Port of Spain, November 19, 2020 – Today, the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) is calling on the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to join the ranks of forward-thinking, progressive Latin American and Caribbean nations and become party to the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (widely known as the Escazú Agreement because it was signed in Escazú, a suburb of San Jose in Costa Rica), which is about to come into force.
The Escazú Agreement is a first-of-its-kind, people-centred regional environmental treaty. Nine progressive nations, including Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Antigua and Barbuda have already ratified.
The treaty comes into force 90 days after the 11th ratification, which is imminent with Mexico and Argentina now moving to complete the final formal steps.
Even as these and other Caribbean nations who have signed on to this landmark treaty prepare for its implementation, the Trinidad and Tobago Government has yet to act on the Escazú Agreement.