Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of

Trinidad and Tobago 

National Statement

Trinidad and Tobago thanks AmeriGEO, and by extension Global GEO for their warm welcome to this network and for allowing us to be able to benefit from this partnership.  We only became a member in September 2023 and are already participating in regional initiatives.  

Trinidad and Tobago looks forward to developing our national GEO through a collaborative process, as we prioritise national needs, while balancing growing support and focus to the Post 2025 Strategy.  We welcome the implementation of this strategy as it draws on Earth observation insights from across the value chain to inform strategic decisions and empower society. Attendance and participation at the 19^th GEO Plenary and Ministerial Summit is well timed as we seek to broaden our network, and synergize our local approach to the triple planetary crisis.

As a small island developing state, Trinidad and Tobago seeks to increase Caribbean and Small Island representation and involvement in GEO. With high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and other natural disasters, we hope to leverage earth intelligence to increase resilience for our people and ecosystems. We recognise however, that many island states do not have sufficient resources to allocate for this imperative mission. One such resource that is sorely lacking is access to high spatial resolution satellite imagery.  Trinidad and Tobago, like many small islands / big ocean states possesses a small landmass. Our circumstance often hampers our ability to utilise freely available satellite imagery for numerous applications, making a call for access to high spatial resolution imagery paramount. We also support an expansion of the Ecosystem Atlas to include marine ecosystems.  Our experience with these fragile and biodiverse havens have shown repeatedly the utility of spatial data visualization in their protection and conservation.  This will also assist national efforts in marine spatial planning.

As a signatory to the Regional Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (known as the Cartagena Convention) which seeks to address land-based pollution; specially protected areas and wildlife; and oil spills, Trinidad and Tobago welcomes regional and global collaboration and coordination.  Indeed, some of our crises such as climate change, pollution and Sargassum blooms transcend national boundaries. Our involvement in the training initiative -  Collaboration on Oil Satellite Tracking in the Americas (COSTA) - has highlighted the importance of oil spill detection and monitoring and has simulated regional efforts to protect our ocean space from the irrevocably damaging effects of hydrocarbon pollution. As COSTA expands its geographical reach, we are calling for a meeting with COSTA parties to discuss lessons learnt as well as the possibility to expand to the observation and reporting of Methane Emissions. This detection activity is essential for national commitments to reduce and eliminate GHG emissions.

In closing, I wish to thank AmeriGEO for supporting the strengthening of institutional capacities of its members.  As a member, we endorse AmeriGEO efforts to further align with the GEO Post-2025 Strategy, by creating new pathways and programs, focusing on training and co-development, and increasing youth engagement.  We support efforts to increase equity and inclusion by bridging the divide between traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and scientific knowledge, and to work to better inform our decision makers as well as our stakeholders.