Organizers and supporters of the recently concluded Green Investment Conference today announced their anticipation of tangible evidence of its success being made visible within the next 12 months.
The team, which included Atherton Martin, executive director of the Development Institute; Mark Spalding, president of the Ocean Foundation; Bernard Wiltshire, president of the Waitukubuli Ecological Foundation and Phil Kline, senior ocean campaigner of Greenpeace USA, provided an overview of what they consider to be an overwhelmingly successful outcome.
The three-day event was held at the Pastoral Center under three themes: health and wellness, which was focused on linking health and wellness investment to agriculture, waste management, planning and other sectors; renewable energy, which was poised to build public awareness and understanding of renewable energy; and creative art/light industry, which had the objective to “reveal and explore the links between creative arts and light industry as a strategy for investment.”
According to Wiltshire, the event was important in providing a way for transforming Dominica and creating “what we think is the right posture for Dominica.” This posture he refers to is finding ways to develop a sustainable economy from the country’s own foundation and resources.
He said the conference was a development of ideas that had been in circulation from as far back as the 1970s, that speak of utilizing the nature resources available for the benefit of the people.
These ideas were compiled into exactly 10 theses in a book by Wiltshire on the development of Dominica. The theories were meant to help the island think clearly of the way forward using the resources available.
“It started from this fundamental proposition that we have great natural assets in Dominica. These natural assets can help us develop and to meet our own needs. For that to happen we must protect and preserve these natural assets,” Wiltshire said.
“We cannot depend on outsiders to bail us out in everything, to carry us through life by handouts and donations. There are no free lunches and unless we are prepared to take ourselves upon ourselves and make arrangements for our own future, we’ll be in very serious trouble,” he said.
He strongly recommends that Dominica establishes itself on its own footing and seek only assistance from the international community.
“The question is how do we make our living in the world from what we have in our country,” he said.
About a year ago the decision was taken to practical steps to convert these ideas into a strategic plan that would address the social, ecological and economic needs of the people, Atherton Martin said.
The first of these “practical” steps was the development of a forum for those who would be able to “bring their expertise and experience to the table and seek to ‘matchup’ the special needs of Dominica, with the special resource riches of Dominica against the partnership possibilities of persons outside.”
The forum therefore sought to produce investment partnerships that would long outlast the event itself and organizers believe this was successfully achieved.
Youth involvement was considered one of the most integral parts of the three-day forum.
ESTABLISHED PARTNERSHIPS
“What we were actually able to do over the three days of the conference was to find like-minded enterprises who were able to come here prepared to explore and possibly identify practical things that we can do together,” Martin said.
Martin reported that the conference didn’t just facilitate the evolution of these partnerships but in some cases, like the Trinidad and Tobago investment group, has established partnerships in the area of organic and natural farming/agriculture. This will be a blend of some of the latest IT technology and some of the best of the traditional and natural farming systems.
He added that these investors have identified four Dominican partners and have entered into “a clear understanding as to how they are going to proceed”.
“We expect a return visit from the Trinidad group in the next several weeks to consolidate, formalize and actually begin the process of making their investments become a life,” Martin further disclosed.
Further, the group also had an investor who was interested in recycling, so discussions on this front were held with the Dominica Solid Waste Management on the possibility of solid waste recycling on the island, finding fuel markets and possible technologies and other benefits through collaboration.
Interest from this group was also extended on the basis of water. This team, it was explained, came with the mandate of entering into discussions and decisions about the possible purchase of water from Dominica for bottling purposes.
“That person has had several discussions with the management of DOWASCO. We were assured that this was at an advanced stage and that they were returning very shortly to conclude the necessary arrangements for Trinidad to commence its role as an importer of high quality potable water from Dominica, which will then be bottled, or to consider the possibility of bottling the water here and exporting it,” he said.
Another recycling company from Canada has also entered into discussions with the solid waste management officials. This has supposedly left the investors with the notion that they have moved passed the final hurdles about recycling and converting Dominica’s waste into wealth, Martin said.
The future of this could see a recycling plant on the island.
A Barbadian recycling company has also voiced its interest in entering the local market.
“The opportunity that was created was for us to move beyond the talk of applying technologies, both traditional and new, to creating industries and activities that have job, and revenue-creating potentials as well as significantly contributing to the cleaning up, maintenance and protection of the natural systems and resources,” Martin said.
Spalding, Wiltshire and Kline both spoke of their overwhelming support for the initiative and their pleasure of its outcome.
@HERITAGE: I agree we are dying from diseases here in America from the junk food…soda pop, artifical flavoring, chemicals, dyes, gmo’s in the food. China poluting Canada’s lakes from the global air stream. I hear your cries for purity!!! Alot of us in America take time to read the labels on the packaged foods and won’t buy it if it doesn’t have natural ingredients.
Surely the customs…heritages from your fore fathers….can spring up new. ideas. I won’t eat the fast food and neither should your people polute your bodies with it either. Do you have a rare herb that is medicinal to market.
. My email is: [email protected]
@Wait A Minute: Who came up with the WAITIKUBULI NATIONAL TRAIL Project idea, worked for years with other institutions, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and was then ridiculed by this Govt.? What was the bad record in that visionary project? To add insult to injury, the DLP Govt., instead of working closely with Wiltshire, locals and WEF for continuity, the man was deliberately cast aside and Govt. preferred to work with a foreign Martinique Co.
