STATEMENT BY MINISTER FOR NATURAL RESOURCES AND LABOUR
HONOURABLE MELVIN M. TURNBULL
ON THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON DEEPENS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BVI GOVERNMENT

The advocacy continues at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt.

As Minister, I continue to seek to solidify the BVI’s partnerships across various sectors.

I had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Wassim Dbouk, a Marine and Maritime Policy Research Fellow from the University of Southampton.

Of significance, Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute (SMMI) & Public Policy Southampton (PPS) have an established partnership with the BVI Government around environmental efforts. This relationship has been in place since the previous administration.

In fact, during 6^th – 7^th May 2021, the Government and University held a virtual policy/academic exchange, to cover areas of mutual interest such as climate change, maritime management, coastal management, marine biodiversity and cooperation on higher education.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour and the University of Southampton have since been actively working toward finalisation of a Memorandum of Understanding that once signed, will inform the BVI’s climate change remediation efforts from both a technical and legislative standpoint.

Dr. Dbouk expressed that one of his priorities as a research fellow is to establish pathways for knowledge exchange between the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute (and the University of Southampton more broadly) and the BVI Government, which is well underway.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour remains committed to the preservation and enhancement of the Territory’s environment and ecosystems and intends to preserve this functional partnership.