THIS COUNTRY is preparing to participate at the UN Biodiversity Summit and the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15), the Ministry of Planning and Development has announced.
The conference will take place in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, from October 11-24. Trinidad and Tobago and other countries will participate virtually to approve new goals centred on nature for the next ten years.
The Ministry of Planning and Development issued a statement on Saturday saying it had represented TT at the third meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation and the 24th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, in February and March 2021, which it says was organised to "maintain the momentum ahead of COP15."
The ministry noted that the upcoming event is not to be mistaken with the 16th Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which TT is also preparing to participate at.
The release said the ministry understood development cannot be achieved without healthy biodiversity, and life itself will be difficult. Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis said from an economic standpoint, the fifth National Report of TT to the CBD, approved by the Government in 2017, showed TT's biodiversity resources have "high monetary value."
TT, the release said, derives at least 88 per cent of its fresh water from natural sources (ground and surface water); and the ability of this country’s watersheds to deliver water of good quality (water purification services) is valued at approximately $520 million per year.
"The forests in Trinidad’s Northern Range provide soil retention services that are valued as high as US$622 million annually, representing as much as 6.8 per cent of central government’s annual revenues.
"Intact forests on steep slopes (30-50 degrees) can also help to reduce soil erosion by as much as 95 per cent.
"Another regulating service provided by forests is carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere. This service provided is valued at approximately US$1,088 per hectare per year. This carbon removal service is highest in wetland areas such as the Caroni and Nariva swamps, as well as in TT’s forested ecosystems."
In Tobago, the release said, mangrove swamps and seagrass beds, especially in the southwestern portion of the island, are important providers of this service.
"Forests on hillsides also provide flood prevention services, valued in TT at approximately US$5 per hectare per year.
"Taken together with other services such as erosion control, water purification, flood protection and the provision of sustainable timber, the ecosystem services provided by this country’s forests are estimated to be worth at least US$2,195 per hectare per year."
In the release, Robinson-Regis emphasised that participation in forums such as COP15, "TT can share ideas with the rest of the world and also serve as a voice for and with other small island developing states.
"As a member of the global community, acting together for the common go
