Bynoe wrote honestly and passionately of the experience of St. Vincent and the Grenadines: “This storm is the most recent evidence of the entrenchment of the Caribbean region as the canary in the coal mine of the climate catastrophe, exposing the ugly underbelly of climate injustice.”

She also made the point that the language used to describe hurricane-hit territories was “synonymous with erasure and the cornerstone trendy lingo of global disaster management and recovery efforts.” Their meaning, however, “is more complex than their singularity. You can only understand their feeble, inadequate, fearmongering and impotent use once touched by the violence of assumed ‘flatness’ and erasure.”

As for recovery? Bynoe felt that it must move “beyond the material, beyond the debris:”

[C]limate injustice is now, for the Grenadines, a deep and abiding embodiment […] With public trust at an all-time low, citizens must hold governments and agencies accountable for truth-telling during catastrophic times and agitate for a more dynamic definition and recovery system that includes social dimensions such as livelihood restoration and well-being.

The storm also reignited discussion surrounding often unconsidered effects of the climate crisis, which we have covered in the past.

Environmental and developmental challenges

An oil spill caused by an overturned tanker in Tobago in February prompted CEO of the Jamaica Environment Trust Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie to question whether the region had a sufficient enough oil spill contingency plan in place, especially in light of Guyana's newly discovered oil and gas reserves.

“Forecasts predict the country could produce 1.2 million barrels per day by 2027 or 2028,” Moodie observed.

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), however, indicate that in the event of a spill or well blowout, the repercussions could devastate large swathes of the Caribbean, stretching from Trinidad through the Lesser Antilles, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.

This would devastate coastal ecosystems, infrastructure, tourism, fisheries, shipping, and other vital economic activities, placing many island nations in economic jeopardy.

Moodie was also among a cadre of Jamaican environmentalists demanding mandatory EIAs for projects that pose significant environmental risks. They cited one project in particular: a new development called The Pinnacle, located close to the Montego Bay Marine Park, the country's first marine area, which includes a five-square kilometre park and two special fishery conservation areas.

In Aruba, meanwhile, citizens took to the streets to protest against unsustainable and unregulated growth in the hotel and tourism industry which they say has been exacerbated by colonial impacts. The island's current mass tourism trend has seen it systematically losing land to wealthy foreign investors interested in building luxury hotels.

In Barbados, environmentalists suggested that without strategic conservation measures, the island's iconic bearded fig tree could potentially disappear from the landscape. Just as concerningly, changing climatic conditions have contributed to once abundant populations of flying fish — the island’s national fish — going into decline.

Guyana tries to maintain a balance

The region's newest oil and gas player has, since 2021, been insisting that it can essentially have its cake and eat it too. This year, as the South American CARICOM nation continued to strive towards its goal of being a low-carbon oil producer, it prioritised its 30×30 conservation target, whereby it aims to protect 30 percent of its land and marine resources by the year 2030.

In this vein, the country's rainforests have been key in the government's expanded eco-tourism efforts. The current administration has been pushing what it calls “climate-smart agriculture techniques” in order to sustainably increase food production, and has also put in place a carbon valuation mechanism that brings the country money in return for maintaining its forests — but there have been questions surrounding the land rights of the Indigenous people who in large part care for these forests, and whether they are actually benefitting from the existing carbon trade deal.

Coastal Indigenous communities in the country have also been struggling, with one in particular, Almond Beach, facing serious erosion — and with it, a community exodus and a threat to four endangered species of sea turtle that typically nest there.

Environmental conferences

In May 2024, Antigua and Barbuda hosted the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4), a global event that takes place every ten years and aims to address climate resiliency in nations that have unique vulnerabilities.

The focus was on establishing a mandate to negotiate a new legal mechanism (a framework for the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS, 2024–34, abbreviated to ABAS) that will secure a fast, financed and equitable transition away from fossil fuels in order to try and stay within the 1.5° Celsius climate limit. In a piece for The Bridge, four experts in this area noted that due to their “small size, insularity, and remoteness,” SIDS are exposed to “devastating exogenous shocks of a relative scale unthinkable in larger states.”

In building a case for why SIDS should have their own Marshall Plan, they argued:

Acute vulnerability defines the development experience of SIDS but confers no entitlement to Official Development Assistance (ODA) or concessional financing. Many are locked out of affordable flows of public finance and pushed towards exorbitant commercial borrowing to bankroll investments entailing disproportionate sunk costs.

Moreover, they continued:

[D]uring 2024–34, the lifetime of the ABAS, we are likely to breach a series of key climatic tipping points, most notably the central demand of SIDS to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels. This externally imposed catastrophe threatens their way of life and even their very existence, particularly for those low-lying states at most immediate risk from sea-level rise. This, in turn, transgresses island states’ legitimate rights to development and non-interference as sovereign equals in the international community of states.

At the close of the conference, SIDS stakeholders found themselves having to advocate for maintaining their “special case” classification status for sustainable development, since developed countries have been resisting the idea that SIDS need special assistance.

At the start of October, St. Lucia hosted the RedLAC Congress, which preceded COP16 later in the month. The point of the Congress was to “[advance] global conservation targets within national and regional contexts,” since the recently adopted Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) mandates that 30 percent of the earth’s land and sea should be conserved by the year 2030 via the establishment of protected areas.

CEO of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) Karen McDonald Gayle felt that RedLAC “provides an invaluable platform to build and encourage a stronger presence of Caribbean countries in this network and to reinforce our collective message of long-term environmental funding for the region,” even as environmentalists called for greater regional collaboration to meet the 30×30 goal.

Painting the region blue

Nevertheless, Caribbean island nations have been forging ahead with other approaches to shield themselves against the ravages of the climate crisis. Trinidad and Tobago piloted a blue carbon credit system to finance mangrove conservation. Because of their relevance to the global carbon cycle, blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves offer climate mitigation benefits that can assist with climate change adaptation.

While mangrove forests in Trinidad and Tobago have been estimated to store at least 1,118,630.99 tonnes of carbon, there has been an increasing loss of these forest systems because of factors like development, pollution, extractive activities, unsustainable agriculture and extreme weather events. It is therefore hoped that carbon credit markets can help bridge the shortfall in financing climate action goals.

In a similar manner, expanding on the foundation of NGOs and private reserves involved in conservation efforts, Belize has been employing ‘blue bonds’ as a potential solution to its debt coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, swapping it for the protection of marine resources.

As Prime Minister John Briceño noted in January of this year, Belize’s blue spaces “sustain livelihoods, social stability, and climate security. […] The Belize Blue Bonds is much more than a deal for debt restructuring. It represents the single most successful initiative by the value of our marine resources and our history of good stewardship.”

Glimpses of hope

Whether it was our story about fisherwomen using theatre to champion gender justice at a regional climate justice camp, or the Dominican Republic's shift to electric vehicles, there was definitely positive environmental news — including the journalistic work being done around climate justice in the Caribbean.

One of our most popular environmental stories this year included a post about a Talipot Palm in Trinidad, over which there was great excitement around its flowering. The palm, known for having the largest inflorescence in the world, can flower once it reaches maturity, typically between 25 and 80 years old. After it flowers, it takes about a year for the resulting small, circular yellow-green fruit to mature — and because the tree is monocarpic, this process only happens once; the tree dies after fruiting.

The levels of interest in this story, as well as in our post about Trinidad's Caroni Swamp — which secured more than 13,000 views in English alone between July and September — suggested to our editorial team that humans are still fascinated by and deeply connected to the mechanisms of nature.

That symbiosis, more than anything, imparts the will needed to continue to advocate for and act in the interest of the planet's survival, as well as our own.

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco

Regional podcasts cover every conceivable topic: business, culture, climate change, and more

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image designed using Canva Pro elements.

Monday, September 30 is International Podcast Day. As of June 2024, there are over four million registered podcasts, pouring out information, opinions and more on a number of popular platforms, and attracting over 546 million listeners worldwide.

Podcasting was developed twenty years ago by the “podfather” Adam Curry and software developer/engineer Dave Winer, both of whom are still broadcasting. At the time, various names were considered for the new phenomenon, according to podcast pioneer and journalist Christopher Lydon, until Guardian journalist Ben Hammersley came up with the word “podcast”: “Everything is inexpensive. The tools are available. Everyone has been saying anyone can be a publisher, anyone can be a broadcaster…Let's see if that works.”

That same year (2004), blogger Justin Searls suggested that podcasting was the next logical step. “The key virtue of traditional radio is its immediacy,” he explained, “the fact that it's live. The key virtue of this new breed of radio is that it's Net-native. That is, it's archived in a way that can be listened to at the convenience of the listener, and — this is key — that it can be linked to by others.”

He went on to predict that podcasting would “shift much of our time away from an old medium where we wait for what we might want to hear, to a new medium where we choose what we want to hear, when we want to hear it, and how we want to give everybody else the option to listen to it as well.”

After a somewhat slow start — and, as Internet usage in the region increased — Caribbean influencers have begun to embrace the format over the past decade or so, and many have established regular audiences for their offerings. Video podcasts are also popular and there is a plethora of Caribbean commentators on YouTube, where it's a bit of a mixed bag — many of them are focused on local politics, while some express extreme views and even spread disinformation.

Nevertheless, there are many Caribbean podcasts that are well worth listening to, covering every conceivable topic, including culture, business and finance, climate change, and more.

From the light-hearted to the serious, here are some active Caribbean-based podcasts you might enjoy exploring, many of them hosted by young people. There are also many others hosted or co-hosted within the Caribbean diaspora in the United States, Canada and Europe.

The Climate Conscious Podcast, hosted by Trinidadian environment professional Derval Barzey, explores issues of sustainability affecting the region, addressing such topics as deep sea mining and renewable energy.

CESaRE Voices brings updates on sustainability issues from the Journal of Caribbean Environmental Sciences and Renewable Energy (CESaRE).

Another sustainability-focused offering is Ecovybz Podcast, hosted by Trinidadian climate activist Khadija Stewart, the Caribbean representative for the youth-focused Sustainable Ocean Alliance. She has attended meetings at the International Seabed Authority to lead SOA Caribbean's call to stop deep-sea mining.

A motivational podcast for women over 40, This Woman Can is hosted by Antiguan Janice Sutherland, who is a career and life coach.

Veteran Jamaican journalist Franklin McKnight's provocative Frankly Speaking podcast airs live every Sunday afternoon on YouTube, where you will find recordings of his discussions on political and social issues, as well as the latest local and Caribbean news. The content is always up to date and hard-hitting.

Based in the Bahamas, Broughtupsy tells stories “about Bahamians for Bahamians.”

Aimed at a youth audience, The Fix weekly podcast on YouTube, co-hosted by three Jamaicans, features “unfiltered and uncut conversations” on music, dancehall, relationships and more.

Belizean journalist Kalilah Reynolds has established herself as an authoritative business news personality in the region with her Money Moves JA and Taking Stock podcasts, supported by her strong presence on social media.