The EU, which provide finance for the project for its implementation, reported just recently that the project faced many problems due to inefficiencies by Govt. and the Management Committee. It was seriously behind schedule and funds were not properly used. Today, that same WNT project which Wiltshire thought of and took it from infancy, the people are now seeing and agree how valuable such a project could be for the sustainable, economic development of Dominica. Hypocritically, many of those people will support Govt. for working with that Foreign Co. than with the local WEF institution. Have our Men and Women lost their reason?
I am reminded of the fish, called a SOL, which sees only on one side. Dislike, bash the messenger, but if his message is good, and feasible to move the country forward, listen and support it. If as Dominicans, we harbour hate for the messenger so much, the good or frankness in his message will also be hated and even blocked in some cases. A recipe for going to the next level in a DOWNWARD Trend.
Isn’t this the same Athie who was given a contract to export bulk water from Dominica (well over a year now) and NOTHING has been done to date? How then can this man expect people to take him seriously if he cannot deliver on things that he has already signed on to and had promised would have been on stream a while now?
Frankly, I do not like bashing people (and teally do hope that some of the initiatives talked about by these guys can become a reality).BUT, given the record of people such as Athie and Bernie, I must admit that I am not too hopeful of anything significant happening.
I am also very happy for ALL the persons who in some way or another benefitted financially from the staging of the ‘Green Conference’ here.
I am concerned about this statement: “….arrangements for Trinidad to commence its role as an importer of high quality water from Dominica, which will then be bottled, or consider the possibility of bottling the water here and exporting it”.
If we export our water in bulk for bottling in another country, we will be giving away billions of dollars in retail profit in exchange for a half dozen jobs and a few pennies per gallon of water. The water must be bottled, packaged, labelled product of Dominica, trucked and shipped from our ports for us to realize some gainful employment with benefits and increased revenue for our treasury. We have sold our lime, grapefruit and orange juice in bulk via L Rose for decades. Ginger is sold to Canada in its raw form to sustain their light industries. They are never concerned about our manufacturing industries. We must stop the cycle of being treated as a supplier of raw materials for other countries’ industrial development.
Dominicans may be forced to ration water or pay a higher cost to guarantee that billions of gallons will be shipped in bulk. Can we have guarantees that that will not be the case? Or, why can’t we have an indigenous company in collaboration/partnership with our government, handling our water? Our water resource must benefit every Dominican and not just a few lobbyists. It is that important. I do support foreign capital investment but the needs of Dominica and the profit interest of the investor must be balanced if not heavily tilted in our favor since we provide the resource.
GOOD MOVE BY THE ORGANIZERS OF THE CONFERENCE. THAT’S WHAT WE SHOULD BE
TALKING ABOUT. a CLEAN AND GREEN DOMINICA AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THAT WILL MOVE US AWAY FROM THE BEGGING MENTALITY AND THE INAPPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENT PATH THAT’S CURRENTLY DESTROYING DOMINICA.
THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE BY THE CHINESE, THE DESTRUCTION OF
HEALTH BY THE MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS WITH THEIR JUNK FOOD (KFC, COKE,SUBWAY,PIZA HUT et all). AND THE CHINESE WHO SELL ALLTHIS JUNK WHICH EVENTUALLY DESTROY OUR ENVIRONMENT.
OUR DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE BASED ON USING “WHAT WE HAVE AND ADDING VALUE ITT.
NOT BLINDLY ACCEPTING ALL THE JUNK FROM CHINA AND AMERICA WHO ARE USING OUR NATURE ISLE FOR THEIR DUMPING GROUND.
PROTECTING OUR HERITAGE IS WHAT ‘S GOING TO MAKE US A FREE AND INDEPENDENT PEOPLE. FREE FROM AMERICAN AND CHINESE NEOCOLONIALISM AND CULTURAL HEGEMONY.
@Dominica Clean and Green: DLP never chastise anyone against projects like these.
Just another talk shop with a lot of hype, Artherton Martin is known for giving maximum publicity to his many failed projects.
\He currently has a WATER shipping project which cannot get off the ground, not one lenght of pipe has been laid and yet he is off on another set of projects which will lead to nowhere
Arthurton finish the water shipping project you havent even started at Marigot before you embark on another set of PIE IN THE SKY dreams
Very good initiative brought forth by the Green Investment Team. A call to all Dominican established and aspiring entrepreneurs – No other development is better than one which is sustainable. Soul Enterprise is Going GREEN!!!!
Oh Boy!!!
Talk Shop………………
Wonderful.
We however need Dominicans to take up the initiative.
2 dozen over paid ministers, senators and advisors who can do nothing but beg and enrich the french connection
Very good, now this is a Dominican who is using his expertise to bring development, the rest of us wait on the Government to do everything.
Dominicans, those are the kind of thinking and initiatives that could impact positively in bringing the country to the next level upwards. Hate Athie or Wiltshire as you all want, those men have shown that their hearts are for the development of the country. That they have done a lot to protect and conserve our ENVIRONMENT. Where is the vision Govt. has shown, but one of a BEGGING mentality, dependent almost totally on outside. We need help, but we must shape our own development process.
Ministers in the DLP GOVT. chastised Ron Green and other visionary Dominicans like Athie and Wiltshire for proposing that Dominica’s future development depends on a ‘CLEAN and GREEN VISION’, with PROJECTS thought out and implemented around that CONCEPT. Those present Govt. Officials and politicians are empty, not realizing that our Beautiful Dominica, though small, has natural wealth which could make a huge impact for our ECONOMIC development. PRAISES to ATHIE and WILTSHIRE for their consistent efforts. Tell them, show them my brothers that there are alternative ways to move Dominica forward, instead of the BEGGING, NEO-COLONIAL, BACKWARD policies and ideas that this GOVT. espouses.