#Providenciales, November 1, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – PThe Premier Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson signed a Declaration on Ocean during the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) Association’s Conference on Oceans held in Brussels, Belgium on the 16 – 17 October 2019. Turks and Caicos Islands made representation at the Conference with the ceremonial signing of the OCT Declaration on Ocean as part of the two-day event.
The
Overseas Countries and Territories associated with the European Union are
largely oceanic territories. Their existence and their survival are inseparably
linked to Oceans for food, livelihoods, water, oxygen, climate, socio-economic
growth, culture and tourism. The Turks and Caicos Islands depends very heavily
on Oceans for similar reasons; sourcing food, jobs for locals and largely as an
attraction to millions of visitors to the Islands per year. To ensure that
TCI’s Oceans are protected, maintained and ensure the collection of data to
assist with sustainability research and conservation efforts, the Declaration
was signed.
The OCT
Declaration on Ocean which aims to promote sustainable natural resources,
conservation of biodiversity and management of oceans was developed with four
(4) main objectives: –
1) To conserve and
sustainably use the environmental value of Oceans
2) Foster the economic
value of Oceans and support a sustainable Blue Economy
3) Stimulate the social
value of Oceans
4) Develop regional,
European, global and inter-OCTs collaboration, with the support of
Member-States having a link with OCTs to:
a) take a harmonised
regional and territorial approach to improve the maritime monitoring (illegal
fishing, pollutants, etc) using common protocols and shared technology while
recognising the differences between the OCT’s marine areas;
b) Cooperate between
OCTs in marine research and innovation;
c) Promte human and
institutional capacity to advance ocean governance and management by OCTs;
d) Capitalise effors by
a coordinated involvement in international fora and act as embassador for
Oceans;
e) Optimise the use of
available EU funding, with a particular view on new opportunities that will be
available in the EU programme post 2020 which are of interest of Oceans and
OCTs;
f) Keep abreast with
European policy developments when appropriate, with a view of getting involved
in future initiatives for Oceans.
With growing human populations
and activities, Oceans are suffering from pollution, overexploitation, coastal
degradation and the effects of climate change. Warmer seas temperatues,
increased intensity of storms, rising sea levels, loss of biodiversity, coral
bleaching, ocean acidification and significant increased pollution by plastics
are all major issues threathening the sustinability of our Oceans and can have
an impact on human health.
The Turks and Caicos Islands
increasingly moving toward a greener more environmentally conscious lifestyle,
through its enacted Ban on single use plastics and the impending ban on the
importation of polystyrenes along with noteworthy investment in research and
data collection by TCIG to properly manage and govern the use of our marine
environment and the protection of our coast lines has been a heavy focus for
TCI Government.
The signing of this Declaration
ensures that TCI remains compliant with international conservation standards
and best pratices and that the country has access to the most recent data and
technologies in the region that can inform and boost the sustainable use of our
natural resources.
More than 15 OCTs signed the
OCT Declaration on Ocean, the Turks and Caicos Islands included. The Overseas
Countries and Territories Association (OCTA) with the support of the European
Commission, organised the Conference on Oceans chaired by Prime Minister of
Curaçao, M. Rhuggenaath. Panellists included four Members of the European
Parliament, representatives of several Directorates General of the European
Commission, representatives of the Member States to which OCTs are associated
and political delegations from 21 OCTs.
The OCTAssociation is a non-profit organization operating out of Belgium and has 22 members – including inhabited OCTs and TAAF (French Southern and Atlantic Lands). Its highest decision-making authority is the Ministerial Conference which consists of the representatives (Political Heads of Government or delegates) of each member Government.