Jamaican climate activist and communicator Dainalyn Swaby's long-running Global Yaadie podcast, which she started up while on a scholarship in London, covers a range of climate justice topics with a youth and cultural focus in the Caribbean and beyond.

Trinidadian digital marketing expert Chike Farrell has an excellent podcast entitled Sustainability and the Global South, which focuses on actions and opportunities in the Global South that strengthen sustainable living.

Stronger Caribbean Together, a collaborative network of community-based organisations, legal experts, and academic partners across the greater Caribbean region, hosts occasional podcasts that address gender equity, climate justice, disaster capitalism and other topics that are critical for the region.

Finally, the vibrant Caribbean Climate Calabash, hosted by young journalists from across the region, covers a wide range of topics related to climate change and the environment, on both audio and YouTube channels.

Whatever your interests, you may find some interesting perspectives in these and many more Caribbean podcasts that are out there. Give them a try – or perhaps start one yourself!

Written by Emma Lewis

The extent of the damage in Jamaica is yet to be determined

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image via Canva Pro.

Hurricane Beryl, the first major storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, now significantly downgraded to a Category 2 system, is currently headed for Central America, having practically “flattened” several of the Windward Islands as a Cat 4 earlier this week. It then tore through Jamaica on July 3, after which it also affected the Cayman Islands.

The death toll from Beryl is estimated to be at least seven people so far, surprising given the level of ruin to infrastructure, buildings, and the natural environment in places like Carriacou, Union Island, Mayreau, and Petit Martinique in the Grenadines. The difference in the level of vegetation on Carriacou alone, pre- and post-Beryl, is startling.

Despite being downgraded, forecasters maintain that Beryl is still to be considered a hazardous storm that can do serious damage; they are particularly concerned about the effects of “damaging waves” from its storm surge, which could raise water levels by as much as three to five feet above ground level.

The Yucatán Peninsula is under a hurricane warning; once Beryl sweeps past it and arrives in the Gulf of Mexico, there is a chance of “slow re-intensification.” Parts of Belize are also on a tropical storm watch.

As a result of heavy rain and gusty winds, Jamaicans experienced a widespread loss of electricity supply, and there was heavy flooding in some areas, with many roads being rendered impassable and people being stranded. A comprehensive view of the extent of the damage is still to be determined, though the island has reported at least two storm-related deaths.

Like elsewhere in the archipelago, many people lost their roofs, though this woman in Jamaica was dangerously determined to hold on to hers:

WOMAN IN JAMAICA DECIDED TO SAVE HER ROOF AT ALL COST DURING HURRICANE BERYL!

A lady in Jamaica was caught on camera sitting on top of her roof and holding it down in the midst of the category 4 storm.

The roof was about to give way, but the lady had no intention of allowing… pic.twitter.com/EtraTSdpMO

— Jamaica Live (@JamaicaLivenews) July 4, 2024

One resident of Mandeville, located in hilly, south-central Jamaica, was astounded at how effortlessly trees were felled and overhead lines pulled down. Though shaken, he said they would rebuild:

“We a wonder if we could have survived the night how the wind have the trees, heavy trees dem!”

That was how one resident in Mandeville, Manchester described his experience after the passing of Hurricane Beryl.

(: Kasey Williams)#HurricaneBeryl #ObservingBeryl #Beryl… pic.twitter.com/AGrtSwbiDQ

— Jamaica Observer (@JamaicaObserver) July 4, 2024

The community of Treasure Beach also suffered losses, but also declared its resilience and intent to rebuild:

Lots of property damage in Treasure Beach and surrounding area but no loss of life that we have heard of so giving thanks.
We will rebuild. TB is a very resilient community

— Justine Henzell (@JustineHenzell) July 4, 2024

The Jamaica Observer newspaper reported that the devastation was far-reaching:

The devastation is extensive. In St James, roads show extensive damage littered with debris. Meanwhile, in Westmoreland, a large tree blocks the Frome Main Road, where firefighters and soldiers work to clear the scene. Another tree fell on a bar on Frome Main Road and a car wash… pic.twitter.com/nPTAu4JE9Q

— Jamaica Observer (@JamaicaObserver) July 4, 2024

Yet, people rushed to help and relieve the suffering of others in whatever ways they could:

WCK is working with local partners in Jamaica to provide meals to families impacted by Hurricane Beryl. In Kingston, Mark Chong’s Catering provided baked chicken and stewed pork served with rice and greens. The storm battered communities along the country’s southern coast,… pic.twitter.com/WxuWw9vMqF

— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) July 4, 2024

Even as Jamaica closed its airports and Prime Minister Andrew Holness advised that hundreds of people were taking refuge in shelters across the island, the nation's leader was drawing criticism on X (formerly Twitter) for a comment he made on the climate crisis:

Dis fool. And at the same time his govt allows massive hotels to be constructed and our mangroves are being destroyed. The govt’s policies are putting the Jamaican people at increase risk with climate change. pic.twitter.com/6vnGYV10Y1

— Alexis Goffe (@LexGoffe) July 3, 2024

One commenter on the thread replied, “Tunnel vision. He’s not realizing that industrial pollution is not the sole cause for climate change. It’s the destruction [of] natural habitats etc.” Holness’ administration has been criticised for allowing both construction and industrial projects that compromise the environment.

Meanwhile, Trinidadian writer Ingrid Persaud lamented:

Small island states bearing the brunt of climate change. Again. https://t.co/atHllBGZ8w

— Ingrid Persaud (@IngridPersaud) July 3, 2024

In the Caymans — much closer in size to the Windwards than Jamaica, and still cognisant of the havoc Hurricane Ivan wreaked on the islands two decades ago — residents stocked up on supplies and tried to protect themselves as best they could. Beryl, thankfully, never made landfall there.

However, the storm has set numerous records as the strongest, earliest hurricane of the annual season, which has been largely attributed to conditions caused by climate change.

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco

‘Sea level rise represents a clear human influence on the damage potential from a given hurricane’

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image via Canva Pro.

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season had barely begun when Hurricane Beryl proved itself, in many ways, to be unprecedented. It reared its head earlier than most major storms tend to do, it gained power quickly, being upgraded to a Category 3 and then Cat 4 system within a mere 48 hours and, having left a trail of destruction through the Grenadines — including at least six deaths — it became the strongest storm on record this early in the season, briefly turning into a Category 5 hurricane. As at 9:00 p.m. (UTC4) on July 2, it has reverted to a Cat 4 as it headed towards Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

While weather experts and storm chasers may be fascinated by Beryl's exceptionality, the people of the Caribbean who have been routinely battered on the frontline of the annual hurricane season fear that all the factors that make Beryl stand out may, in fact, become the norm.

Scientists have said that warmer sea temperatures, driven by climate change and cyclical weather patterns, are causing tropical storms to get stronger at a faster speed.

I know there's some wind shear impacting #Beryl, but my $$ is always on the ocean. It's running the show. pic.twitter.com/3c4zmSs8Vr

— Brian McNoldy (@BMcNoldy) July 3, 2024

This year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States predicted an 85 percent chance of greater storm activity than normal — as many as 17 to 25 total named storms, of which anywhere from eight to 13 might become hurricanes, and four to seven of those, major hurricanes, meaning Category 3-5. They credit this to a “confluence of factors,” including “abundant oceanic heat content,” “a quick transition to La Niña conditions,” reduced Atlantic trade winds and less wind shear.

“[L]ight trade winds,” NOAA explained, “allow hurricanes to grow in strength without the disruption of strong wind shear, and also minimize ocean cooling.” It confirmed that the climate crisis “is warming our ocean globally and in the Atlantic basin, and melting ice on land, leading to sea level rise,” which it said represented “a clear human influence on the damage potential from a given hurricane.”

Like The Bahamas, Dominica, and so many other islands before them in years gone by, Barbados, Tobago, St. Lucia, Grenada, and especially the Grenadines which have thus far weathered most of the impact from Beryl, know this all too well — and just as they have done before, the Caribbean community has been rallying to send relief and much-needed supplies to those affected.

From St. Vincent, photographer Nadia Huggins shared a link to a GoFundMe page, saying, “I have no words to express the scale of devastation. I can’t believe we have to fund raise for yet another disaster. Please help in any way you can.” Looking at the “near apocalyptic” images coming out of Union Island, or video of the storm's aftermath in Carriacou, you begin to understand the urgency.

Meanwhile, Jamaica braces for Beryl to make landfall as a Category 4 storm, expected to happen by Wednesday, July 3, with the eye passing over the Cayman Islands later that night or early Thursday.

#HurricaneBeryl Bulletin 12: OUTER BANDS OF BERYL TO REACH JAMAICA BEFORE DAYBREAK WEDNESDAY…HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT.

— MetServiceJA (@MetserviceJA) July 2, 2024

Global Voices contributor Emma Lewis, who is based in Jamaica, says that her compatriots are feeling stressed by the storm's impending arrival, and traffic has been bad as people try to stock up on supplies or make last-minute repairs:

Hopeless traffic in #OchoRios
Last minute shopping ofc for #Beryl #HuracanBeryl #Jamaica pic.twitter.com/PBj2tGzhnH

— DKAstrology (@DKAstrology) July 2, 2024

Like most Caribbean territories, Jamaica has endured devastation from hurricanes like Gilbert, a Cat 3 that struck in September 1988. While Beryl will likely weaken after it hits Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, it is still expected to remain a hurricane as it makes it way across the northwestern Caribbean. In this vein, hurricane watches are in effect for southern Haiti, tropical storm warnings for the south coast of the Dominican Republic, and a tropical storm watch for parts of Belize.

With a long and potentially active hurricane season ahead, and regional leaders calling out the lack of action on the part of developed nations that largely contribute to the global levels of greenhouse gas emissions, the overriding sentiment of the region was encapsulated in a tweet by Greenpeace:

Our thoughts are with Caribbean islands bracing for hurricane #Beryl. Stay safe

We have never seen such a STRONG hurricane this EARLY in the season.

Big oil and gas corporations are worsening extreme weather disasters. They must be held to account.

pic.twitter.com/EmaJx4443g

— Greenpeace International (@Greenpeace) July 1, 2024

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco

Blue spaces ‘sustain livelihoods, social stability, and climate security’

Originally published on Global Voices

A representative of Belize’s Blue Bonds and Finance Permanence Unit interact with members of the public during an outreach initiative. Photo by Belize’s Blue Bonds and Finance Permanence Unit, courtesy Cari-Bois Environmental News Network, used with permission.

By Carolee Chanona

This story was first published on the Cari-Bois Environmental News Network. An edited version appears below as part of a content-sharing agreement.

Resilience can be defined interchangeably with the word elasticity, considering it’s the capacity to withstand or recover quickly from challenges — but when it comes to one of the world’s most vulnerable regions, how does resiliency look in the face of climate change?

For one Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nation, it’s expanding on the foundation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private reserves that have been selling carbon for decades and swapping debt for the conservation of nature.

Like most Caribbean countries, 2020 was a financially challenging year for Belize as the country’s debt skyrocketed and the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the country into one of its worst recessions.

