What about a Domestic Agenda, Mr. Prime Minister?

“Global Warming!"

There needs to be a true plan of action if real change is to take place in our country - The Bahamas. We need new ways of diversifying our economy so the trickledown effect can become a reality. Innovation needs to be the order of the day. A new day must include not just the Bahamian elites, but every Bahamian as a whole

By: Dr. Kevin Turnquest-Alcena

LLB (Hon-1st Cl.), LLM (Hon-1st Cl.)

PhD in Economics / Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology

Ph.D. in Public Health / PhD in Herbal and Holistic Medicine

Titular Professor

Lawyer & Fellow—FCILEx; ACIArb; & Snr. Fellow–AMLA

“Some say the planet is sick and humans are the virus, it is undeniably we as a species have destroyed this beautiful planet at an alarming rate. Putting aside global warming and climate change, no species is as greedy as the human race, we take more than we need and leave a trail of destruction.”

Global warming! Climate change! Melting glaciers! Rising sea levels! Sinking lands! Eroding coasts! The world is in a panic; fear of the future like the resounding roar of a lion! Scientist predicting a bleak, dark and uncertain tomorrow. It has been said that by 2100 the sea levels would have risen up to 70%, thus being the catalyst for the loss of many coastal regions.

With that said, God has a divine plan for man and this earth He created. He is the God, the Chronos and the Kairos time and because He supersedes time, He controls everything. Genesis 9:11 states, "And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there anymore be a flood to destroy the earth." Man does not have the capacity to comprehend God or the things He does and thus can never predict the outcome of one's future.

With that being said, it cannot be denied that the drastic effects of climate change have resulted in many countries looking for an outlet to reduce their carbon fingerprint. As a result, a country like Denmark has committed to offering 13.4 million dollars to developing nations damaged by climate change. This excessive damage has resulted in the concept of carbon credits. Carbon credits are carbon allowances giving a company permission to generate 1 ton of CO2 emissions.

Prime Minister Davis, stated that, "We intend to be the first country to offer Blue Carbon Credits... It creates for the first time a framework to compensate The Bahamas for the significant role we play as a carbon sink." However, one must ask, Mr. Prime Minister, will we really receive the compensation being suggested? How will this affect the environment? If you, sir, are truly depending upon other countries to compensate this country, good luck! Like Jeremiah 17:5 “Thus the Lord. Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord."

However, Mr. Prime Minister, while a global agenda is great! The burning questions still remain. What about a domestic agenda? What does your manifesto say in regard to the National debt? How does a $4.2 million dollar travelling budget eradicate the mounting debt? Could not this money have been spent on developing a program focused on decreasing unemployment? May I remind you sir that next June over 5,000 students leaving school, with only 20% going to college. What happens to the other 80% that will be looking for work?

Moreover, what plan is in place to assist those students that are educated yet having difficulty obtaining gainful employment as citizens in their own country? Although it is good to help those that have no options or talents, helping those that do will be an asset.

There needs to be a true plan of action if real change is to take place in our country. We need new ways of diversifying our economy so the trickledown effect can become a reality. Innovation needs to be the order of the day. A new day must include not just the elites, but everyone as a whole.

“Mother earth is crying. We humans have done enough damage and still can’t open our eyes. We are so arrogant that we convince others that we have to save the earth, but earth’s real cancer is human’s behavior. We have to put our ego and arrogance aside and take some serious and strong steps to protect ourselves and our future, or will have to be ready to die sooner or later.”

November 19, 2022 

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The government of the Bahamas is staunchly committed to doing all it can to implement effective disaster prevention measures

Few can provide a better firsthand account of the toll that natural, biological, and other climate-driven hazards have on small island nations like The Bahamas

Global climate change is precipitating major shifts in weather patterns and setting the context for a world rife with unpredictable storm activity

REMARKS TO THE DISASTER RISK REDUCTION SUMMIT, 2022 - BY BAHAMIAN PRIME MINISTER HON. PHILIP E. DAVIS KC, MP 

CONVENTION CENTER BAHA MAR RESORT CABLE BEACH 13 OCTOBER 2022  

Ladies and Gentlemen:  

We know about Disaster.  We know what it is like to live in a world where every year, we brace ourselves for possible catastrophe.  We know all too well the utter devastation a hurricane can bring to our shores. 

