December 2022 - You are accessing an archived version of our website. This website is no longer maintained or updated. The Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform has been migrated here: https://sdgs.un.org/
December 2022 - You are accessing an archived version of our website. This website is no longer maintained or updated. The Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform has been migrated here: https://sdgs.un.org/
Watch video of presentation of the VNR in the HLPF
Main Messages – Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda’s Development Thrust within the Context of Agenda 2030
Our people enjoy relatively high incomes, allowing them to live better, longer and healthier. Classified as a high-income country by the United Nations with a HDI value of 0.778 or 78th of 189 countries, is one of the highest in our region. A testament to deliberate efforts of advancing the economic and social transformation of our country towards putting people first. However, this accomplishment has inhibited our access to concessionary financing constraining our ability to have a country with ‘no poverty”.
Regardless, we continue to place strategic focus on reducing poverty and income inequalities whilst investing in education and training. Juxtaposed, is our thrust to support the private sector through loans and technical assistance ensuring their internationally competitiveness and innovative. However, their level of global competitiveness and innovation continues to be stymied by unilateral economic blacklisting, threats to correspondent banking relationships and a hostile multilateral trading architecture.
A nation surrounded by water, presents an untapped potential for development that needs to be sustainably managed for current and future generations. In pursuit of a sustainable blue economy, Antigua and Barbuda is actively participating in the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Negotiations aimed at eliminating fisheries subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing leading to overcapacity, and overfishing.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Progress to Achieving the SDGs within the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Exogenous Shocks
Our thrust post-COVID is to “build forward stronger”, as we have approached the recovery of Barbuda which was devasted by Hurricane Irma in 2017. We are amongst the few countries in the world with a low rate of death and infection, a high rate of recovery, and no known community spread of COVID-19. Notwithstanding our efforts, the virus has caused many disruptions to our economy and citizens. Our recovery will be dependent on the equitable access to vaccines, global management of the virus and support of our development partners.
We have accomplished much under the SDGs related to People, particularly SDGs 1, 2, 3 and 4, in addition to SDG 8 which focuses on Prosperity as well as our foresight to prioritize the blue economy embodied under SDG 14; although challenges remain. We continue to be severely impacted by climate change; increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases and our inability to access concessionary financing emphasising the need for a recognised vulnerability index as a tool of measurement.
Our Next Steps to Accelerate the Localization of the Global Agenda
This is an opportune time to advance the global agenda realising the enhanced development gains to be achieved by implementing the SDGs, given we are in the process of reviewing our national development plan.
A national SDG Committee has been established and efforts ongoing, seeking assistance to develop a comprehensive communications and stakeholder engagement strategy and a MAPS Mission to aid in aligning the goals across policies and programmes and identifying accelerators to realise our development prospects.
We are motivated, determined and committed to achieving the SDGs-making our country a good place to live, where everyone is included.
| Report | Topics covered | Process |
 National Strategic Biodiversity Action Plan 2014-2020
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Antigua and Barbuda
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National Report - Antigua and Barbuda
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Rio+20; |
Renewable Energy - to diversify its matrix and achieve a target of 15% energy supply from renewable energy by 2030.
Blue Halo Barbuda is a collaboration between the Barbuda Council, the office of the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbuda Fisheries, Codrington Lagoon National Park officials, and the Waitt Institute. In February 2013, Blue Halo Barbuda launched as a comprehensive ocean and coastal management project. Over a five-years period, the Blue Halo partners are working to develop and implement sustainable ocean policies focused on marine spatial planning, sanctuary zones, and fisheries regulations. The goal of Blue Halo Barbuda is to foster the sustainable, profitable, and enjoyable use o...[more]
The Caribbean Challenge Initiative (CCI) is an historic conservation initiative that brings together for the first time governments, companies and partners to accelerate action on conservation in the Caribbean. Together, the 9 participating countries and territories have committed to conserve at least 20% of nearshore and coastal environments in marine protected areas by 2020 with the help of private and public sector partners. The Caribbean Biodiversity Fund has been established to support achievement of the CCI commitments by 2020.
The Caribbean Energy Efficiency Lighting Project (CEELP) sought to catalyze the transition to low carbon economies and sustainable energy sectors through the provision of energy efficient lighting to communities in the Eastern Caribbean. The project assisted countries in removing the policy, capacity and investment barriers to energy efficient lighting. The project goals were aligned with the SIDS DOCK objective to increase energy efficiency by at least 25%, and the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) objective of doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency. The private sector was en...[more]
The general objective of the Commission is to promote the effective conservation, management and development of the living marine resources of the area of competence of the Commission, in accordance with the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and address common problems of fisheries management and development faced by members of the Commission. 16 of WECAFC's 35 members are considered small island developing States.
The Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (GEF-IWEco Project) is a five-year multi-focal area regional project that will be financed from (i) country GEF STAR allocations under Land Degradation and Biodiversity portfolios for national interventions and supported by (ii) funding from the GEF International Waters and Sustainable Forest Management portfolios for regional-level actions. A total of ten Caribbean countries will be participating in the project.
IRENA has developed the SIDS Lighthouses Initiative to support the strategic deployment of renewable energy in SIDS, to bring clarity to policy makers regarding the required steps, and to enable targeted action. As a joint effort of SIDS and development partners, this framework for action will assist in transforming SIDS energy systems through the establishment of the enabling conditions for a renewable energy-based future, by moving away from developing projects in isolation to a holistic approach that considers all relevant elements spanning from policy and market frameworks, through technol...[more]