However, when Belize’s debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio is placed in a regional context, Caribbean countries face financial challenges which place them among the most highly indebted in the world. In 2018, the average Caribbean country – including Belize – had a debt which was 70.5 percent of GDP.

But in 2019, the country’s public debt climbed from 94.2 percent of GDP to 123.3 percent, while loan payments dwindled from 9.3 percent to 7.5 percent in 2020, due in part to the country’s closed borders to protect against the COVID-19 virus and reduced exports of goods and services connected to the global supply chain issues.

Catalysts for creative carbon solutions

With a decades-long decline of Belize’s agricultural industries peaking during the pandemic, tourism was increasingly promoted as a source for sustainable income to diversify the country’s economy. Today, tourism accounts for nearly half of Belize’s GDP.

Recently, however, proposals have been made to “swap” Belize’s crippling debt for the protection of marine resources. Virginia-based non-profit The Nature Conservancy proposed to front the funds to the Government of Belize to pay its creditors, with the caveat that it must spend a portion of interest savings to deliver on agreed conservation actions.

On November 4, 2021, the Belize Blue Bonds: Blue Finance for Nature and People programme was officially launched to cover public, co-managed, private, and Indigenous lands, as well as all related marine resources, including the Caribbean Sea, endangered mangroves, and vulnerable coral reefs.

Bonds sparked by a blue economy

During a panel discussion by the Belize Blue Bond and Finance for Permanence Unit (BBDPU) in January 2024, Belizean Prime Minister John Briceño noted that the country’s blue spaces “sustain livelihoods, social stability, and climate security.”

He added, “The Belize Blue Bonds is much more than a deal for debt restructuring. It represents the single most successful initiative by the value of our marine resources and our history of good stewardship.”

With The Nature Conservancy agreeing to relieve 12 percent of the country’s debt, the Belize's government is committed to protecting 30 percent of the country’s oceans. An estimated USD 180 million will be prioritised for on-the-ground conservation projects over the next 20 years to ensure that Belize attains its conversation targets by 2029.

As of 2023, Belizean authorities reported that the country has officially protected 20.3 percent of its total ocean space, designated all existing national lands within the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System as mangrove reserves, and launched the marine spatial planning process for the development of the Belize Sustainable Ocean Plan.

Authorities have now turned their attention towards expanding biodiversity protection zones to 25 percent of Belize’s oceans by November 2024, which is one of the targets under the Blue Bonds agreement.

Overall, the Blue Bonds deal will free up more than USD 200 million — nearly a tenth of Belize’s annual economic output — in funds that are expected to be spent preserving the country’s biodiversity.

Pushing ‘bold bans’ to reduce debt burden

With the economic feasibility of the Blue Bonds programme, Belize has taken a more aggressive approach to preservation, including banning the sale of publicly owned islets on the Belize Barrier Reef, and expanding the reef’s protected areas. The plan is for these areas to be increased by more than 2,000 additional square miles (just under 5,200 square kilometres) by 2026.

The challenge moving forward is to clearly outline both the implementation and enforcement of the projects under the programme. Currently a model of what a successful Blue Bonds project can look like in the Caribbean, it is important to highlight that other countries in the region have undertaken similar projects.

In September 2022, Barbados carried out a “debt-for-nature” initiative, with a swap of USD 150 million of international bonds generating USD 50 million for marine conservation. Ecuador’s record USD 1.6 billion swap in May 2024 sparked even more interest in such arrangements.

Combined, Belize and Barbados — two tourism-reliant nations — exchanged a total of USD 683 million of debt. Data by the World Bank shows that this amounts to 0.03 per cent of what the Global South owed to private creditors.

While Belize’s debt-for-nature swap has been significant, it echoes other attempts by the country to launch carbon-conscious initiatives. In 2012, The Nature Conservancy also played a key role in certifying 1.6 million tons of carbon offset inside the Rio Bravo Conservation Area.

Through the reduction of deforestation rates and sustainable forest management, at least USD 1.5 million in carbon offsets have since been generated through co-management of the Rio Bravo area by the Programme for Belize (PFB) and the Belizean government.

Is the Caribbean the next big market for carbon credits?

Belize’s projects on carbon markets and trading in the Caribbean signal a shift — especially in the context of the introduction of the country's Climate Change and Carbon Market Initiatives Bill in 2023.

While public consultations are continuing, the Bill is already a notable effort. With the country’s authorities elevating the voices of stakeholders and partners like The Nature Conservancy, as well as other NGOs that co-manage protected lands and waters, the Blue Bonds programme provides a blueprint for co-management and debt relief in the Caribbean.

Carbon credits are showing that there are far more innovative and non-extractive ways for countries to generate revenue and develop sustainably.

Written by Cari-Bois News

Israeli surveillance technology and arms are prevalent in Central America

Originally published on Global Voices

Illustration by Melissa Vida for Global Voices depicting the symbol of Guatemala, the quetzal bird, and the symbol of Palestine, the watermelon. symbol of Palestine, the watermelon.

This article was written by Sussan García on ContraCorriente. It has been republished and edited on Global Voices under a media agreement.

These past months have further exposed the farce of the “Western” world order we live in. The State of Israel has killed over 30,000 Palestinians, with the backing of North American and European “democracies,” while people all over the world bear witness to endless massacres and dehumanization live-streamed on social media platforms. We are witnessing international coalitions develop that are structured along the colonizer and colonized, as oppressed communities worldwide identify with the dehumanization of ahistorical narratives, fascism, genocide denial, and terror that Palestinians experience at the hands of Israel and the United States.

For decades, Israel, in partnership with and as a proxy for the United States, has supported, armed, and trained violent fascist dictators in Central America. They have actively suppressed democratic processes and targeted Central American resistance, who are similarly branded as “terrorists.” While Israel has displaced, ethnically cleansed, discriminated, and massacred Palestinians in their homelands, Israel continues to export their “combat-tested” technologies to Central America through military and intelligence partnerships and arms exports. The Palestinian liberation struggle is thus intimately tied with the Central American one in seeking an end to the Israeli war machine, the U.S. imperialism that drives it, and the violent world order that enables it.

Just as the United States funnels funding, arms, and soldiers to Israel and other fascist governments, Israel has been an extension of the U.S. war machine. During the Cold War, the United States was one of the main suppliers of arms, funding, and training to fascist regimes in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. As the atrocities committed by these governments became overly apparent, the United States was legally prohibited to continue supporting them by 1974, and it directed Israel to continue doing so on their part.

In El Salvador, Israel provided 83 percent of arms between 1975 and 1979 and helped train the National Security Agency of El Salvador (ANSESAL), the secret police who were later to form the framework of the infamous death squads that would kill tens of thousands of civilians. Within the training and technology provided by Israel, there was a focus on counterinsurgency and surveillance targeting guerrilla groups. One such technology was a computerized system that provided a list of names for right-wing death squads, used both in Guatemala and El Salvador. Colonel Sigifredo Ochoa Perez, a main actor who intensified counterinsurgency warfare, expressed that he wanted the Salvadoran army to pursue the “Israeli solution” to Nicaraguan support for Salvadoran guerillas; he thus saw Nicaragua as “Central America’s Lebanon.”

Nicaragua after the Sandinista Revolution, an anti-communist nightmare and a story of success for the region’s revolutionaries, was a target of the United States, Israel, and right-wing Central American leaders. Previously, the relationship between Nicaragua and Israel was a warm one predating the existence of Israel. Dictator Anastasio Somoza Garcia had provided agents of the Haganah, a Zionist paramilitary organization that would become incorporated into the Israeli military, with diplomatic covers necessary for purchasing arms in Europe. By the 1970s, Israel accounted for 98 percent of Nicaragua’s arms imports. Once the Sandinista revolution successfully ousted Somoza, Israel stepped in to arm and train the Contras throughout the 1980s in U.S.-aligned Costa Rica and Honduras, with the aim of overthrowing the Sandinista government and replacing them with an anti-communist right-wing government. Complementing these efforts were Israeli-settlement schemes meant to isolate Nicaragua, leading to the development of settlements of anti-communist farmers along the Nicaraguan-Costa Rican border; this same approach has been used by Israel along its borders, notably Lebanon.

In Guatemala, Efraín Ríos Montt, a military general who orchestrated a coup in 1982 to become president, recognized the instrumental role of Israeli training for its success; his chief of staff shared that the “the Israeli soldier is the model for our soldiers.” Ríos Montt also modeled his “Beans and Bullets” counterinsurgency agrarian strategy in the highlands after Israel’s Nahal program, which trains soldiers in agricultural techniques in order to set up and expand border settlements. Ríos Montt’s rule is recognized as the bloodiest years of the armed conflict and he was convicted of genocide against Indigenous Maya groups in Guatemalan courts in 2013.

In the present day, Israel trains police officers in Belize and Panama, with the latter program coming under particularly harsh criticism in 2021 after photos from the training published by the Panamanian National Police and the Israeli Chamber of Commerce showed a man pointing a gun at an image of an armed person wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh. The Panamanian Committee of Solidarity with Palestine criticized the event as promoting racism and violence, and called on the government to cancel such “interventions” from Israel. Panama, historically a staunch supporter of Israel and a reliable bastion of United States policy in the region, continues to offer its support to Israel and officially deny the suffering of Palestinians. Just as Panama faced official threats to coerce the country to stay in line, Belize was met with public threats from Israel of decreased Israeli tourism and less investment from Zionist investors after the country announced the suspension of diplomatic relations with Israel in November 2023.

The rise of Christian Zionism has offered a cultural and religious vehicle to garner support in Central America, even entrenched in El Salvador’s president of Palestinian descent, Nayyib Bukkele. Before his presidency and as mayor of San Salvador, Bukele carried out an Israeli-sponsored visit to Jerusalem, during which he met the mayors of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, was declared “a friend of Israel” by the latter, and prayed at the Western Wall.

Embedded in the Salvadoran president’s alarming unconstitutional and criminalization moves are Israeli technology and arms. Bukele has used the spyware Pegasus to illegally surveil and track critical journalists, developed by ex-military and intelligence officer Yaniv David Zangilevitch and distributed in Latin America by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency. Pegasus has come under scrutiny for its use by governments to commit human rights violations by illegally surveilling politicians, dissidents, and journalists.

Regarding Bukele's sparse comments expressing pride in his Palestinian roots and touting technology and business as the path forward for a possible nation, academic and author Yousef Aljamal said: “For Bukele, Palestine is just a distant memory. He’s part of a political system that wants to be in line with the far right, have good ties with Israel, improve the relationship with other right-wing governments in Latin America, and have good ties with the US.”

In countries like Honduras and El Salvador, Palestinians have “long constituted an economic elite, often characterised by political conservatism.” To them, Palestinian revolutionary fighters are “dangerously similar to Latin American guerrilla movements,” making Bukkele part of a tradition rather than an anomaly. In the aftermath of October 7, Bukele was quick to strongly condemn Hamas, said that they do not represent Palestinians, and advocated for its elimination. He compared them to MS-13 gang members, who are the main target of his campaign against gang violence and crime, leading to more than 70,000 people in prison without due process. His efforts have been criticized by community and human rights groups as another way to target journalists, activists, and other groups critical of him.

