OAS and Trinidad and Tobago Partner on Sustainable Cities

With the proportion of the population living in cities doubling from 41% to 80% in the last 60 years[1], the Latin American and Caribbean region has the highest rate of urbanization in the developing world. The challenges posed to OAS member states in this context and the recent advancements to address them was the focus of the Second Edition of the Sustainable Cities Course held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, December 1-5, 2014.

The course was jointly organized by the OAS, the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development, and the Caribbean Network for Urban and Land Management (BlueSpace), targeted urban and social transformation professionals from the region. Richard M. Huber, who coordinates the Sustainable Cities program at the OAS-SEDI Department of Sustainable Development, explained that “the workshop was a dynamic, transformative, and intensive experience that addressed common and very real challenges for our growing cities. It also presented innovative solutions for sustainable transport, integrated coastal zone management, and natural hazard mitigation through reforestation, watershed revitalization and fire suppression.”

The course had 14 speakers and 3 field trips that combined theory with practical group exercises, and discussions. As a part of the course participants split into different working groups, drawing up policy recommendations that were forwarded onto policymakers upon the conclusion of the course. Recommendations encompassed areas of pressing interest to the government of Trinidad and Tobago such as the potential of initiating a carbon tax, reform of the priority bus route for rapid bus transit, and several other strategic actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts.

“With 8 international students from Latin America and the Caribbean and 40 professionals from Trinidad and Tobago, the queries and debates were fruitful and robust,” said Juan Gemmell, participant from Guatemala, who is a PhD candidate on Environmental Science with former experience in his country’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

 The course is the second in a series that began in Medellin Colombia, in preparation for the 2014 World Urban Forum, and is being supported by the Permanent Mission of the United States to the OAS and the Organization’s Scholarship Fund, through a successful inter-Secretarial collaboration. Given the growing interest by the region’s governments in this topic, new editions of the course are expected to be delivered in 2015.