NATURAL RESOURCES MINISTER SAYS ECOSYSTEM ACCOUNTING PARTNERSHIP PRODUCING RESULTS

An ecosystem accounting partnership which was formed in 2019 is said to be producing results, with plans in place to publish the 2020 ecosystem accounts with hopes of providing evidence to support environmental and economic management for the Territory.

In an official comment through the Government Information Services Minister for Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration Honourable Vincent Wheatley said, “The 2020 ecosystem accounts continue to build on the information gathered on the 2019 ecosystem accounts on the state of coastal, marine and terrestrial habitats and their direct benefits to several sectors of our economy.”

He added, “It is also crucial that we continue to build our local capacity to engage in ecosystem accounting. Local practitioners have the opportunity to take full advantage of the training that will take place while the team from EFTEC [Economics For The Environment Consultancy Limited] are in the Territory, which will then improve our future capacity to update the national green accounts for the Territory.”

Overall the Minister said that he is pleased that the partnership that was built to protect and preserve the natural resources of the Territory is continuing to produce results.

The account is said to have been developed with financial support from the Darwin Initiative (funded by the UK Government) and delivered through a partnership between EFTEC, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the Ministry of Natural Resources, Labour, and Immigration as a part of the “Caribbean Overseas Territories Regional Natural Capital Accounting Programme”. Support is also provided across five Caribbean Overseas Territories (Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Virgin Islands).