In Central America, such “Palestinization” of certain groups is not new, in which resistance groups and dissent under violent fascist regimes are characterized as threats to national security and terrorism. Regarding the military strategy to target guerrilla groups in 1971, Guatemalan President Carlos Arana said, “If it is necessary to turn the country into a cemetery in order to pacify it, I will not hesitate to do so,” chillingly echoing the same rhetoric Israeli officials have recently expressed and the declaration by the United Nations that Gaza has become a “graveyard for children.” Both of these genocidal projects in Guatemala and Palestine could not have happened without the support of the United States. Central America has long been under the domination of United States interests, just as Palestine has been. As expressed multiple times by current U.S. president, Joe Biden: “Were there not an Israel, we would have to invent an Israel … to protect [U.S.] interests in the region.” This is a lineage of U.S. foreign policy to maintain control all over the world, one which Central America has been subject to since the Monroe Doctrine was declared 200 years ago.

The alliance between the United States and Israel was not a given one; it was one that arose in the aftermath of the 1967 war when the United States first identified Israel as a powerful ally in the Middle East. This has grown into a full-blown imperialist collaboration between the two around the world. As such, as long as Palestine is subject to U.S.-backed Israeli terror, Central America is subject to the same terror, simply exported and “combat tested.” It means that the international world order dominated by imperialist supranational bodies and alliances is in effect, enabling and encouraging such projects.

Central Americans in the struggle for liberation must rise to the moment of supporting the Palestinian struggle and resistance; we must condemn Zionism, apartheid, and all settler colonial ideologies; and we must push our communities, institutions, and governments to do the same. As Martin Luther King Jr. elaborated: “An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We must also learn from Palestine as she frees us from illusions, fear, and respectability politics that continue to limit our praxis and use that to continue to fight for liberation for everyone, everywhere — from Central America to Palestine and beyond.

Written by ContraCorriente

Small Island Developing States bear the brunt of the worst effects of climate change

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image via Canva Pro.

Like everywhere else in the world, in 2023 the Caribbean experienced its fair share of triumphs and challenges, but as a region of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the ill effects of climate change are right at its doorstep.

Of the many stories the Global Voices Caribbean team covered this year, the lion's share of them have been linked in some way to this looming threat and the importance of climate justice to the region's survival. This is not to say that there were no concerns about crime and violence, political tension, or sadness over Caribbean icons who passed away over the last 12 months, just that the climate crisis was the issue that appeared most pressing to social media users, as well as journalists across the region.

Climate change challenges

Because Caribbean island nations typically have smaller populations and operate on a much lower scale when it comes to industrialisation, the region produces fewer carbon emissions than many Global North countries. Yet, they bear the brunt of the worst effects of climate change because of their geographical vulnerabilities.

The climate crisis has, therefore, become an existential threat to SIDS, manifesting in severe and multifaceted impacts, from rising sea levels that erode shorelines, threaten coastal communities, and exacerbate the risk of saltwater intrusion into freshwater sources, to uncomfortably hot temperatures and the disruption of ecosystems.

The growing frequency and intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes have also placed Caribbean countries in the crosshairs of the climate crisis, causing widespread damage to infrastructure, disrupting livelihoods, and amplifying the challenges of recovery.

Six years after Dominica suffered great devastation post-Hurricane Maria, for instance, the country is still attempting to build climate-resilient homes for its citizens, making its leaders even more resolute about advocating for proper Loss and Damage mechanisms to be put in place at the recently concluded COP28 conference.

Dominica has also been proactive in other areas, becoming the first country in the world to designate 800 square kilometres (300 square miles) of its waters as a sanctuary for sperm whales, an endangered species that can actually help fight climate change.

However, there were many instances this year in which climate progress felt like one step forward, two steps back. While environmentalist Allison Ifield, for instance, continued her fight to protect Belize's mangroves, Jamaicans found themselves having to fight for access to their own beaches. Plastic pollution on beaches was also reaching concerning levels, and there was much outcry about unsustainable development practices and the pollution of water sources on the island.

Meanwhile, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ramsar site continued to be threatened by a sandbar breach, which, if not rectified, can compromise the well-being of the lagoon’s ecosystems, as well as people's livelihoods. The breach occurred in 2017 after Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm, hit the island.

How the climate crisis affects communities

This year, Global Voices published several stories that gave readers deeper insight into the many ways in which the heating of the planet has been having an impact on diverse communities, including women and their newborns, menstruating women, and other vulnerable groups like the visually impaired and Indigenous people, many of whom have been positioning themselves on the frontline of the battle for climate justice.

Many of those affected have been struggling with everything from stress and mental health challenges to finding ways to cope with events like flooding and bushfires.

Effects over land and sea

Another serious effect that the climate crisis has been having on island nations is the disruption to agriculture due to changing precipitation patterns and more frequent droughts. In many small island economies, small-scale farming is a vital source of income and sustenance. As a result, nations like Guyana and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have been grappling with food production and finding ways to combat food insecurity. In Trinidad and Tobago, vetiver is being promoted as a reliable and eco-friendly solution to mitigate the effects of flooding, landslides, slope destabilisation and erosion.

Additionally, the warming of oceans has been compromising the vibrant marine ecosystems that form the backbone of many Caribbean economies, forcing island nations to pivot. Trinidad and Tobago, for example, has begun creating partnerships in order to help protect its coral reefs. Suriname, whose fisheries have been negatively impacted by climate change, is turning towards options like aquaculture, while Belize is very clear about the benefits of a blue economy, having been the first country in Central America — back in 1982 — to designate a Marine Protected Area (MPA) with the Half Moon Caye Natural Monument.

Jamaica was also centre stage this year as far as threats to the world's oceans were concerned since the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the UN agency with a mandate to organise and control the international seabed's mineral resources “for the benefit of humankind as a whole,” is headquartered in Kingston, where deliberations on deep-sea mining reached a critical stage.

At the various meetings that took place, young activists and artists were very involved, speaking out about the importance of defending the deep.

The tentative hope of COP28

Even before the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28, got underway in the UAE, Caribbean leaders were being urged not to squander the opportunity to make the climate conference “transformative,” with more people becoming aware of the great potential of fossil fuel alternatives.

Even as some feared inaction at COP28 would deliver the death knell for vulnerable regions like the Caribbean, Small Islands Developing States did their part in advocating for both renewable energy initiatives and the need for ramped-up decarbonisation efforts.

In the end, the big wins were the long-awaited launch of the Loss and Damage Fund and the eventual recognition of the need to transition away from fossil fuels. However, with no firm obligation or timeframe of deliverables in which to achieve this, Caribbean nations are understandably cautious about their optimism. After all, mitigating the effects of greenhouse gas emissions to ensure not just sustainability but survival must be undertaken collectively in order to have any chance of achieving the Paris Agreement's objective to limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco

‘The new text does not do enough to keep our islands above water’

Originally published on Global Voices

DECEMBER 11: Licypriya Kangujam onstage at the Global Climate Action High-Level Event (closing): Uniting on the Path way to 2030 and Beyond session during the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 at Expo City Dubai on December 11, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by COP28 / Anthony Fleyhan)

In between coughs and massive chugs of coffee, majlis was the new word rolling off lips at this stage of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) COP28, in Dubai. It’s the Arabic word for “council,” an open and honest gathering to discuss issues.

During the initial majlis, COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber, who is also the minister of industry and advanced technology of the United Arab Emirates and head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), sought to reaffirm a commitment to maintain ambition and urged that the Global Stocktake (GST) produce the most pragmatic and feasible climate solutions.

The irony is not lost on most, but the Sultan also emphasised the limited time remaining and the presidency's determination to deliver by December 12. He then presented ministers and delegation heads with two critical questions:

1. How do we build transformative ambition on mitigation while addressing just and equitable transitions and corresponding support requirements?
2. How do we credibly tackle the gap in adaptation finance and action?

The Global Stocktake simplified

Essentially, GST serves as the inaugural evaluation of global efforts by countries to combat the climate crisis. COP28 carries the weight of being the first ever GST to score the UNFCCC process, commitments, and ambitions. As such, it’s meant to be the big outcome of the climate negotiations this year.

That said, this assessment of countries’ performance is anticipated to hold minimal surprises: the prevalent understanding is that we have significantly deviated from the intended path to restrict global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius as per the Paris Agreement‘s objective.

Insufficient measures are in place to tackle the root cause of climate change—greenhouse gas emissions. At the time of writing, countries are currently unable to come to a consensus over whether or not to phase out or phase down fossil fuels.

Moreover, inadequate preparations are being made to address the existing and projected exacerbation of climate change impacts, already evident and anticipated to escalate further in the future.

Adaptation needs more attention

I personally know what it feels like to be the middle child. Spoken over during family dinner and given little to no attention. And while that’s a discussion for another meeting with my therapist, I sympathise with adaptation.

Although the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) holds immense significance within the Paris Agreement, directing global efforts towards bolstering adaptability, fortifying resilience, and lessening susceptibility to climate change — all while striving to cap the global temperature increase as near as feasible to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, it’s been given nowhere near the attention of this COP’s star child — the Loss and Damage Fund — which has been celebrated for its achievement, countries pledging approximately USD 750 million at this point.

Now, after being almost completely ignored for most of the summit, on the penultimate day of the COP, a new text on the GGA was released. But it is weak.

It is a convergence text where the parties found some balance and agreement, but does it do anything to adequately support climate-vulnerable countries?

A win is not always a win?

Responding to the new draft text of the GGA, Sandeep Chamling Rai, World Wildlife Fund senior advisor, Global Climate Adaptation Policy, said: “The Global Goal on Adaptation latest draft is still missing some crucial elements, despite some improvements. Vulnerable communities desperately need more finance to build resilience to the impacts of the climate crisis. However, the text only reiterates the longstanding call for developed countries to double adaptation finance without providing a clear roadmap to deliver it.”

As Simon Steill, executive secretary of the UNFCCC, has stated, the COP28 must deliver a big switch, not just in what governments must do, but also in how to get the job done.

However, there is a significant lack of emphasis on the Means of Implementation (MoI) necessary for the framework's effective implementation. The absence of concrete targets and MoI might jeopardise the framework's efficacy.

To achieve a credible outcome, negotiators must agree on an overall finance target for adaptation and how developed countries can meet their previous commitments to double climate adaptation finance.

So, as the middle child, adaptation has basically received a plate of food, after all the other siblings have already eaten. Meanwhile, it has not been asked about its favourite cuisine or if it wanted extra sauce.

Island nations again, are left in rising waters.

Watery language while floods intensify

During Sunday’s majlis, Al Jaber stated, “At no circumstance will we accept watering down against any pillar. The GST must be the most pragmatic and most real response. The world is watching; we do not have time to wait.”

However, the drama has increased here in Dubai. At approximately 5:00 p.m. on December 11, a new GST text was released. And island nations are far from happy about it.

