THA, institutes to collaborate on environment research

The Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville (ERIC) has hosted an international monitoring and evaluation (M&E) conference for the North-east Tobago Unesco Man and the Biosphere Reserve which focused on fostering international co-operation to develop a long-term M&E plan aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The event was supported with funding by the German Federal Foreign Office under a Climate and Environmental Diplomacy funding programme via the German Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, a media release said.

The conference's key objectives included establishing co-operation agreements between national and international academic institutions and the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) as well as the Tobago Biosphere Management Alliance. The agreements aim to implement a tailored research and study programmes for the North-East Tobago Unesco Man and the Biosphere Reserve, using internationally-recognised tools adapted to the specific needs of the communities, the release said.

Academic institutions which participated in the event included: the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (Bremen University); the Biosphere Reserves Institute (Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development); the Faculty of International Business, Institute of Tourism, Travel & Hospitality (Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences); the Faculty of Geography and Education and Unesco Chair on Observation and Education of World Heritage and Biosphere Reserves (Heidelberg University); and the Caribbeanist Labs on Religion, University of Texas at Austin.

The release said high-ranking representatives of the universities brought agreements that outlined intentional commitments to future research collaboration as well as staff and student exchange programmes with the THA and the Tobago Biosphere Management Alliance.

The potential areas of interest to provide applicable solutions to assist Tobago communities in addressing increasing environmental and sustainable development challenges were discussed with representatives of Tobago NGOs, THA departments, ERIC, TTAL, UWI and the Institute of Marine Affairs over the course of three days, the release said.

At the end of the workshop, which ran from from November 27-December 2, 2024, the agreements were finalised and signed by THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine and witnessed by Assemblyman Zorisha A Hackett, Secretary, Division of Education, Research and Technology.

The release said the designation of North-east Tobago as a Unesco Man and the Biosphere Reserve demonstrated its value to secure support in addressing challenges the island shares with other Caribbean islands.