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Understanding the importance of engaging with your local civil society groups:

On Thursday 17th, December, 2020 Environment Tobago were pleased to receive representation on behalf of the Cropper Foundation as a collaborative effort for the Cari-Bois Environmental News Network. The purpose of this visit was primarily to hear from the Tobago partner on the CSO's for Good Environmental Governance project. http://thecropperfoundation.org/portfolio/csosforgoodenvironmentalgovernance/

The objective of this project:
Overall the Increase the capacity of at least 15-20 civil society organizations in the collection, reporting, and veracity assessment of state, and company derived environmental data. 

Other objectives are for a greater understanding of environmental policy, legislation and enforcement, as well as in lobbying and advocacy related to extractive industry accountability. These involved partners and civil society organizations were charged with the responsibility to come up with a mechanism to monitor the environmental impact of the extractive sector through the use of an environmental reporting platform on the internet. 

In the global realm of environmental awareness, advocacy and everything related, civil society groups are being seen as having great importance and also having significant expertise, and know-how. Having said all of this, projects like this serve to enable the voices that were traditionally in the wilderness to be heard. It is noted that we can and will play a pivotal role in the 17 SDG agenda being carried out. 

Needless to say, there is strength in unity, and this initiative is no different. The President of ET gave a brief interview as to why the organization got involved in the project and the how we contributed to developing this online platform. This platform came in the form of an online journal which reported several environmental issues affecting both Trinidad and Tobago. ET contributed articles and also assisted with content development, so it was a pleasure to host our colleagues from the cropper foundation with a view of getting our message out there. This opportunity was also used to highlight one of our upcoming projects for 2021 and beyond, as the interview was shot on location at the Prospect Estate where the community gardening project and all other related activities have commenced in due course of 2020. Other initiatives that ET completed in 2020 such as a tree planting exercises were also highlighted with content being developed (pictures and videos) as part of the final contribution from us the Tobago partner. All in all we can say that we were pleased to be a part of this mission to integrate the civil society movement into the public space and assist in guiding the conversations on the environment in a meaningful way nationally. 

We are advocates for long lasting and meaningful partnerships. We are committed to continuously forging a way forward for civil society groups to band together as a unified force.