BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Government is moving one-step closer to realising the Prime Minister's vision of making Barbados the Caribbean's most environmentally advanced Green Economy.

Minister of the Environment, Water Resources and Drainage Dr Denis Lowe says his Ministry is in the process of preparing a draft Green Economy Policy Framework to identify the components of the enabling environment required over the short, medium and long-term.

"The preparation and finalisation of the policy will require the broad consultation of all relevant stakeholders, including Government, private sector, communities, non-governmental organisations and the youth of our nation," he said.

The framework, he explained, would include a multi-pronged legislative regime, institutional support, education and training and fiscal incentives, demonstrating Government's "continued commitment to a path of people-centred, sustainable economic growth and development”.

"In the Barbadian context, the Green Economy can be defined as an integrated production, distribution, consumption and waste assimilation system that, at its core, reflects the fragility of our small island ecosystems, as the basis for investment choice, human development programming, and facilitating export market development for indigenous environmental services,” Dr Lowe added.

Meanwhile, the Environment Minister has admitted that Government is faced with a range of environmental challenges, including illegal dumping, pollution, water scarcity and the destruction of the island's diversity.

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