BES-Net’s second regional Trialogue was successfully organized on 4-6 September 2018 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Building on the experiences and lessons learnt from the Eastern European Regional Trialogue in October 2017, the event was held with the aim to raise awareness of the findings of the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services‘ (IPBES) Thematic Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production and promote policy uptake of the report’s recommendations in the Caribbean region.
The Trialogue brought together BES-Net’s three target communities of science, policy and practice for face-to-face dialogue around the theme of Pollinators, Food Security and Climate Resilience from seven IPBES Member States in the Caribbean region: Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Field visit
“Terms like pollinators and pollination may still be uncommon in many parts of the Caribbean, yet the Caribbean island countries are in a challenging ecological position. They are blessed with the benefits of rich and unique insular biodiversity, but these benefits have been increasingly threatened as a result of land use change, recurrent extreme climate events, and invasive alien species, etc.” said UNDP’s Director for Global Policy Centre on Resilient Ecosystems and Desertification and BES-Net Project Manager, Anne Juepner. “The Trialogue applies various innovative tools and approaches so that participants are encouraged to use all five senses fully and see, hear, taste, smell and touch the theme of pollinators and pollination, which in turn will enable them to frame it not as a pure environmental but as broader economic, social and cultural issue.”
Field visit and tasting of pollinator-dependent food
During the three-day journey, the Trialogue participants jointly reviewed the status of pollinators in the region; analyzed their importance to sustainable local food production and climate resilience; assessed ways to address the challenges of invasive pests and pathogens, land-use change and pesticide use; and identified response options on how to face these obstacles and maximize important co-benefits of sustainable management and protection of pollinators and their habitats.
The Dominican Republic Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, as a new member of the Coalition of the Willing on Pollinators, hosted the event and expressed their commitment to lead and facilitate the national/regional efforts to promote pollinators in the Caribbean.
Lic. Daneris Santana, Vice-Minister of Protected Areas and Biodiversity from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic
Lic. Daneris Santana, Vice-Minister of Protected Areas and Biodiversity from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic, highlighted that the Trialogue provided the country with an important opportunity to deepen the knowledge on relevant role of pollinators in staple food production and other exportable goods that contribute to foreign trade in our country. He added that uniting policymakers, scientists and representatives from the local communities to deliberate and reflect on the contributions of wild pollinators to biodiversity, food security and human well-being is an innovative experience, which will lead to positive policy actions, ensuring that ecosystems and various pollinators species within the Caribbean receive suitable protection.
