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Contact:
Primus Hutchinson
Thursday, March 13, 2003 - Minister for Communications, Works, Transport
and Public Utilities, Honourable Felix Finisterre, left the island Thursday, as
head of a Caribbean delegation for the third World Water Summit, in Kyoto-Japan.
The March 16 to the 23 summit, will focus on various water issues. Some of the
issues to be discussed include water resource management and benefit sharing in
an effort to lessen by half, the number of people around the world without
access to safe drinking water by the year 2015. 2015 is termed the UN Millennium
Goal, Water for Food and Rural Development and Disaster Mitigation and Risk
Management.
The area of particular interest to the Caribbean will be the finalisation of a
joint programme of action on water for these islands. Minister Finisterre, who
will be addressing the summit, indicated that there will be a special focus on
the characteristics of small island states and the numerous challenges
confronting them.
Mr. Finisterre cited among other challenges, the problems of size and
population, income volatility, and global climate change. Two groups of small
islands – the Caribbean and the Pacific islands – will be looking specifically
at the whole question of approving a joint programme of action on water in small
islands.
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