In a targeted move to boost regional capacity for controlling dangerous agricultural chemicals, three technical staff from Antigua and Barbuda’s Department of Analytical Services have graduated from a specialized regional training program focused on improved management of highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) across the Caribbean. The department confirmed that participants Laël Bertide-Josiah, Alexandra Hughes and J’herdine Browne took part in the two-day hybrid workshop, branded “Development of an Effect-Cause-Action (ECA-G) Tool for Highly Hazardous Pesticide Management in the Caribbean”, which was held May 26–27 at The Verandah Resort & Spa in Antigua.
The capacity-building event was organized by the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean (BCRC-Caribbean), and forms a core activity under the Global Environment Facility’s ISLANDS 10279 Project, a regional initiative focused on addressing environmental challenges in small island developing states.
Per official statements from the Department of Analytical Services, the training was designed to strengthen consistent implementation of multiple multilateral environmental agreements linked to chemical control and waste management across the Caribbean region. Over the course of the workshop, the three local participants joined dozens of regional subject matter experts and industry stakeholders in collaborative discussions centered on improving systems to identify and regulate HHPs, while systematically evaluating the far-reaching harms these chemicals pose to human health, regional ecosystems, and national economic performance.
The program curriculum balanced theoretical learning with hands-on practical application, covering technical modules ranging from HHP identification and routine environmental monitoring, to quantitative analysis of economic impacts, environmental risk mapping, and evidence-based mitigation strategies to cut the public health and ecological dangers tied to unregulated hazardous pesticide use.
Department officials emphasized that this training initiative aligns with broader national and regional goals to elevate environmental governance, strengthen chemical safety standards, and advance sustainable development across Antigua and Barbuda and the wider Caribbean region. The department also formally extended its gratitude to supporting partners, including BCRC-Caribbean, the technical team from the University of the West Indies, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), whose collaboration made the capacity-building event possible.