As it was unfolding, I was in the middle of a policy briefing session at the Children and Youth Pavillion, and as I read the text along with my colleagues, we all felt the depression grow.

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), which represents the negotiating interests of SIDS, has stated that it is “gearing up for battle,” in response to the watered-down language on fossil fuels and the lack of ambition on climate adaptation.

Fossil fuel phase-out is gone, and the narrative is now framed by “actions that could include.”

Further weakening the text is language that “encourages” Nationally Determined Contributions and “invites … activities” with a “view to enhancing action.”

It all seems very much like a suggestion rather than determined and strong climate action.

According to Joseph Sikulu, Pacific managing director at 350.org, in a media huddle post-text-drop, the language is “unacceptable and far below the ambition required to keep our islands afloat.”

“This week, we felt that the goal of phasing out fossil fuels was within reach, but the lack of climate leadership shown by the presidency, and the blatant watering down of commitments to a ‘wish list’ is an insult to those of us that came here to fight for our survival. How do we go home and tell our people that this is what the world has to say about our futures?” Sikulu stated. 

On adaptation, the new text “calls on” parties to publish plans by 2025, and “invites” and “urges” scaling up of climate finance.

This is not what island nations came here for.

“We will be sticking to our guns on our long-held positions on climate change and the deadly consequences that it has brought our islands. At this hour, our negotiators are locked in discussions as the remaining hours of COP28 will be crucial,” AOSIS has declared.

The new text does not do enough to keep our islands above water.

This truly brings into question the leadership on the presidency's part and whether SIDS voices are genuinely being heard at this year's negotiations.

Red lines have been drawn

For AOSIS, the red line is “a strong commitment to keeping the 1.5c warming limit,” because “any text that compromises 1.5 will be rejected.”

“We will not sign our death certificate. We cannot sign on to text that does not have strong commitments on phasing out fossil fuels,” the negotiating block stated.

As a matter of fact, failure to meet ambitious mitigation objectives that rely on equitable transitions and sufficient support, lack of possible avenues to bridge the adaptation gap, and failure to ramp up ambition, will not lead to a strong COP28 outcome.

What's next?

Expect to see political dynamics swiftly evolve during the final stages of COP, leaving room for unexpected developments. The forthcoming next couple of hours will challenge the resolve of these leaders, whose roles are pivotal in tipping the scales in favour of ambition and steering away from the risk of a compromised outcome based on the lowest common denominator.

The COP28 president reiterated a commitment to transparency and honesty during the majlis, recognising the criticality of this stance as the endgame of COP28. However, based on the sentiments in the islands’ camp, it seems developed countries are playing games on priority tracks, instead of delivering a game-changing outcome.

Written by Dizzanne Billy

The aim is to have the decision fully implemented by March 30, 2024

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image created using Canva Pro elements.

From July 3-5, regional leaders met in Port of Spain, Trinidad, for the 45th Regular Meeting of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government. The occasion also marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas on July 4, 1973, which established the regional body with signatories that were limited to Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. Since then, CARICOM has evolved into a diverse political and economic grouping of 15 member states (which include French-speaking Haiti and Dutch-speaking Suriname) and five associate member states.

In the lead-up to independence from Britain, the idea of a West Indian Federation was short-lived, but at the opening of this year's meeting, Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister, Keith Rowley, said that the regional integration movement had not only survived but also “thrived, expanded and flourished.”

It is a view that was echoed by Antigua-Barbudan diplomat Sir Ronald Sanders, who believes that for all its shortcomings with regard to the “deep and meaningful integration that was envisioned […] the fact that CARICOM’s framework continues to exist is a testament to the enduring belief in the benefits of regional integration.”

This is not to say that CARICOM's failings have not had their price. There has been criticism that the bloc has not been outspoken enough when it comes to the challenges facing Haiti, and limited integration has weakened its influence when it comes to applying the requisite pressure regarding issues like the climate crisis, violent crime, and access to development funding, despite UN Secretary-General António Guterres praising CARICOM's economic and social development and progress in combating the infiltration of illegal drugs and arms, among other things.

Attendees also focused on the regional coordination needed ahead of COP28 and regional food security, with ongoing efforts to reduce food imports by 25 percent by 2025.

The most progressive decision to come out of the meeting, however, was free movement for all Caribbean people within the region. The current chair of CARICOM and Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit explained:

We believe that this is a fundamental part of the integration architecture, and at 50, we could not leave Trinidad and Tobago and not speak about the core of the regional integration movement — that is, people’s ability to move freely within the Caribbean Community. [W]e hope to see that it is implemented by March 30, 2024.

This new measure — which does not extend to Haiti, given the country's current sociopolitical crisis — goes well beyond the current arrangement that allows for the free movement of agreed categories of skilled nationals under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.

Skerrit added:

I believe the founding fathers are smiling from heaven that the present generation of leaders were bold enough to be able to arrive at the decision going forward.

CARICOM also plans to institute contingent rights that include education, access to primary and emergency health care, and affordable intra-regional travel, which has been a real obstacle in terms of the regional community being able to support neighbouring economies.

Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, who holds responsibility for the CSME, noted that the measure embodies what “every Caribbean citizen has wanted since we’ve had control of our destiny”:

This is what ordinary people want […]in a Region that is under-populated [and] facing the most difficult crises — from climate, to recovery from pandemic, to debt, to all kinds of other problems — if ever there was a time that we need to come together as one, it is now.

Facebook user Alista Bishop summed up the predominant reaction of Caribbean nationals in one word:

Finally!

Some, however, had their reservations. One concern was that oil-rich countries like Guyana will be inundated with people from other regional territories. One netizen, in asking whether or not the move would allow people to change their residency and citizenship status, wondered whether CARICOM could be “setting the stage for voter padding.” There is no current evidence to suggest that the free movement of Caribbean nationals within the region will have any impact on citizenship, which is a separate process altogether.

From Anguilla, Bernard Wattley felt that the decision required a consultative process:

To my mind, widespread consultation needs to precede major decisions that will impact the people, same for individual member countries. Leaders must not attempt to make decisions on their own, regardless of how good these decisions appear to be. […] How I wish CARICOM could move on from being a regional talk shop to more meaningful engagement with the people of the region.

Ella Drummond-Hoyos, while acknowledging that “progress has been made” during the 50 years of CARICOM's existence, noted that the people of the region feel it is not enough:

For while the people have forced the boundaries and forged an integration movement, the formal regional mechanisms always seem to be playing catchup!

Columnist Vaneisa Baksh, writing at Wired 868, took a more conservative view, saying, “Even when you support the idea of Caricom, it is hard to buy in to what it has turned out to be in its 50 years of existence”:

The intervening years have made cynics of most of us who have watched it doddering along—constantly hijacked by egos, inertia and incompetence, to the point where it has become ­synonymous with the underdevelopment of the region.

Of the Port of Spain meeting, Baksh “saw little to convince [her] that the mentalities have sufficiently changed.” Certain aspects of the gathering — the time capsule, the concert, both of which she felt were out of touch — “sent discouraging signals amidst the trumpets of hope”:

This is not the Caribbean we live in, and if this is the outdated version the anniversary planners believe us to still be, then I cannot harbour hope that they can guide us to the future we need.

Part of the solution, she believes, is to engage youth and strive for better communication about what is being done with regard to pressing issues like health, security, and climate finance.

Despite all these hurdles, however, Drummond-Hoyos remains “a believer in Caricom”:

I believe that in my lifetime full integration will be achieved. I believe with access to some reparation funds our leaders will be finally able to assure affordable and hassle free regional travel; easy movement of cargo; a single currency to support the the single market and economy; accelerated paths and opportunities for regional exports; a fortified a more integrated UWI; world leading regional Climate Change Centre; proactive Disaster management and Recovery; regional health research and treatment centre; regional public media centre; regional agricultural agency to ensure we keep feeding our people real food from farm to table; regional incubators for sports, performing and visual arts and entrepreneurship. Oh my dreams for our little region are as vivid as ever!

Dreams that may well begin to be realised by the free movement of the people who can bring those dreams to life.

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco

‘I am tired of all this talk, let’s start the action part’

Originally published on Global Voices

Over the past several decades, conservationist Allison Ifield has been on a mission to protect the mangroves of Caye Caulker. Photo by Rachel Wilson, courtesy Cari-Bois Environmental News Network, used with permission.

This story, which was done with the support of the Caribbean Climate Justice Journalism Fellowship, a joint venture between Climate Tracker and Open Society Foundations, was first published on Cari-Bois Environmental News Network. A version of the post appears below as part of a content-sharing agreement.

By Marco Lopez

On the Belizean island of Caye Caulker, Allison Ifield is affectionately called “Mangrove Mama” due to her connection with mangroves and her unrelenting determination to protect them.

Born and raised in Canada, Ifield first visited Caye Caulker in the late 1990s and decided to relocate after developing a love for the area's natural heritage. As she learned more about the island and its mangrove ecosystems, Ifield became interested in not only educating others about them but also in volunteering to upkeep their beauty.

In addition to becoming a tour guide, she would often randomly plant mangrove seedlings wherever she could, and care for them.

While Ifield initially didn’t plan to start a mangrove restoration project, this all changed around 2018 when she saw mangroves on the island, including the ones she planted, being cleared:

We came around the corner one day, and I saw some of the trees that I had planted 15 years before were cut down. I swore, ‘This is it, man, I’m gonna give up tour guiding [and go full time into mangrove restoration].’

Making this decision, Ifield committed to supporting mangrove restoration on the island and got support to start the Caye Caulker Strong Mangrove Project.

Since then, this nature-based solution to protect the island’s mangroves and contribute to its climate resiliency has become a sense of duty to Ifield.

From tour guide to ‘Mangrove Mama’

After seeing the mangroves she planted being indiscriminately cut down, Ifield dedicated herself to their conservation and restoration. Photo by the Belize Mangrove Alliance, courtesy Cari-Bois Environmental News Network, used with permission.

With the assistance of volunteers, Ifield has been able to plant hundreds of mangrove trees thus far on a private portion of beach leased by a resident in Caye Caulker.

As her efforts have increased, news of Ifield’s work has also received more attention and she has seen support for her initiative grow:

In 2020, I got the opportunity with the MAR Alliance and the Denver Foundation to do the Caye Caulker Strong Mangrove Project, which I originated. It was meant to employ people during the COVID-19 pandemic and also work with restoration.

The project has also received support from local businesses.

Through a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund and the PEW Charitable Trusts, Ifield has also served as a facilitator with the responsibility of teaching others the intricate techniques of mangrove planting.

Over the past several years, Caye Caulker has seen an influx of developers who have constructed new resorts and hotels. In some cases, mangroves have been cleared to facilitate these development projects, but because mangroves provide many key ecosystem services, removing them can have ripple effects, making mangrove restoration work pivotal to Caye Caulker’s future. Ifield explained:

We [Caye Caulker] are a high-impact weather event island. We have a lot of rain runoff because no one is collecting rain anymore, so there are no gutter systems, and everyone is cutting down their green, which used to suck up the water.

