HARBOUR VIEW--Dr. Ken Leslie of the Executive Director Caribbean Community Climate Change Center (CCCCC) is the announced keynote speaker for the invitation-only seventh Annual Governor’s Symposium themed “Climate Change and Small Islands States – A Call for Strategic Action,” set for the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in Cupecoy on June 15, at 8:00am.
Prior to joining the Climate Change Centre, Dr. Leslie was a Senior Principal Scientist in the Applied Physics Laboratories of AlliedSignal now Honeywell Corporation in Morristown, New Jersey in the United States. He has considerable experience in the fields of physics and meteorology and has contributed much to the development of meteorology and climatology in the Caribbean.
The CCCCC is the key source for information on climate change issues and coordinates the Caribbean region’s response to climate change. The centre is recognized as a regional executing agency on climate change-related projects by the World Bank, various UN agencies and the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
Also on the speakers’ line-up are: Dr. Michael A. Taylor Professor and Deputy Dean Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica; Dr. Cedric van Meerbeeck of Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Barbados; and local speakers Joseph Isaac, Head of the Meteorological Department, and Derrick Downes, Managing Director of the Windward Islands Bank.
Speakers will give insight into weather and environmental patterns, the effects of climate change on economic development as well as the vulnerabilities and challenges of climate change for Small Island States and the need for strategic action and policy.
The presentations will culminate in a panel discussion between the speakers and the audience to be moderated by Nature Foundation Managing Director Tadzio Bervoets.
The Governor invites persons 15 years and older interested in attending the symposium to submit their personal information. Submission details are available on www.facebook.com/Governor-of-Sint-Maarten; the deadline for submission is June 11. Based on information submitted selected persons will receive an invitation to the event.
