Saint Lucia continues efforts to facilitate access to information, justice and public participation in the decision-making process on all environmental matters, by once again placing people at the heart of its discussions.

To this end, the Department of Sustainable Development, on December 4, convened a one-day consultation for all relevant stakeholders at the Bay Gardens Hotel.

The consultation held in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), saw a diverse cadre of persons from the public and private sectors, academia, youth organizations, the National Archives, and other groups concerned with the environment, come together to identify priority actions for the effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement in Saint Lucia.

The Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean more commonly termed “The Escazú Agreement”, was signed by Saint Lucia on September 27, 2018 and ratified two years later, on December 1, 2023.

Since the entry into force of this Agreement on April 22, 2021, a day widely celebrated the world over, as “International Mother Earth Day”, Saint Lucia has been working steadfastly with the ECLAC-Escazú Secretariat based in Santiago, Chile, to put in place at the national level, the various institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks, to ensure its citizens benefit from the protections offered under the provisions of the Agreement.

In so doing, a Roadmap for implementation was embarked upon to charter an organized way forward for the country. With support from Consultant and Attorney-at-Law Danielle Andrade-Goffe, a baseline assessment of all the laws, policies, regulations, plans and strategies pertaining to environmental matters was conducted, followed by a comprehensive mapping of all relevant stakeholders necessary to the implementation process. Further, a governance structure, inter-agency coordination mechanism, as well as an information and participation strategy inclusive of regional cooperation efforts, were developed.

Monday’s Stakeholder Consultation was therefore the final leg to complete this Roadmap, with Saint Lucians making their recommendations as to what actions they felt were most critical to implementation at this time.

The proceedings heard Welcoming Remarks from Deputy Permanent Secretary (Acting) at the Department of Sustainable Development Mr. Jim Xavier, who highlighted that the Government stood ready to abide by the principles of transparency, accountability, equality and non-discrimination espoused by the Agreement, and vowed to “leave no one behind” in the process of implementation.

Mr. David Barrio Lamarche, Legal Officer of the ECLAC-Escazú Secretariat, gave an overview of the Agreement with a focus on regional and national implementation; Mr. Bishnu Tulsie as elected representative of the public, spoke on the public’s participation in the Escazú process; while Legal Officer at the Department of Sustainable Development, Ms. Kate Wilson presented on the national activities and promotion of the Agreement in Saint Lucia. The afternoon session facilitated by the Consultant, saw a presentation on the baseline assessment and group work on the identification of the priority actions.

These recommendations will inform a comprehensive document which will be presented to the Minister for Sustainable Development, the Honorable Shawn Anton Edward for approval and endorsement by his Cabinet of Ministers.

Saint Lucia’s Roadmap will also like that of Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay, be published by ECLAC and tabled at the upcoming Third Conference of Parties (COP3) of the Escazú Agreement, slated for April next year.  

The Escazú Agreement is an environmental and human rights treaty, which aims to protect the rights of every person of present and future generations to a healthy environment and sustainable development, through the provision of access rights to information, justice and public participation.