UN Ocean – Lisbon, Portugal

The Ocean makes up 98% of The Bahamas. For this reason it should be of the utmost priority to ensure that Bahamians are actively involved in all conversations around Ocean Exploration and the development of the Blue Economy. Capacity building and Education for the sustainable blue economy is a pre-request to ensuring that Bahamians have equitably access to entry points within the emerging Ocean economy. 

The exploitation of Deep Sea Resources is an issue of concern for Caribbean Youth. Deep sea ecosystems are not yet well understood and mining results in the loss of vast amounts of underwater biodiversity. YME Bahamas stands in solidarity with the Jamaica Climate Change Youth Council in expressing our concern  on the matter of deep sea mining and the inconclusive impacts it will have on the marine flora and fauna, life on land, and more complex earth system functions such as the carbon cycle. 

The Bahamas Protected Area Fund is a dedicated partner focused on the conservation of biodiversity in The Bahamas. BPAF graciously included YME with their Delegation to the UN Ocean Conference. Small Island Nations must be strategic in our approach to Ocean Conservation. This requires meaningful and equitable partnerships and the courage to push ourselves beyond our comfort zone in visioning what programme development and financial management gets to look like for Ocean Conservation. 

One of the Action items coming out of the PACJA conference in Rwanda was to better understand Ocean health within the 6 regions of the African Union, where the African Diaspora encompasses the 6th region. With this directive it was a priority for YME Bahamas to attend the African Union side event on Shaping a Sustainable Blue Economy in Africa. YME believes that the Knowledge Economy within the blue economy is the most important area to focus on at this current juncture. Investing in human capital will ensure that the technical expertise exist within The Bahamas to enable Bahamians to be at the vanguard of Ocean  exploration, exploitation, and conservation. 

The conversations driving global policy about the Ocean must include youth and  local community members. To ensure that the Ocean resources are equitably accessibly means that financial resources must be invested in capacity building and ocean management. YME Bahamas has been focused on training Certified Community Marine Scientists as a way of leapfrogging Bahamians into the Ocean Economy.

One of the action items for YME that came out of our participation in the  UN Ocean Conference was  1) Aquire a research vessel that will provide a safe and secure environment for ocean exploration up to the boundaries of our Exclusive Economic Zone. We are dreaming about a catamaran like this that would enable us to offer luxury boutique ocean experiences to  tourists visiting Cat Island and ensure that our Community Scientists have access to the ocean for coral reef monitoring and research, studies about marine mammals and research on elasmobranchs like the Oceanic White Tip Shark. If you are interested in investing with us please contact us today.

The UN Ocean Conference provided excellent opportunities to connect with Ocean partners like One Blue Ocean who use the arts and powerful imagery to sensitise and immerse the wider public, who may not have direct access to the ocean, to the magic of the deep blue. Art and photography are powerful tools to support Ocean conservation and awareness and are tools used by YME to tell our Ocean story.  Partnership comes in all different types of relationships. For Caribbean youth attending the UN Ocean conference there were moments of  celebration when we were able to connect in person.

 One of the challenges for youth from island communities is that we are isolated on our respective islands. This makes opportunities to connect and meet in person challenging. There is immense value in connecting with partners in person as these relationships lay the foundation for future collaboration. YME Bahamas was intentional about  connecting with African youth who are leading marine conservation programmes in the African continent. 

Commitments that YME Bahamas has made in alignment with the UN Ocean Decade is to acquire the seed funding needed to upscale the Ocean Research and Conservation work being conducted by the Cat Island Conservation Institute to ensure that there are pots of funding available to young marine scientists from African and the Caribbean to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusive participation in the co-creation of a sustainable blue economy. 

Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance Cop 27 Preparatory Meeting – Kigali, Rwanda

Building on the momentum from COP 26 YME knew that anchoring our Caribbean climate solutions into the conversations taking place in the African continent was extremely important. To facilitate this we attend the CHOGM Climate Justice side event hosted by the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance. This was a strategy session in preparation for COP 27

The rolling hills of Rwanda, their clean city streets and the undertone of peace  was a beautiful reminder of how it is possible to transform our world and achieve our collective global goal of peace and security.

Sixty percent of Africa’s population is comprised of young people. This means that young people must be at the forefront of creating the solutions that will transform the world. Climate Diplomacy is a critically important skill to develop, especially for young people from Small Island Developing States because if we are not present in the rooms where decisions are being made, our needs are overlooked. 

Caribbean youth need increased opportunities to connect with African young people and listen to their challenges and learn about the solutions they are proposing. Caribbean youth and African youth are faced with the challenge of accessing capital that will substantially support their climate solutions. Ensuring equitable access to climate financing and that young people develop the skills or systems to manage large budgets is critical to cultivating environments that foster climate solutions.

UNFCCC – COP 26, Glasgow, Scotland

One of the priorities for YME during COP 26 was to strengthen our connection with Indigenous Knowledge holders. YME participated in the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform where we advocated for the importance of ensuring equitable opportunities for local communities especially those from islands throughout The Caribbean to participate in the UNFCCC processes. 

Working with UNESCO -IHP YME spent much of our time in the Water Pavilion learning about the complex intersections of water scarcity and the climate crisis. The Bahamas being a water scarce country and recovering from the salination caused by the 25 ft Ocean Surge from  Hurricane Dorian highlighted the vulnerability of our island archipelago to climate induced disasters.

The Government of The Bahamas, Bahamas National Trust, and The Nature Conservancy hosted a virtual side event that connected The Bahamian public with the conversations being led by the delegates at the Glasgow meetings. 

After learning that the African Diaspora is part of the 6th Region of the African Union, strengthening the relationship between African youth and Caribbean youth became a priority for YME. Climate Change is a global crisis and ensuring that young leaders from the Caribbean and Africa are united in their collective action is a critical to addressing the complex intersections of the climate crisis. 

Members of The Bahamian Delegation met with Caribbean youth and a team from the University of Edinburgh where a strategy session was facilitated to identify how education and the convening of young people from throughout the region could help to strengthen our collective climate solutions. 

Upon being elected into office the Honourable Philip Brave Davis, Prime Minister of The Bahamas began to champion with conviction the need for  climate justice for small island developing states.

Climate Emergency Declaration

CICI Bahamas Climate Emergency Declaration

The Cat Island Conservation Institute held a  press conference at the Ministry of The Environment, Nassau Bahamas on the 20th of September 2019, where they presented The Minister of the Environment and Housing Romauld Ferreira with the CICI Climate Crisis Declaration. In accepting this declaration the minister stated: 
“We acknowledge that we are in a national climate crisis and the country is facing a national climate emergency,” he said.“We are committed to doing all that needs to be done to alleviate and remediate the effects of climate change and build resiliency for future events.” He added, “…We are making this declaration and we’re saying, ‘Hey we’re going to lead this charge.’

 

N. Charles Hamilton, MPH, CICI Policy Team Lead, addressed the press answering the following questions: 

What is this climate crisis declaration? 
The goal of a Climate Crisis Declaration is for governments to adopt, at the highest level, their acknowledgment and commitment for action to address climate change and the broader ecological crisis. The idea for these kinds of declarations first started in the city of Darebin, Australia—whose city government passed the first declaration of a climate emergency in December 2016. As of July 17, 2019, 19 countries, 1007 governments (primarily the local level) have passed a climate emergency declaration. The Bahamas, by making this declaration, will show itself to be a leader, as the first small island developing state and the seventh country at a national level to adopt this stance. 

How was this declaration produced? 
What makes this declaration even more powerful is the process by which this declaration was made. CICI Thought Leaders – Bahamian Youth – played the leading role in drafting this declaration. Our first think tank was held last Saturday, September 14th at Venture Coworking – bringing together Bahamians from Abaco, Andros, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Harbour Island, Long Island, New Providence, in addition to members of the Bahamian diaspora and international partners. 

