St. George’s, Grenada, April 17, 2012 – The Ministry of Environment, Foreign Trade and Export Development (MOEFTED), in collaboration with the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development (UNDSD), is implementing a project titled, “Integrating Climate Change into National Sustainable Development Strategies and Plans in Latin America and the Caribbean”. It’s a pilot project to be run in three regional countries, with Grenada as the only Caribbean nation. The others are Guatemala in Central America and Bolivia in South America. Under the project, three critical areas have been identified for adaptation to potential impacts from climate change in Grenada. They are management of water resources; renewable energy options for use after natural disasters; and coastal ecosystems’ restoration and management. In addition, a selection has been made for an all-encompassing project to build a “Green Economy for Sustainable Development in Carriacou and Petite Martinique”. Three Grenadian consultants have been appointed to the project, as well as a National Working Team. They met last Friday with MOEFTED and UN representatives, together with key implementing stakeholders, to review preliminary technical findings and discuss project recommendations. It was identified that resilience to the impacts of climate change can be built into development plans for water, renewable energy options and coastal ecosystem management. Grenada hopes to showcase its efforts to address climate change impacts, using a systematic stakeholder driven approach, at the upcoming Rio+20 meeting. Rio+20 is a conference of the United Nations on sustainable development to be held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, in June 2012. Many are calling the conference an historic opportunity to define pathways to a safer, more equitable, cleaner, greener and more prosperous world for all. Discussions will focus specifically on how to build a green economy to achieve sustainable development and lift people out of poverty. Developing countries like Grenada are also expected to receive support that will allow them to find a green path for development, and to improve international coordination for sustainable development. Participants at the Rio meeting will include representatives from government, the private sector and non-governmental organisations.