11th Feburary 2010
Assuming Responsibility for our Caribbean Environment
By Keith Lequay

The first month of the year is traditionally a time for reflection and resolution, a renewal of spirit and energy and a call to action for the rest of the year. We in the Caribbean have the benefit of a tropical space that does not require, relatively, much personal adjustment and maintenance, in terms of living with the weather. And in fact, it is that weather, the natural habitat, and the image of a slower pace of life which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, to this region.
Unfortunately however, there is much that we still do not appreciate of our island life and this is evident in the poor job we do of taking care of our once pristine environment. There are few places in the Caribbean where pollution and waste are being managed effectively, whether it is our daily garbage, transportation policies, or industrial and manufacturing waste. In many instances, we still depend on outsiders to remind us of the natural treasures of which we are custodians and which we should be managing sustainably for future generations.
The recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad, in November 2009, was, among other things, an opportunity for the Caribbean as a region, to speak up from a collective position as to where we are on the issue of environmental protection and climate change in particular. This issue is crucial for small island developing states that rely on their natural environment to attract visitors and to generate income and employment. Hopefully, that Caribbean voice was heard at the Copenhagen climate change conference in December 2009.
However, as individuals and stakeholders in this shared regional space, we also have a responsibility to educate ourselves and our leadership, both political and corporate, on the issue of protecting our environment. After all, it is this self awareness and consciousness of our environment and our role as its protectors, which affect our “sensemaking” and ultimately, our environmental decision-making. As residents of the region, we should therefore consider our personal responsibility, from adults to children, as protectors of these precious natural resources, our local neighbourhood, as it were.
In his book “The Tipping Point - How little things can make a big difference”, author Malcolm Gladwell makes the point that there are three characteristics that converge to provide that dramatic moment, when, like an epidemic, modern change happens the way it does. He lists these three characteristics as: contagiousness; little causes having big effects; and finally, that change happens at one dramatic moment, rather than gradually. In the book he provides several examples to support his argument.