Three regional organisations have signed landmark agreements to co-operate on practical steps to deal with the effects of climate change and to promote sustainable development at a Commonwealth event at the Rio+20 Earth Conference.

The two memoranda of understanding (MOUs) were signed by the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (5Cs) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) on June 20 at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The signing took place following a panel discussion titled ‘Across the Regions: Small Island Developing States Solutions for Sustainable Development’, organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the three regional bodies.

COLLABORATION

The well-attended event focused on strengthening collaboration among the three regions in promoting sustainable development.

Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith congratulated the three organisations for leading the way in demonstrating that through partnerships, experiences can be shared, good practices distilled and solutions found.

“At the end of the day, we want to see more small states drawing down more international financing more rapidly to support low-carbon, climate resilient development”, he said.

“The Commonwealth Secretariat has proactively promoted collaboration among the three organisations and is pleased that this has now resulted in the historic signing of two memoranda of understanding.

We will continue to work with the organisations in developing concrete action plans as the next step in adding value to their efforts,” he added.

During the event current and prospective initiatives reflecting the priorities of small island developing states in sustainable development and climate change were discussed. These included issues such as oceans management, financing mechanisms, skills development and training, and youth engagement.