The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica, Friday, September 11, 2020 -- The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) has appointed UWI Scientist, Dr. David Smith, to its Science Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC). Dr. Smith who serves as Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Coordinator of the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) at The University of the West Indies (The UWI) was elected to the Advisory Committee for a three-year term, from 2020 to 2023.
The election took place at the 28th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the IAI (CoP-28). A regional intergovernmental institution comprising 19 nations in the Americas, the IAI promotes scientific research and capacity building related to global change issues throughout the Americas to inform decision-makers.
As a member of the SPAC, Dr. Smith will provide advice to the CoP and the IAI Directorate on how to use and design science for policy and decision-making.
This latest appointment represents another contribution by Dr. Smith in advancing The UWI’s overall strategic advocacy for Climate and Sustainable Development Action. In 2019, Dr. Smith was one of 15 independent scientists who prepared the inaugural Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), commissioned by the United Nations Secretary General. Dr. Smith also serves as Coordinator of the University Consortium of Small Island States (UCSIS), Caribbean Coordinator for the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN Caribbean), and member of the advisory board of the SUNY-UWI Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development, based in Manhattan, New York.
Notably, at the CoP-28 meeting on August 19, 2020, Jamaica was also elected as member to the Executive Council of the IAI. Jamaica joins Canada, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, United States of America and Uruguay as Council members from 2020 to 2022. The role of the Executive Council is to develop policy recommendations for submission to and approval by the CoP and ensure that policies adopted by the CoP are implemented by the IAI Directorate.
Earlier, in April 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica designated The UWI, Mona and the National Commission on Science and Technology (NCST) as the National Focal Points to the IAI for Jamaica. From The UWI Mona Campus, Professor Michael Taylor, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology, and Dr. Tannecia Stephenson, Head of Physics were appointed to serve as the designated representatives from Jamaica to the IAI.
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