Civil society plays a significant role in environmental governance, advocacy, and sustainable development in Trinidad and Tobago. The breakdown includes:
- Advocacy and Participation:
- Civil society actively advocates for environmental rights and strengthens its role in decision-making processes. For example, the EnviroRightsTT project aims to enhance civil society’s involvement in environmental governance.
- Collaboration and Partnerships:
- Civil society collaborates with government and other stakeholders to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). The SDG Catalysts Network for example, exemplifies this by supporting effective participation in local SDG implementation.
- Monitoring and Accountability:
- Civil society monitors government actions and holds them accountable for achieving sustainable development goals.
- Awareness and Education:
- Civil society helps raise awareness and translate global goals concerning sustainability into local actions within communities.
- Information Sharing and Training:
- Civil society participates in and facilitates access to information and training related to environmental issues and governance.
- Addressing Critical Gaps:
- Civil society identifies and addresses critical gaps in sustainable development, such as environmental protection and human rights.
*Implementation of SDGs: Civil society is actively involved in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and shares lessons learned.
- Strengthening Regional Solidarity:
- Civil society strengthens regional solidarity among environmental defenders and advocates.
- Working Groups and Campaigns:
- Civil society forms working groups to design and implement advocacy campaigns on environmental issues.
- Needs Assessment and Training:
- Civil society participates in assessments of and building capacity in environmental matters, such as Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) training, to enhance their capacity.
- Participation in Formal Governance Structures:
- Civil society is represented in formal governance structures, such as the Steering Committee of the Trinidad and Tobago Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (TTEITI), and national select committees to guide the implementation of regulations and standards.
- Informing the Work of TTEITI:
- Civil society informs the work of the TTEITI and benefits from targeted training on issues related to the extractive sector provided by Transparency International.