BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A NGO, Green Solutions International, was recently launched with the aim of sensitising citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis on the challenges of Climate Change through lectures and other educational programmes.
The launch was held at the University of the West Indies Open Campus in Fortlands on Thursday (Apr. 20) with a lecture by Dr. Wayne Archibald, founder of the organisation.
Speaking with this publication, Dr. Archibald said the initiative is something that he is very much fond of and he had found that many people in the Federation are unaware of the challenges associated with Climate Change.
“I believe that the time is right for us to have such an initiative, because I have recognised that there are some issues that we as people in the Federation need to address which will require a collective effort. This cannot be done only by the Government! I think our citizens and businesses also need to get on board with NGOs to deal with some of the issues surrounding Climate Change.”
Archibald pointed out that among many nations facing challenges in Climate Change, it is through similar forums and organisations outside of governments that have enabled the initiative to progress.
It is said that Small Island Developing States like St. Kitts and Nevis would be hard hit by the changing climate, which would see rising sea levels, the spreading of a number of mosquito-borne diseases, changes in weather patterns due to continuous warm air circulation, droughts and depletion of agricultural products, among other challenges.
He however declared that his NGO would be working on four pillars to sensitise the nation on the impending issues.
“We are going to be working on areas including policies, work force development, research and development, and outreach and education. So, once we would have covered those four areas, we believe that we would have covered all of the major issues that are affecting us in the Federation.”
From the perspective of many people in St. Kitts and Nevis not knowledgeable about Climate Change and its effects, Dr. Archibald was asked what plans does his organisation have in creating a change.
“This will be done through a series of lecture and educational programmes,” was his response.
He suggested that initiatives to deal with Climate Change have to be done at the grassroots level, whereby communities would be involved “and call their elected officials and tell them that we need to take action to deal with the issue in each of these communities”.
With the recent outbreak of the Zika virus within the Western Hemisphere, the head of the NGO noted that these are cases that must be taken into consideration when mentions are being made of Climate Change.
Dr. Archibald reiterated that health issues would be one of the top issues under the spotlight when dealing with that topic.