We’re not only getting rain wash erosion, but we’re also getting high impact wave erosion on the other side because we’ve removed all our mangroves and continue to do it with impunity.

Belize’s mangrove regulations

Members of Caye Caulker Strong during a mangrove planting activity. Photo by Caye Caulker Strong, courtesy Cari-Bois Environmental News Network, used with permission.

In Belize, a landowner must receive a permit from the Forest Department to remove or make any alteration to mangroves.

Landowners are mandated to undergo an application review, cannot remove more than 50 percent of mangroves along the waterfront, and must erect a sign indicating approved mangrove “alteration” or “selective trimming” is in progress.

Nadia Bood, Belize’s Senior Program Officer at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said that these regulations aren’t effectively enforced:

Much more can be done. The Forest Department has been issuing permits for mangrove clearance, but there are stipulations within the mangrove regulation that the land owner that gets that permit should follow.

For example, if they are given a permit to clear mangroves on a particular piece of land, the mangrove regulations call for that developer to put a 4×4 sign with a waterproof copy of the permit affixed. That will signal to community members, or anybody who may come across a particular clearance of mangrove, to understand whether that developer or that particular landowner has the necessary permit to do the clearance, so something simple as that is not being followed by the developers.

Bood shared that Belize’s Forest Department has said that they “are a little [cash] strapped to be able to monitor and enforce the full breadth of the Belizean Coastal Zone,” which includes Caye Caulker.

While the area enjoys the presence of the Department of Fisheries, there is no on-the-ground representative from the Forestry Department, which Bood considers a disadvantage:

They [Fisheries staff] are out at the reef, there’s no Forestry, there is no man on the street, there is nobody here to give something as reported. The police can stop [the illegal clearing of mangrove] but it’s really difficult, and then it’s difficult to prove.

The Belize Mangrove Alliance, of which Ifield is a member, has begun working with local communities to help ensure that reports from the ground are filtered up to the Forest Department, but Bood explained:

We’re not seeing that happening. The Forest Department says that if they are to effectively penalise a land owner or a land developer for infringing the regulation, they need to have that captured real-time [in order to] to have a successful legal case against them.

So that is a disconnect right now. Something has to be done to strengthen those processes.

The WWF has been working with the Forest Department to create a formalised watchdog system so communities can effectively make reports.

Belize’s mangroves are worth blue carbon credits

Juvenile mangrove planted near cleared wetland in Caye Caulker. Photo by Caye Caulker Strong, courtesy Cari-Bois Environmental News Network, used with permission.

In Belize’s 2021 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), the country outlined its intention to further tap into the blue carbon market to meet its low-carbon development strategy.

A study by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre revealed that mangroves are blue carbon sinks with four to five times the carbon sequestration capacity of tropical forests.

The study’s findings also estimated that Belize’s 58,000 hectares of mangroves store approximately 25.7 million metric tons of carbon which can generate significant blue carbon credits that can yield economic benefits to Belize.

It’s important to note that Belize has signed onto the second largest Blue Bond to date and benefits from a significant national debt restructuring in return for commitments to protect 30 per cent of the country’s marine space.

While Ifield said the country’s commitments and pledges are a good starting point, she is now calling on authorities to prioritise greater action:

If we really are serious about our Blue Bond commitment, there have to be boots on the ground now in Caye Caulker. This needs to turn around seriously, I am tired of this playing around, all this talk, let’s start the action part of the whole thing.

Minerva Gonzalez, an official at the Landscape Restoration Desk, said that the department does not have a physical presence in Caye Caulker, but visits sites considered hotspots. At present, the department does not do measurements and monitoring of small-scale mangrove restoration efforts but Gonzalez said it is something they intend to begin:

Restoration will not happen overnight, so monitoring is key to determining success through mortality and socio-environmental benefits received.

Written by Cari-Bois News

Belize’s embrace of public-private partnerships helps ensure ecological integrity and long-term sustainability

Originally published on Global Voices

Belize's Great Blue Hole; photo via Canva Pro.

This post was first published on Cari-Bois Environmental News Network; an edited version appears below as part of a content-sharing agreement.

By Carolee Chanona

What if a nation's non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community leaders, businesses, and government worked together to conserve protected areas? In Belize, this is more than just a hopeful wish. Since 1984, Belizean stakeholders have worked together to protect the natural environment under an ad hoc agreement known as co-management, and recently, their efforts were further formalised by the government of Belize, under a new Protected Areas Co-management Framework.

In doing so, it was yet another signal of Belize’s embrace of public-private partnerships, which help ensure the ecological integrity and long-term sustainability of the country’s natural environment. As of March 16 this year, a total of 16 of 36 site agreements have been signed and will be managed under the new framework.

To date, almost 40 percent of Belize’s land mass has been protected in some way, and co-management partners have been at the forefront of these efforts.

Though Belize is roughly the same size as the U.S. state of New Jersey, there are 103 protected areas under its vast National Protected Areas System (NPAS). These include forest reserves, nature reserves, national parks, marine reserves, private reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, natural monuments, bird sanctuaries, spawning aggregation reserves, and archaeological reserves.

Belize’s Ministry of Tourism CEO, Nicole Solano, has said that over 60 per cent of all travellers visit at least one protected area while they’re in Belize.

Unlocking ecotourism to fund development

While Belize’s natural assets are a source of pride, they also form a substantial and vital part of the country’s economy.

Tourism contributes to an estimated 45 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), compared to the Caribbean average of 15.2 percent of GDP, and is used as a tool for funding the direct management of these parks, by way of entrance fees and more.

When leaving Belize, each visitor is charged a USD 20 conservation fee as part of the country’s departure tax. The revenue generated from these taxes directly contributes to the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) fund as their primary financing. No less than five percent of all revenues generated for PACT are deposited into an endowment fund.

Over time, PACT evolved from a grant-funding mechanism into Belize’s accredited national implementing entity (NIE) of the Adaptation Fund. PACT is the Caribbean’s second — and Belize’s first — National Direct Access Entity of the Green Climate Fund.

Building capacity, community buy-in, and expanding protection

Belize is home to the Scarlet Macaw; photo via Canva Pro.

As conservation evolves, so do co-managers and their roles. With the need to maintain the integrity of protected areas, co-managers are turning to flexible management practices such as scenario planning and adaptive management.

In addition to implementing regulations, co-management practices also include community welfare, biodiversity research, and the sustainable use of resources. For example, conservation stalwarts like the Belize Audubon Society (BAS) go beyond with their co-management agreements. The BAS has a biodiversity monitoring program in some of Belize’s most topologically biodiverse sites.

Other groups, like the Friends for Conservation and Development, meticulously guard the wilds of the Chiquibul National Park against illegal Scarlet Macaw poachers.

By September 2022 (the end of the Scarlet Macaw nesting season), a total of 24 macaws made it to the wild, thanks to the 13 volunteers assisting in the arduous work and bio-monitoring of the FCD Research Unit.

The success of co-management can be credited to its ability to weave local influence into government-based actions like enforcement, habitat monitoring, education, awareness and community participation.

However, for peak optimisation, the different types of protected areas in Belize are all managed differently. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are managed by the government through the Fisheries Department, while national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are co-managed. Additionally, each protected area has its own regulations which are implemented by the protected area manager.

Belize’s transformation into a conservation giant

Belize boasts the world’s first jaguar sanctuary. Photo via Canva Pro.

On December 1, 2022, the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change, and Disaster Risk Management officially entered into a formal public-private partnership with conservation partners like BAS. The society is Belize’s oldest conservation non-governmental organisation, with seven sites under their protection including the world’s first jaguar sanctuary and renowned Great Blue Hole.

The FCD also entered into a formal partnership. The group is the co-manager of the Chiquibul National Park’s 423,000 acres of tropical forest.

Estimated to be four times the size of Barbados, the park is the largest protected area in Belize, and houses the largest cave system in Central America.

Recently, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and its partners closed a USD 76.5 million deal to protect 236,000 acres of rainforest in northern Belize known as the Belize Maya Forest.

Together with the neighbouring Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area, which TNC helped establish in 1989, the forest will anchor an 11 million-acre network of protected land. The BAS has been working with the communities in the Maya Forest since 1969.

Whether it’s the Maya Mountain Honey Group bee-keeping, or bird guiding inside high-priority Global Important Bird Areas (IBAs), the efforts have focused on building the capacity of local groups. In doing so, it is hoped they can continue to sustainably manage their natural resources and reduce their socio-economic pressures by way of alternative livelihoods.

According to Amanda Burgos-Acosta, executive director of the Belize Audubon Society, “We want to support the people who live in and around the site and embrace their role as responsible stewards. Their buy-in is a critical factor in that balance.”

More than four decades since designating its first protected area under the National Park Systems Act in 1982, Belize continues to make substantial headway in the field of environmental conservation with policies that protect the wealth of the country’s natural assets.

No longer just a gentleman’s agreement, the co-management framework is a validation of the work of stakeholders both within and beyond the boundaries of parks.

Written by Cari-Bois News

Regional journalists can provide a platform for those most affected to demand climate justice

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image created using Canva Pro.

This post was first published on Cari-Bois Environmental News Network (with the support of Climate Tracker and Open Society Foundations‘ Caribbean Climate Justice Journalism Fellowship) as part of a series aimed at giving Caribbean scientists, explorers and nature enthusiasts a platform to express themselves. A version of the article is republished below as part of a content-sharing agreement.

By Ronald Taylor

Tasked with the responsibility of providing information and analysis on current affairs to keep the public informed, media practitioners are commonly called society’s eyes and ears. So, when it comes to the climate crisis, Caribbean journalists have committed to providing adequate coverage of an issue that is intricately linked to the region’s stability and well-being.

As Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the Caribbean is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which include rising sea levels, more frequent and intense tropical cyclones, and prolonged droughts. Despite being one of the world’s regions most vulnerable to climate change, the Caribbean’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is minuscule, putting the region in the position of experiencing the worst impacts of climate change without having caused them.

The predicament has led to growing calls for climate justice, which aims to address the unequal distribution of the costs and benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

For their part, Caribbean journalists are finding it essential to report on these issues, and ensure those who play a greater role in causing climate change are held accountable. Their work also strives to amplify the voices of those most affected, and provide a platform for them to demand climate justice.

According to UNESCO, “three of the media’s traditional roles — informing audiences, acting as watchdogs, and campaigning on social issues — are especially relevant in the context of a changing climate.”

A few regional journalists shared their perspectives on the issue; here are some of the best takeaways:

Guyanese television reporter O’nieka Bacchus. Photo via Cari-Bois Environmental News Network, used with permission.

‘The media controls the narrative’

For more than five years now, Guyanese television reporter O’nielka Bacchus, who also holds a BSc in environmental studies, has been doing stories that show citizens how critical it is for them to be aware of climate change issues: “If people do not understand the value of environmental education, then why would they appreciate it?”

Noting that “The media controls narrative,” she explained: “It can influence people, it can educate people and the more information is put out there, the more people become aware of certain issues.”

