Green infrastructure conference offers hope in climate change

Black Immigrant Daily News

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Mangroves in the Caroni Swamp. – JEFF K MAYERS

AS FLOODING continues to affect the country with increasing force and frequency, the term “green infrastructure” is one which TT and Caribbean citizens may soon learn.

Topics of green infrastructure and green finance will take centre stage at Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre, Lady Chancellor Hill, on October 25 and 26, at a in-person and virtual inaugural conference hosted by the Iamovement (stylised IAMovement), an environmental and social advocacy non-profit organisation, and the National Gas Company of TT (NGC).

Local, regional and international stakeholders will be among the 200 in-person attendees.

Technical director and chairman of Iamovement Jonathan Barcant, speaking at the media launch for the event, said, “What’s really interesting about this conference that we’re looking forward to bringing to the public is an understanding of what green infrastructure is.”

To most people, green infrastructure is little more than an obscure combination of words.

It is defined by author Hiltrud Pötz in her book Green-Blue Grids: Manual for Resilient Cities as “(a) network that provides the ‘ingredients’ for solving urban and climatic challenges by building with nature.”

Among those challenges, at least in TT, is persistent and increasingly destructive flooding, during the rainy season like those seen in recent days.

The conference is geared towards experts and decision-makers, who will discuss technical knowledge and case studies, and seek ways to access funding to undertake green infrastructure initiatives.

Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan will be among the speakers and will also lead a site visit to green infrastructure project sites around Port of Spain.

The Prime Minister, the planning and development minister and the public utilities minister, have been invited.

The various forms of “green finance” to support infrastructure will be explored; through presentations and discussions with various leaders and experts. Discussions surrounding financing through the UN’s Green Climate Fund will feature prominently at the conference.

In a presentation, Iamovement noted that “One of the most immediately, useful, practical and cost-effective, nature-positive investments that our region can use today is the wide-scale adoption of green infrastructure technology, particularly given the wide suite of green finance opportunities available to support their implementation.”

Iamovement has spearheaded green infrastructure initiatives in TT for several years, with the support of partners including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and later on by the government, through the Green Fund. NGC has also undertaken green initiatives, including a large-scale reforestation drive.

The conference will cover the Vetiver System (VS) and other forms of green infrastructure.

The VS refers to the use of vetiver grass as a “low-cost technology” for soil and water conservation. It produces deep roots and has many uses, including to stabilise river banks.

“We think the VS is a great example of green infrastructure just because it’s very comparable to things like rock baskets or retaining walls,” Barcant said.

“We can easily picture and imagine what that is from an infrastructure standpoint and, therefore, to picture a plant (offering) this solution, this gives us a quick ability to imagine what a green version of infrastructure can look like.”

Forests and mangroves, elements of green infrastructure, will also be explored.

“(Without forests) you’d have serious problems with erosion and sediment run-off (and) flooding downstream,” Barcant noted.

“Some of us are not quite sure where (the flooding) comes from but we are aware that several hillsides around Port of Spain have undergone significant developments and might be denuded.”

Republic Bank, one of the platinum sponsors, will contribute to the climate financing segment of the conference.

Online participation is free. Views can expect to gain technical knowledge of green infrastructure. Among the key objectives, Iamovement said, is to create an environment for “encouraging green-blue thinking inclusion within national policy, through networking and sharing of related information locally, regionally and internationally.”

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