Talk to me! A recap of EECO 2023

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By Arica Hill

Have you ever come away from a conversation and thought “wow, that was just what I needed?” Sometimes a really great conversation can help to steer your thoughts, add context to your plans, and help you to create connections that you had not considered before.

This is the premise of the EAG Environmental Conference or EECO. Launched in 2021, EECO has been an annual event geared towards engaging civil society organisations who are all working on environmental matters over two days of discussion. With support from the British High Commission and GEF Small Grants Programme since inception, EECO has been one of the ways that these organisations find the means to discuss environmental projects and guide potential synergies.

This year EECO was held at Casa Palmadita from January 25-27, with a focus on improving civil society’s ability to make decisions and influence policy. Perhaps when you think about your own methods for decision making you wonder how this translates to environmental management? For us to make good decisions we have to have the right information or data, we need to know how to engage with the people who can help us move along our questions, and we need to have access to the tools to ensure that these can be successfully completed. In a nutshell, that’s what EECO did!

First, we spoke about how we collect data and what implications that has for decision-making. The National Parks Authority, represented by Mrs Ruleta Camacho Thomas, spoke about how collecting data on the natural environment has a direct connection with how they manage the economic activity in the park. And the Elkhorn Marine Conservancy (EMC) spoke about how collecting all the data that is associated with coral restoration also tells them how to make recommendations for better use of the natural environment in partnership with stakeholders.

But if you don’t know how to communicate that data, it probably is not that impactful! This is why the presentation from the OECS was so critical. Their Community Engagement Strategy, supported by their BioSpace project, outlined the ways that civil society organisations can best plan the ways that they communicate, educate, and engage with a range of stakeholders. This is important, of course, because it ensures that the outcomes of the work are viable and that people are always meaningfully engaged.

Engagement, we believe, becomes easier when we understand our rights. The likelihood is that you have heard about environmental justice or climate justice in the past few years. The phrases are used often, especially around the climate change negotiations. Normally, the conversation surrounds how we can ensure that developed nations pay for their part in accelerating the climate crisis, essentially, how we achieve “justice”. And while those conversations are a necessary part of the global context, we believe strongly that there needed to be local context as well.

Nneka Nicholas, Legal Consultant at the Department of Environment, therefore spent some significant time breaking down the legal framework for accessing environmental justice in Antigua and Barbuda. Not only did she explain how we all (ALL ARWE JACK!) have the right to request information pertinent to the environment, but that once we have that information, we can seek legal redress for any harm that may be caused by the inaction or “ill”-action of others. What was critical about this point though, was that justice takes time. It is not enough to protest or to speak on the radio, but it is necessary to follow the avenues provided in the law, through writing letters or engaging with the right agencies.

It’s not fun. But it’s necessary.

On the sidelines, there were other conversations happening as well. EECO hosted five donor and partner agencies who met with civil society organisations through the “Donor’s Clinic”. The clinic featured the British High Commission, the GEF Small Grants Programme, Fauna & Flora International (FFI), Marine Ecosystems Protected Areas (MEPA) Trust, and the Department of Environment. Participants got to meet with these agencies and discuss potential opportunities for partnership or funding that could support their projects. Each came away with a wealth of information on how they could expand and create even greater impact in the natural environment.

See? Great conversations!

With over 70 participants, EECO was a definite success. And while the EAG works for the benefit of people and wildlife, we were glad to see that we could “Raise our Voice for Environmental Change”.

See you next year at EECO 2024!

EECO 2023 was supported through the British High Commission, the OECS BioSpace project, the Department of Environment’s CBIIT project, and the Wyss Foundation, with additional support from the GEF Small Grants Programme.

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