Minister of Tourism Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond said Monday that the preservation of nature is inextricably linked to earth’s survival, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She was at the time addressing the plenary meeting of the resumed Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) held under the theme “Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”, underway in Nairobi, Kenya.
She told the meeting that Guyana is taking ambitious actions, both nationally and internationally, to advance shared environmental goals. She relayed that Guyana in 2021, joined the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature and the Global Oceans Alliance, endorsed the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use at COP26, and is currently expanding the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, “which sets out our vision for development along a low carbon trajectory.”
Minister Walrond also reiterated Guyana’s commitment to safeguarding the planet while promoting prosperity for all people.
The Tourism Minister said biodiversity and climate crises require bold, innovative action to bring about systemic changes to save Planet Earth.
“The triple crises of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, pose serious challenges for the achievement of the majority of the SDGs and their targets, and are particularly impacting on developing countries such as Guyana,” Minister Walrond said.
From Guyana’s standpoint, Minister Walrond noted that several actions are priority. These include advancing efforts to urgently tackle plastic pollution given the devastating impacts of plastics on humans, animals and the environment, improving the sustainability of food consumption and production patterns, in light of the size of the environmental footprint of the agri-food industry, scaling up investment in renewable energy, nature-based solutions, and early-warning systems for natural disasters.
She said there must be greater international cooperation for technology transfer and capacity building for developing countries as well as improved synergies between the 2030 Agenda and the Multilateral Environment Agreements.