One of the most challenging aspects of reporting in Guyana, Bacchus says, is accessing data from both government institutions and private organisations, which can be a setback, especially when doing environmental reporting. While environmental activists are usually available for interviews, balanced reporting also requires current statistics from government organisations.

Journalists must ‘connect the dots’

Belizean journalist André Habet. Photo via Cari-Bois Environmental News Network, used with permission.

Belizean journalist André Habet says it's up to journalists to clearly connect the dots of climate change in order for people to understand the scope of the crisis.

Noting that issues around climate change are often difficult for people who are not already involved in environmental work to understand, he believes journalists must “clarify those connections and demonstrate how enmeshed people and the environment are, especially in the case of stories on pro-capital projects that promise to boost economic well-being in exchange for environmental degradation.”

By producing comprehensive stories, Habet added, “Publications and journalists both expand their sense of what a climate justice story is — [it] doesn’t always have to be about a clear battle between communities and governments or corporations, but about more nuanced shifts in communities that may not be perceptible in a singular moment.”

Journalist Elvira Hernandez from the Dominican Republic. Photo via Cari-Bois Environmental News Network, used with permission.

‘Imperative’ to identify those responsible for environmental degradation

Elvira Hernandez, a multimedia journalist from the Dominican Republic, says that when it comes to reporting on the climate crisis, “It is necessary to identify the most felt needs of society,” since climate justice is essential to the critical landscape in which we live.

“It seeks due respect for the rights of environmental activists and redress for the most vulnerable countries for climate wrongs committed by more developed nations,” she says. “It is therefore imperative to address the climate crisis by identifying those responsible for environmental degradation.”

Not enough environmental coverage in the region

Guyanese journalist David Papannah. Photo via Cari-Bois Environmental News Network, used with permission.

Saying “It is not a topic that we as reporters dedicate attention to or focus on,” Guyanese journalist David Papannah believes there is a need for more reporting on climate issues throughout the Caribbean.

In his opinion, environmental reporting has only touched the surface and he would like to see more training opportunities for Caribbean journalists in specialised areas like climate education, suggesting that regional media associations, as well as environmental organisations and line ministries, can play an important role.

Marginalised communities are disproportionately affected

Surinamese journalist Priscilla Misiekaba-Kia. Photo via Cari-Bois Environmental News Network, used with permission.

In describing her experience reporting on climate change, Surinamese journalist Priscilla Misiekaba-Kia notes that “the unequal distribution of climate burdens and resources — within and between countries and social groups — is not easily visible.”

As a result, she thinks it is important to investigate how marginalised communities are often disproportionately affected by natural hazards like pollution and natural disasters. In some cases, there is also the unequal distribution of emergency aid from governments and humanitarian institutions.

In spelling out the disparities of the climate crisis, Misiekaba-Kia says that through reporters using their platforms to share information, marginalised communities can improve their resilience and disaster preparedness: “[Journalists] should explain [that] the climate crisis is urgent and requires immediate action. We should also bring a diversity of perspectives and voices to the conversation around climate change. They help give a boost to the voices of those who are most affected by climate change, including Indigenous communities and marginalised groups.”

Written by Cari-Bois News

‘Talk is, indeed, very cheap’

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image via Canva Pro.

Following the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III was installed as Britain's new monarch on May 6, 2023. While some international media organisations were calling the event a “once-in-a-generation ceremony,” it was just another day in the Caribbean, a region that has long struggled with the UK's legacy of colonisation and the lingering effects of the transatlantic slave trade.

This is not to say that the Caribbean and other members of the Commonwealth were not represented at the coronation. Despite Barbados becoming a republic in 2021 and Jamaica making similar noises post the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's fraught 2022 regional tour, a sizeable contingent of Caribbean leaders was in attendance, from Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Guyana, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Regional troops played an active role in the ceremony, as did three women with Caribbean roots: former children’s television presenter Baroness Floella Benjamin, who has Trinidadian roots and chaired the Windrush Commemoration Committee, carried the new king's sceptre; Guyana-born Baroness Valerie Amos, the first Black woman to serve as a Cabinet minister, joined the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Act of Recognition at the start of the coronation ceremony; and Reverend Prebendary Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the Bishop of Dover who originally hails from Jamaica, presented the Queen Consort’s rod.

In light of the UK's past responses to the issue of reparations, however, such attempts at diversity rang hollow for many Caribbean citizens. Britain has never apologised for its role in the slave trade.

A few key regional heads of government, most notably prime ministers Keith Rowley (Trinidad and Tobago), Andrew Holness (Jamaica) and Mia Mottley (Barbados), did not attend the coronation. Despite Prime Minister Mottley, who is known to have a good relationship with the king, sending a message of congratulations, this Twitter user shared a UK Guardian opinion piece that suggested:

Barbados won’t be toasting Charles’s coronation – we’re still celebrating being rid of the monarchy https://t.co/PKh60mBLdr@miaamormottley for the WIN , @AndrewHolnessJM must follow @KateElizabethE4 @BeeNubian @OfficialJoyous @ligabowebster @Hackney50David @BBlakeHannah

— Truthoverdishonesty (@Nigelj08223326) May 6, 2023

Clips of an ITV interview with Barbara Blake-Hannah, a specialist on Jamaican culture, literature and society, also made their way onto Twitter:

“We were really disappointed to learn that the idea of having a member of their family of the same racial mixture as ourselves wasn’t a nice thing…If they didn’t like to have 1 of us in their family…it was a great indication to us that we’re not part of that family” #Coronation pic.twitter.com/aRqYtTyKKI

— R.S. Locke / Royal Suitor (@royal_suitor) May 4, 2023

In the clip, Blake-Hannah refers to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's revelation in a 2021 interview with U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey that a member of the royal family expressed interest in the potential skin colour of their then-unborn son, Archie. Blake-Hannah noted, “It stunned us. Still does.”

Meanwhile, Jamaica's Minister for Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Marlene Malahoo-Forte, told Sky News that “the time has come” for Jamaica to be “in Jamaican hands”:

A senior Jamaican government minister tells Sky News that The King's coronation has accelerated the country's plans to become a Republic.

Marlene Malahoo Forte says Jamaica could hold a vote on independence as early as 2024

Read more: https://t.co/dyOLX9Wqgx pic.twitter.com/zZ9wyE1UBy

— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 4, 2023

The country is hoping to have a referendum on the matter next year. Belize is also taking action to remove itself from the hold of the British monarchy.

Though the coronation ceremony involved people of colour and made concerted attempts to use language and prayers that focused on inclusivity, the new king failed to directly address reparative justice, or even publicly acknowledge his country’s role in the atrocities against enslaved Africans and Indigenous communities, in spite of heightened public awareness of the issue and activists’ agitation for amends to be made.

Once abolition was declared in 1834, the British government financially compensated former slaveowners for the loss of their labour force, while the newly “freed” enslaved people received nothing, with many even having to continue labouring for years with no pay under an “apprenticeship” programme.

For many Caribbean citizens, the coronation of a new monarch is an opportunity to do things differently. In a piece published at Open Democracy, Jamaican educator and author Carolyn Joy Cooper wrote:

As Jamaica slowly engages in the process of becoming a republic, the British monarchy is being held to account for centuries of atrocities. The research has been done and the evidence is indisputable: successive kings and queens of England were engaged in the trafficking of enslaved Africans for 270 years.

The new king's first tenuous steps to investigate the British monarchy's ties to slavery via a research project left Cooper unimpressed:

What is there to reconsider? The case is closed. One of the deadly enterprises in which the Crown was engaged was human trafficking. This ‘engagement’ cannot be reconceptualised in any other terms than as a classic manifestation of royal entitlement to brutality.

Noting that the CARICOM Reparations Commission has a clear, 10-point plan for reparations, Cooper concluded:

King Charles’ ‘explicit support’ for research on ‘the links between the British monarchy and the transatlantic slave trade’ may prove to be just as flaccid as his repeated declaration of ‘profound sorrow’ for the trafficking in Africans that was enabled by the monarchy. Talk is, indeed, very cheap. Further research is nothing but impotent deferral of vigorous action. King Charles must translate the rhetoric of sorrow into the truly meaningful language of immediate reparations.

On May 4, two days ahead of King Charles’ coronation, representatives from advocacy and Indigenous groups from as many as 12 Commonwealth countries made a joint statement calling for King Charles to formally apologise for slavery and start the reparations process in order to right the wrongs of colonisation:

JUST IN: representatives from 12 Commonwealth countries come together to call for King Charles to formally apologise for slavery and start the process for reparations. This comes ahead of the King's coronation on Saturday May 06. pic.twitter.com/ND30OVH2vV

— Camille Williams⁷ (@camillenewsgirl) May 3, 2023

The next move belongs to the king.

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco

‘More coral equals more fish…it’s amazing how much of a difference you can make’

Originally published on Global Voices

A fish darts among the coral on Belize's Barrier Reef. Photo by David Petit on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

This article, written by Carolee Chanona, was first published on Cari-Bois Environmental News Network and an edited version is republished here under a content-sharing agreement.

Science tells us that carbon sinks determine the quality of our very existence, and yet, the average Belizean might struggle to identify one. This will have to change if Belizeans want to keep telling a victorious story about the Belize Barrier Reef.

Leveraging blue carbon, held in the ocean, coastal wetlands, and seagrass beds and their sediments, which surpass the planet’s forests in the rate of sequestration, will require ambitious, conservation-forward policies to maintain and restore coastal and marine ecosystems in order to mitigate the crippling effects of the climate crisis. For such policies to be realised, however, Belizeans will need to lead the change.

The need for big ambitions

Of the Caribbean Community's (CARICOM) continental countries, Belize is in the Mesoamerica biodiversity hotspot. To protect big biodiversity, a nation like Belize also needs big ambitions, especially when it comes to tackling behemoths like the disproportionally-felt effects of environmental debts from a changing climate. There have already been innovative strides. Strategies to conserve its dazzling terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity are nothing new for Belize, which was the first to designate a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Central America with Half Moon Caye Natural Monument in 1982 — Belize’s first protected area.

Endowed with three of the western hemisphere’s four atolls and the second-largest continuous coral reef in the world, it’s no wonder that Charles Darwin himself described the Belize Barrier Reef as “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies” more than 180 years ago. Besides the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System’s (BBRRS) inherent beauty, coral reefs are important for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and coastal states like Belize. Over 400 coral and mangrove islands dot the country's 240-mile coastline, some inhabited, some not. Nearly half of the country’s population lives in coastal communities, which rely on marine ecosystems for income, food, and flood protection. Tourism accounts for close to 45 percent of Belize’s economy, and a quarter of that is estimated to depend on coral reefs alone.

This is why, in December 2017, Belize became the first country to reject all offshore oil, after years-long opposition with a landmark indefinite moratorium. Belize’s blue bonds also represent the world’s largest debt restructuring for marine conservation to date, totalling a USD 364 million debt conversion that reduced the country’s debt by 12 percent of GDP, with long-term sustainable financing for conservation. In exchange, Belize committed to protecting at least 30 percent of its marine territory by 2026, an upgrade from its current 15.9 percent. It signed the swap with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in November 2021, with an endowment fund of USD 23.5 million, effective after 2040 to finance conservation.