CiCI Bahamas thought leaders span various strata of society from fisherman, engineers, scientists, teachers, realtors, economists, public health, activists, and community members, and represent youth and the young at heart, who will be inheritors of a Bahamas and a planet that has to cope with the effects of climate change.  At our think tank, these passionate people developed the first draft of this declaration, and then our CICI Policy Team refined the final draft which was shared with the media, The Bahamian public and our world. 

Bold and immediate steps will be required from 2019 and beyond to ensure that The Bahamas and our people will be able to experience climate justice and CICI Bahamas will be there along the way to ensure that our community needs and national policies align for the future of our country. 

Authors: CICI Bahamas Think Tank and Policy Team: N. Charles Hamilton, Nikita Shiel-Rolle, Angel Hjarding, Orchid Burnside, Dorlan Curtis Jr., Michael Bowleg, Kearney Coupland, Ashley Miller, Chauntez Wilson

Be it resolved that this House recognises that: 

  • The Bahamas is facing an impending and existential threat due to climate change;
  • climate change is a real and urgent crisis; it is driven by human activity that directly and disproportionately impacts the citizens, residents, visitors, environment, biodiversity, infrastructure, culture, and economy of The Bahamas;
  • climate change significantly impacts Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and low lying coastal communities, like The Bahamas, and other countries across the Caribbean and the world, rendering them particularly vulnerable;
  • Bahamians, residents, and visitors have and continue to experience the cataclysmic effects and impacts of climate change, such as: sea-level rise, hurricanes, heat waves, coastal erosion, ocean acidification, loss of coral & marine ecosystems and resources, reduction of biodiversity, food and water insecurity, and re-emerging & new illnesses, all of which significantly impair physical health, mental health, well-being and socio-economic development across our communities;
  • climate change has powered the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, specifically catastrophic hurricanes – such as Joaquin (2015), Matthew (2016), Irma (2017) and Dorian (2019), some of the strongest tropical cyclones to develop in the Atlantic basin, which have brought devastating floods, severe rainfall, extreme wind, structural damage, financial loss, displacement of people and families, personal injuries, increased disabilities, and loss of life to our communities;
  • Category 5 hurricanes like Dorian, are projected to be an unwelcome future norm and will require a significant change in how we approach issues related to development, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster response and risk reduction, environmental protection and climate resilience; 
  • moving forward, data-driven and sustainable action is critical to the survival of the citizens and residents of The Bahamas and the future of our islands;  

Therefore, let the House declare that The Commonwealth of The Bahamas is in a national climate emergency which requires a commitment to mobilising resources and prioritising policy as it relates to the mitigation and adaptation of climate change in our country.

Furthermore, we declare that immediate and bold action by The Bahamas, other SIDS, and the international community is required to address this climate crisis. National, regional, and global strategic partnerships are essential to strengthen policy as it relates to climate resilience and emergency response systems. 

We recognise and welcome the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and call for action from all parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to undertake mitigation actions based on the principle of common, but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, to avoid any further increase of global temperatures. 

We reaffirm our commitment to national and international environmental policies, agreements and standards we have subscribed to such as, but not limited to:

  • The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including the Paris Agreement
  • The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs)
  • The SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway
  • The Convention on Biological Diversity 
  • The Ramsar Convention
  • The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
  • The Regional Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Strategy and Programming Framework 2014-2024
  • The Bahamas National Policy for the Adaptation to Climate Change

We commit to establishing and achieving national adaptation targets to create sustainable infrastructure and prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change, including the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Finally, we commit to becoming a leader of climate change advocacy and to engage all critical stakeholders, in particular, the youth – for whom this action is most essential – in the restructuring and cultivation of a thriving planet that supports a global community of thriving people.