Climate crisis is happening now
Caribbean Life, N BQ ovember 8-14, 2019 11
Need for land
reform in Belize 30 percent marine protection globally,”
including myself have
been experiencing while
trying to acquire a piece
of lot or land in my country
of birth. Almost every
Belizean citizen, have
experienced one of these
issues that I have outlined
in this article. This is a
lot of pain and suffering
that we have been going
through in our country
for years now.
While we the citizens
continue to hope
and wait, under Belize
refugee program, many
Guatemalans and Salvadorans
have and continue
to come into Belize and
get lots and farmlands
for their families and
themselves. I have nothing
against these people
but this is not the way
that the government of
Belize should be treating
its native citizens. We the
Belizean people, should
not allow these abuses to
continue under these two
major political parties any
longer.
I ask that we organize
a Belizean Land Rights
Rally. All the issues that
I outlined, should be
brought to the attention
of our elected representatives.
We should also
give them a time frame
to address our land concerns.
A case in point is; I
bought a lot in Dangriga
in the 1990’s and have a
Fiat. I submitted documents
for a Certificate of
Title five years ago and I
am still waiting for it. How
much longer must I wait.
There are many other
Belizeans like myself, who
are going through this
same experience. Without
our land documents,
we cannot do some business
transactions. It is
now time for all of us to
bring our land problems
in the forefront of this
struggle because we cannot
endure this pain and
suffering no more.
he wrote in a plea for action
to save the oceans.
“Everyone must do more when
garbage patches larger than entire
countries float in the Pacific,
and rising carbon dioxide levels
increase ocean acidity and devastate
coral reefs and marine life.”
The Pacific Community, the
principal scientific and technical
organisation in the region and
founded as the SPC in 1947, counts
22 Pacific island countries and territories
among its members who
see themselves as the “tip of the
spear” in terms of the impacts of
climate change and their efforts
to adapt.
SPC has recently established
the Pacific Community Centre for
Ocean Science (PCCOS) to provide
the framework to “focus its scientific
and technical assistance on
providing solutions that will build,
sustain, and drive blue economies
in Pacific Island countries and territories”
and support SDG 14 of
conserving and sustainably using
oceans and marine resources.
The SPC’s new and growing
Pacific Data Hub is a public
resource of data and publications
on the Pacific across key sectors,
from education and human rights
to oceans and geoscience.
Such initiatives reflect how
Pacific Island states have grown
more assertive in their diplomacy,
becoming more active in global
multilateral forums and using
their voices and votes for increased
leverage rather than the old reliance
on support from Australia
and New Zealand.
The “Blue Pacific” concept
sees the island states establishing
themselves as “large ocean states”
and guardians of the region rather
than “small island states”. As stewards
of the Pacific with their cultural
identity shaped by the ocean,
the Blue Pacific framework seeks
to establish leadership on issues,
with smart policies backed by scientific
expertise and data.
As Micronesia’s president has
reminded us, the climate crisis is
neither abstract nor “tomorrow’s
faraway challenge”. It is happening
now and as the IPCC’s special
report on the oceans and cryosphere
warned in September the
crisis is gathering speed, as seen
in the recent acceleration of sea
level rise.
In Antarctica the rate of ice loss
tripled in the decade 2007-2016.
May and August in 2019 were the
warmest on record for the Arctic
while this year saw the summer
minimum extent of sea ice reaching
a joint-second lowest in 40
years of satellite records.
As summarised by Carbon Brief,
the IPCC warns that this accelerating
ice loss, and the more rapid
sea level rises it causes, will continue
to gather pace over this century
regardless of whether greenhouse
gas emissions are reduced.
The “likely” maximum rise of
1.1 metres by 2100 is some 10cm
above the top-end estimate from
its previous estimate, while a rise
of 2 metres cannot be ruled out.
Such warnings were intended to
provide input at COP25 for world
leaders who face mounting calls
to adopt more ambitious goals
for carbon emission cuts. Those
negotiations will not be happening
in December in Santiago after
all. An alternative must be found
urgently.
Continued from Page 10
Continued from Page 10
The “Blue Pacific”
concept sees the island
states establishing
themselves as “large
ocean states” and
guardians of the region
rather than “small
island states”.
One of the Top 10 hospitals in the U.S.
is here in Brooklyn
Brooklyn, NY
In 2018 & 2019, the federal government listed Maimonides among
the Top 10 health systems in the U.S. for survival rates.
Get the facts at: Top10Hospital.org
/Top10Hospital.org