A two-member delegation represented St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the Inaugural Island State Ocean Summit, held in Tokyo, Japan earlier this month.
Minister of Fisheries, Marine and Land Conservation and Climate Resilience, Hon. Conroy Huggins, and Senior Fisheries Officer, Kris Isaacs, attended the event.
The Summit brought together over three hundred (300) attendees from over thirty-five (35) countries, including heads of state from island nations, as well as representatives from the United Nations.
Delegates were involved in discussions on making a global effort to halt the deterioration of the marine environment caused by global warming and marine pollution.
In his presentation, Minister Huggins outlined the importance of the ocean as a foundation to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ economy, food security, culture and identity and advocated for Island Nations to be better stewards of the oceans.
Minister Huggins pointed out that although Saint Vincent and the Grenadines faces compounding challenges due to climate change and recent extreme weather events, “the Government remains committed to working towards climate-resilient, science-based solutions for citizens, not as an aspiration, but as a national and global imperative.”
The summit was convened on June 3rd and 4th by the Nippon Foundation, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Inter-governmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO.
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