BACKGROUND Programme Title: The CARICOM Programme on Strengthening Capacity in the Compilation of Social/Gender and Environment Statistics and Indicators in the CARICOM Region;

Background to the Development of Environmental Statistics and Indicators in CARICOM Prepared by CARICOM Secretariat CARICOM Workshop on Environmental Statistics, 7-8 April 2014, Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines

CONTENT Background – the UNSD/CARICOM Project; 2. CARICOM Programme; Current Focus.

UNSD/CARICOM Project Strengthening Capacity in the Compilation of Statistics and Indicators for Conference Follow-up in the CARICOM Region; Rationale: Statistics as an important tool in Policy-making; Assessing the current status; Setting targets and objectives for the future; Assessing the implementation of goals

UNSD/CARICOM Project Conferences included: 1992-UN Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Agenda 21-POA; 1994-UN Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS); 2002-World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa.

UNSD/CARICOM Project Overall Objective: To strengthen intra-regional cooperation among national statistical systems; Developing a critical mass of statisticians.

UNSD/CARICOM Project Specific Objectives included: Reinforcing of South/South networks and creating opportunities for experts to learn from their peers; Improve the ability for national institutions to produce relevant statistics;

UNSD/CARICOM Project Specific Objectives included (continued): Strengthen Regional Capabilities to produce analytical reports ; Ensure capability to share information and results between users and producers;

UNSD/CARICOM Project Activities (Environment Comp): Needs assessment conducted in countries in 1999; Commencement workshop in 2000 in Belize; Compilation of Statistics and Indicators by countries for production of a regional publication;

UNSD/CARICOM Project Activities (Environment Comp): IT Support- provision of equipment and technical assistance/workshops; Mini-workshop in environment statistics; Expert Group meeting to review regional publication;

UNSD/CARICOM Project Outputs included: Trained personnel; Regional Publication: The CARICOM Environment in Figures 2002; Increased inter-agency collaboration at the national level; National level compendia; Advisory Group – CARICOM Programme development

CARICOM PROGRAMME Objective: To institutionalise the production of Social/Gender and Environment Statistics in the National Statistical Systems in order to inform policy formulation, that can improve the conditions of men and women and enable sustainable development in the Region.

CARICOM PROGRAMME Attempt at Sustainability: To build capacity required a phased and focused programme- prepared in 2004; Reviewed the UNSD/CARICOM project; Established of Routines for Data Compilation and the publication of Regional Reports; Encouraged continuity with respect to inter-agency collaboration- nationally and regionally; Sought donor-funding/technical assistance.

CARICOM PROGRAMME Activities/Results: Funded Attachments to assist countries- Jamaica, Belize and Suriname providing assistance; Convened three training workshops 2005-The Bahamas, 2009 – Antigua and Barbuda, 2010 – Suriname, St. Kitts and Nevis 2011; Compiled two additional regional publications -2004 and 2009 –third regional publication recently disseminated; Continuity with respect to inter-agency collaboration- nationally and regionally

CURRENT FOCUS Third Phase of Capacity Building; Continued support from the UNSD and from the European Union; Developed Caribbean Specific Indicators to monitor the Millennium Development Goals-CSMDGS; Counting on support of countries to regularise the production of these indicators and countries were encouraged to disseminate these statistics to their policy makers in compendia/other publications.

CURRENT FOCUS Strengthened capacity: Biodiversity (including Coastal & marine resources, etc) under a sub-component of European Commission funded Capacity Building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) in selected countries - Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and Jamaica in November 2012 Plans to replicate of this approach in other areas e.g. Environmental Health Tourism; (iii) Water, Air and Waste; (v) Energy and Minerals; and (vi) Natural Disasters .

CURRENT FOCUS Strengthening capacity: CARICOM Environment Workshop focusing on specific areas of Land Use, Air, Waste and Water supported by 10th EDF; Limited funds for in-country support under the Tenth EDF and countries can submit plans for these visits; Need to take into account that the Rio +20 outcomes; International Year of SIDS (2014) and the Post-2015 Development Agenda- all of which require to be informed by robust statistics.

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