On September 1st 2019, a devastatingly unprecedented Category Five hurricane made landfall in Abaco and then Grand Bahama.  That was a terror the likes of which we’d never seen before. 

Hurricane Dorian was, by all accounts, a freak hurricane—a product of an ever-warming planet.  Global climate change is precipitating major shifts in weather patterns and setting the context for a world rife with unpredictable storm activity.  It is us, low lying island nations across the hurricane, tornado and typhoon belt of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans who are most vulnerable. 

Few can provide a better firsthand account of the toll that natural, biological, and other climate-driven hazards have on small island nations like The Bahamas.  Hurricane Dorian took many lives, and nearly decimated Abaco’s economy. 

Our entire world reeled in the aftermath.  If this were not enough, we were then confronted with Covid 19, the worst respiratory illness pandemic the world has seen since 1918.  We have suffered. 

We had two trying years of economic setback and social hardship on the heels of these major crises.  The United Nations General Assembly has declared today, October 13, the International Day for Disaster Risk reduction. 

Initiatives like this are crucial to advancing the charge for a world where extreme loss and tragedy are tempered and mitigated by implementing innovative response strategies and early warning measures.  Today, on this International Day of Disaster Risk Reduction, we highlight the commitment and collective action of not only the Bahamian people, but of many countries worldwide in reducing devastation, loss of life, and economic setbacks resulting from disasters. 

We are not alone in facing these challenges.  Our friends, family, partners, and colleagues around the world face similar challenges.  This rings especially true for our friends and partners from the University of Hawaii’s Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) who have been by our side and on the ground to support responses to Hurricanes Dorian, Joaquin, and Matthew. 

Faced with similar challenges, The Bahamas and PDC are looking beyond reactionary measures to forge novel ways of thinking and doing in response to disaster.  To this end, today we will sign an MOU between the University of The Bahamas and the University of Hawaii. 

We have also recently completed a National Disaster Preparedness Baseline Assessment (NDPBA) in partnership with the PDC.  The national baseline assessment provides a localized, detailed assessment of risk for each of the Family Islands. 

It offers fresh insights to help meet the critical needs of each island and bolster our comprehensive national strategy for disaster management and mitigation.  PDC’s national baseline assessment program is not merely recognized by the Bahamian government, but internationally by the United Nations and received first place in the Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction earlier this year. 

The program provides a global model for translating complex risk information into meaningful disaster management policy, planning, and action.  These efforts support our Blueprint for Change, which details aggressive actions to kick start transformation in our economy and the way we recover and rebuild. 

We are especially concerned with securing a sustainable, dignified and resilient future for all.  The partnership between University of The Bahamas and the University of Hawaii will allow us to undertake joint scientific research between our institutions to promote sustainable solutions to help our island states better adapt to the impending crisis we both face. 

Climate change is a slow onset mega disaster that threatens the entire globe and it requires a scientific foundation of knowledge to ensure that policy and actions are rooted in evidence.  We can no longer afford to view ourselves in isolation from others, or act without reliable information. 

We must work together across national borders to create a common scientific foundation, to maximize our collective efforts to build safer, more resilient communities.  The Bahamas is proud to be at the frontier of this scientific approach with the University of Hawaii and PDC. 

We aim for this work to benefit not only our island states, but all nations around the globe.  Hurricane Dorian put us to the test—we faced that monstrous storm and suffered terribly. 

In our little island country, we say: When you know better—do better.  The government of the Bahamas is staunchly committed to doing all it can to implement effective disaster prevention measures and we are thankful to our partners at the PDC for their willingness and enthusiasm toward the same.  Thank you.

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