The weight of stewardship

Although a portion of the Belize Barrier Reef was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, with seven Marine Protected Areas comprising this reserve system, one section was placed on the In Danger list for almost a decade after threats of irreversible damage from negative coastal development and oil exploration, as well as the absence of a solid regulatory framework. It was only after June 2018, when the Belize government enacted regulations critical to protecting the country’s mangroves and committed to legislating the current voluntary moratorium on selling public lands within the World Heritage site, that the BBRRS was removed from this list.

On November 17, 2022, after the government confirmed intentions to conduct seismic surveys, Oceana Belize — a founding member of the Coalition to Save Our National Heritage that lobbied for the ban in the first place — began collecting signatures to trigger a national referendum to decide if the offshore oil moratorium should be lifted. Despite Belize's strides, this situation underscored the perspective that one decision could impact the country's collective future, and that people power is often the only way to hold policymakers accountable.

Lessons from the past

In 2020, ahead of TNC’s blue bonds, Belize’s public debt had reached USD 1.5 billion. There is much at stake, and the cost is Belizeans’ way of life.

The situation ultimately boils down to enforcing environmental laws, expanding protected areas and their (co)management reach, and sourcing “green” funding to ensure this. With Belize acutely exposed to rising sea levels, however, the clock is already ticking. Weakened by coastal urbanisation and economic activities, anything except climate-forward policies put Belize's coastal protection, food, recreation, and carbon sequestration at risk, with further potential jeopardisation of the resilience, adaptive capacity, and biodiversity of the Belize Barrier Reef.

In April 2020, the Statistical Institute of Belize’s (SIB) External Trade Bulletin noted that the country had earned over USD 40 million in exports of nature-based goods and services for the month, with marine products accounting for USD 1.2 million.

What's at stake

Seagrass beds and mangroves are usually the first ecosystems to go in the name of development, but if the environment isn't prioritised, development won’t last. As dense aerial root systems, mangroves form a strong yet permeable barrier to waves and currents, lining coastlines to protect against erosion and climate change. Per acre, mangroves store three to five times more carbon in their soil than other tropical forests. It’s estimated that half the world’s mangroves have been lost in the past 50 years, yet, according to Dr. Leandra Cho-Ricketts, a Belizean marine ecologist and co-founder of the University of Belize Environmental Research Institute (UB-ERI), Belize still retains a large proportion of its mangrove cover when compared with its regional neighbours.

Part of Dr. Cho-Ricketts’ research within the coastal resilience programme consists of quantifying the carbon value of mangroves in Belize: “As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, Belize can include the protection of mangroves in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).”

Meters beyond the algae, sponges, and sea anemones that envelop mangroves’ stilt roots, however, there’s another story at hand.

A study chronicling over 20 years of change in the benthic communities across the Barrier Reef was published in January 2022, and the decline is stark: reef-building coral cover shrank from 13 percent to just 2 percent. Disease, storms, ocean warming, and pollution have caused the mass mortality of reef-building corals across the Caribbean over the last four decades, making investment in exhaustive and aggressive mitigation critical.

Fragments of Hope (FOH), a non-profit, community-based conservation model, transplanted fragments of Caribbean acroporids following Hurricane Iris in 2001, and persevered with the pioneering coral transplant project. Now, the Laughing Bird Caye National Park, one of seven protected areas within Belize’s UNESCO-attested World Heritage Site of the BBRRS, has 60 percent coral coverage, higher than the coverage before Iris, and growing. “More coral equals more fish,” says Lisa Carne, FOH’s founder and lead scientist. “And it’s amazing how much of a difference you can make […] we now have tour guides who can go out and show their guests a coral reef ecosystem, not just rubble.”

Belize may well be poised to show the world that hope lies within.

Written by Cari-Bois News

The short answer? Yes and no.

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image created using Canva Pro elements.

Have LGBTQ+ rights advanced in the Caribbean this year? Has the situation changed significantly since 2016, when Belizean gay rights activist Caleb Orozco won his legal challenge to a section of his country's Criminal Code? Well, yes and no.

In a landmark judgement on December 12, 2022, the Supreme Court of Barbados issued an oral ruling that struck down colonial-era laws criminalising consensual same-sex relations. The Court deemed Sections 9 and 12 of the Sexual Offences Act, which criminalise buggery and serious indecency, null and void on the basis of unconstitutionality. The case was filed against the Barbadian government by two local LGBTQ+ advocates, supported by regional non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

It is not clear at this time whether the government will appeal. In one report, the country's attorney general, Dale Marshall, appeared to have some concerns, but observed that he will make a decision once the written judgement is handed down in January.

The Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE) reported:

Barbados the Republic repeals buggery and gross indecency laws, confirming its commitment to upholding human rights for all… (1 of 2)
.#LGBTlitigationBarbados#barbadosbuggeryjudgment#barbadosgrossindecencyjudgment#Barbadosjudgment #CaribbeanLGBTQ pic.twitter.com/4FHBhz21y9

— ECADE (@EC_Equality) December 12, 2022

One of the claimants recognised the years of persistent campaigning that had led to this:

Repeal of the buggery law is a huge win for Barbados, says claimant René Holder-Mclean Ramirez, former Chair of ECADE and Director of Equals.
.
.#LGBTlitigationBarbados #Barbadosjudgement #barbados #lgbthumanrights #lgbtqhumanrights #lgbtlitigation #caribbeanlgbtq pic.twitter.com/RR9Xd8mJxy

— ECADE (@EC_Equality) December 15, 2022

A representative of the NGO Equals Barbados, which helps the LGBTQ+ community access services, welcomed the ruling:

This is a step in the right direction for the protection of LGBTQ+ people in Barbados as we continue to ensure stigma-free access to services and positive inclusion in society.

This is not the first such ruling in the Caribbean. In fact, it is the third for 2022. In Antigua and Barbuda, the High Court of Justice struck down legal provisions that criminalised same-sex relations in a landmark ruling on July 5, which declared two Sections of the Sexual Offences Act of 1995 unconstitutional. In St. Kitts and Nevis, the High Court ruled on August 29, that laws criminalising gay sex are unconstitutional, upholding the plaintiffs’ claim that Sections 56 and 57 of the Offences Against the Person Act violated the right to privacy and freedom of expression.

However, in two Caribbean countries that are British protected territories, there has been some confusion — and even legal reversals — over LGBTQ+ rights this year. In Bermuda, on March 14, the UK-based Privy Council determined that Section 53 of the Domestic Partnership Act (DPA), which confined the concept of marriage to a union between a man and a woman, was not unconstitutional. An appeals court had upheld the right of same-sex couples to marry, handing down its ruling in November 2018.

The Bermudan government challenged the ruling and the law (in the form of the Domestic Partnership Act). Couples who had married before the March decision were assured that their marriages would remain valid. Nevertheless, consensual sexual conduct in private was legalised in Bermuda in 1994. A provision in the Criminal Code regarding gross indecency between men was repealed in 2019.

In the Cayman Islands, the UK Privy Council handed down a similar ruling on marriage equality, although consensual sex is also legal there. Billie Bryan, founder and president of Colours Cayman, a nonprofit advocacy group for the LGBTQ+ community, told the Associated Press:

The Privy Council has done nothing more, by its decision, than reassert the oppressive political environment of yesteryear.

From his Jamaican perspective, Dane Lewis, director of the regional NGO Caribbean Forum for Liberation & Acceptance of Genders & Sexualities (CARIFLAGS), told Global Voices:

We have seen a general shift in attitudes for the better but sadly, in the spaces and sectors of society where things have always been bad, they continue to be bad. […] In the past few years, we have had a number of cases of murder. Homophobia and transphobia [have] persons still being made homeless, despite an increase in tolerance in the wider society. This is a huge challenge, as the state does not have resources to offer shelter to everyone.

In Jamaica, while attitudes may be changing, there have been no legal challenges this year to its archaic anti-sodomy laws, which remain on the books despite a 2020 report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights calling for the repeal of the island's Offences Against the Persons Act. The Jamaican government has not yet responded.

One African-American queer blogger who regularly visits the island and interacts with LGBTQ+ Jamaicans believes religious influence is to blame:

I look at it as the Jamaican version of ‘post-traumatic slave syndrome,’ and the continuation of the mental slavery of Christianity brought to Jamaica by the British colonizers and continued by white American Christian evangelicals.

Back in April 2018, there were joyful celebrations outside the High Court in Port of Spain, Trinidad, when a judge declared that the court had found Sections 13 and 16 of the country's Sexual Offences Act “unconstitutional, illegal, null, void, invalid and […] of no effect to the extent that these laws criminalise any acts constituting consensual sexual conduct between adults.” However, gay rights activist Jason Jones, the claimant in the case, confirmed recently:

The Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago has appealed the decriminalisation victory of 2018. That appeal will be heard at the T&T Appeal Court in the first quarter of 2023. Both myself and the Attorney General have made it clear that whoever loses that Appeal will then appeal to the Privy Council in London for a final Supreme Court decision on the matter.

In Guyana, meanwhile, it appears the winds of change are beginning to blow, with an announcement in August that one district — through an agreement between a local tourism office and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) — is being promoted as a LGBTQ+ friendly destination. A survey conducted by SASOD in September suggested that the attitudes of the general public are ahead of those of lawmakers, who are more reluctant to change. According to a SASOD representative:

[T]he politicians are telling us that society isn’t ready for certain legal changes and society isn’t ready for policy changes and now, what this data is showing us, is that society is more than ready and society is ahead of the curve.

In the interim, the Barbados decision is being widely celebrated. CARIFLAGS posted on its Facebook page:

In another landmark judgement within the region, the courts of Barbados have ruled in favour of human rights and dignity for all by repealing the buggery and indecency laws. This ruling follows a series of similar judgments indicating a commitment by the courts to the protection and rights of LGBT+ folk in the Caribbean, consistent with constitutional doctrine, International Human Rights law and the age-old outcries by advocates and allies alike. […]

CariFLAGS applauds […] this milestone and appreciates very much the people, efforts and contributions that ensured this manifestation of justice. […]

A win for Barbados, is a win for all.

As Trinidadian journalist Wesley Gibbings tweeted, the positive developments should ultimately benefit all Caribbean citizens, and the society they live in:

Why is the decriminalising of private, consensual same-sex activity being viewed solely as a victory for the LGBT community? I hope all of #Barbados and the #Caribbean hail it as the triumph of the universality of human rights and of common sense.

— Wesley Gibbings (@wgibbings) December 14, 2022

Altogether, it has been an interesting year for LGBTQ+ rights in the Caribbean, but there is still much work to be done by local activists and, quite likely, more legal battles to come. Not as clear is whether citizens’ attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community have fundamentally changed — it is a matter still to be determined, perhaps on a country-by-country basis.

Written by Emma Lewis