Pulse of the Caribbean

#57 Caribbean News Round Up Episode 2 Week of June 9

• Pulse of the Caribbean

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The Caribbean region continues to demonstrate resilience and leadership on multiple fronts, as highlighted on today’s   Pulse of the Caribbean News Roundup.

  • Dominican Republic elected vice president for Latin America and Caribbean at UN Ocean Conference
  • University of the Virgin Islands takes over management of Island Fresh Aquaponics facility to improve food security 
  • Lyft launches in Puerto Rico

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Speaker 1:

This is the Pulse of the Caribbean Caribbean News Roundup. Now today's Caribbean News Headlines.

Speaker 2:

This podcast is brought to you by Victory Run Walk, sponsored by the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism. Register now for the 5K, 10k and half marathon. Labor Day weekend St Thomas, us Virgin Islands, and Diamond Key. Marina, yosemite, british Virgin Islands, home of Foxy's Taboo and Gateway to the Bubbly Pool. A News Roundup, episode 2, for the week of June 9th.

Speaker 2:

Here's a look at what's making Caribbean headlines. We start our report in the Dominican Republic. Yesterday in Nice, france, the third United Nations conference on ocean elected the Dominican Republic's vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean. National ocean leadership and environmental sustainability are recognized in this election. The Dominican Republic's president, luis Abinader, and the Dominican Republic's minister of environment are in attendance. Are in attendance For the conference. The Dominican Republic and Brazil represent Latin America and the Caribbean as two of 13 vice presidencies. Today, wellington-benscombe, the Dominican Republic's United Nations permanent representative, will lead the plenary assembly as vice president. The summit, which began yesterday, will run through Friday, with governments presenting commitments and resolutions.

Speaker 2:

On the first day of the event, president Luis Ab worldwide response. He told the United Nations General Assembly Up to one million metric tons of sargassum might reach the Dominican Republic coast this year, threatening biodiversity, tourism and fishing, abinader said, threatening biodiversity, tourism and fishing, abinader said. Citing climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Abinader warned of the ocean's dire plight. He supported a fair and ambitious global plastics convention and the rapid implementation of biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions. Technology and creativity should be shared for underdeveloped nations, he said the Dominican Republic is committed to ocean sustainability and he asked the world community to act immediately to protect the ocean for future generations.

Speaker 2:

In related news from St Lucia, as sargassum invades previously untouched coasts, st Lucia is boosting its reaction with critical debates, external support and cleanup efforts. The recurring blooms, economic and environmental impacts were discussed at a St Lucia Chamber of Commerce, industry and Agricultural Forum. Caribbean's sargassum volumes are at historic highs 38 million tons in May and more expected now in the month of June. This week the Associated Press reported that the brown prickly algae is suffocating shorelines from Puerto Rico to Guyana and beyond, disrupting tourism, killing wildlife and even releasing toxic gases. That forced one Martinique school to close. Western and northern St Lucia have been affected by seaweed, impacting fishing tourism and coastal villages. Fishing tourism and coastal villages. Officials say Sargassum is blocking fishing grounds and limiting fish stock and dying algae, releasing harmful gases. French islands have used containment booms, which St Lucia may imitate, and the United Nations program aid includes feasibility on sargassum reuse and specialized removal equipment to remove sargassum from the island's shorelines. At CARICOM's Caribbean Community Climate Change Center, keith Nichols, chief of special projects and a former St Lucia fisheries expert, said nutrient-rich discharge from South American rivers, amplified by higher rainfall may be fueling the sargassum's unprecedented development.

Speaker 2:

Now on to the US Virgin Islands. According to a release on Monday, the University of the Virgin Islands announced that it has taken over management of Island Fresh Aquaponics facility at the historic Bethlehem Sugar Factory site on St Croix to improve food security and agricultural innovation and agricultural innovation. Jacksonville, florida-based non-governmental organization Fresh Ministries transferred the facility to the University of the Virgin Islands during a ceremony on June 3rd. The University of the Virgin Islands president, dr Sophia George, governor of the Virgin Islands, albert Bryan Jr, and Fresh Ministries Executive Director, dr Robert Vernon Lee marked a transition which underscores the University of the Virgin Islands' continued role as a land-grant institution dedicated to Caribbean research, education and sustainability. Fresh Ministries founded Island Fresh in 2021 to boost St Croix food production, wellness and economic opportunity. It is one of the region's largest aquaponic operations. The facility has three 6,000-square-foot and three 3,000-square-foot greenhouses for sustainable farming. The University of the Virgin Islands will add the facility to its agricultural programming, expanding its aquaponic infrastructure, which was rebuilt after Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. The University of the Virgin Islands wants Island Fresh to be a hub for education and economic growth where students, entrepreneurs and community members may create and grow.

Speaker 2:

Next up, antigua and Barbuda has officially been nominated for Caribbean's Best Emerging Culinary City Destination. After this, Get ready for Victory Run Walk 2025. Registration is open for the Virgin Islands 5k, 10k and half marathon. Register at VictoryRunWalkVIcom.

Speaker 2:

Whether you're a Caribbean national or just want to learn more about the Caribbean, you've got the right podcast. In our newest feature, the Pulse of the Caribbean podcast interview segment, episode number 50, meet Israel Peterson, culture bearer and teacher, as he shares the rich tradition of Mukajumbi stilt dancing and its deep cultural significance in the US Virgin Islands. His passion for preserving this African heritage shines through as he recounts his personal journey from childhood fascination to becoming a master practitioner. Pulse of the Caribbean podcast Listen online on our website, pulseofthegribeancom, or your favorite streaming platform. This is the Pulse of the Caribbean News Roundup, episode 2,.

Speaker 2:

For the week of June 9th, the World Culinary Awards have nominated Antigua and Barbuda for Caribbean's Best Emerging Culinary City Destination 2025, confirming the destination's culinary rise. This nomination represents a milestone in Antigua and Barbuda's Tourism Authority three-year plan to reposition the island as a Caribbean culinary tourism leader. The Antigua and Barbuda Culinary Month program transformed Restaurant Week into a month-long festival of cuisine, culture and creativity. The month includes Restaurant Week, fabfest, food, art and Beverage Festival, a vibrant signature event featuring the island's top chefs, mixologists, artists and food producers. And Eat Like a Local, a growing directory and digital map of certified vendors, food stalls, hidden gems and authentic dining experiences. The culinary month was enhanced by the Caribbean Food Forum, which brings together thought leaders, chefs, culinary entrepreneurs and policymakers from across the region to discuss the future of Caribbean cuisine, food security and culinary innovation. Curated chef events offered intimate dining experiences and live cooking demonstrations. Antigua and Barbuda encourages foodies, admirers and diaspora to vote until August 15, 2025 to support the destination's culinary growth. Antigua and Barbuda's cuisine fans can vote online at worldculinaryawardscom to support their rise. Worldculinaryawardscom to support their rise.

Speaker 2:

And here's our final note. Puerto Rico residents and visitors now have new transportation choice and local drivers have a new earning prospect, with the launch of Lyft Driver applications began at the end of May, marking the company's Puerto Rican expansion began at the end of May. Marking the company's Puerto Rican expansion, major cities include San Juan, bayamón, carolina and Ponce, among others. To be served, lyft will compete with Uber, which has operated in Puerto Rico since 2016. This podcast is brought to you by Victory Runwalk, sponsored by the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism. Register now for the 5K, 10k and Half Marathon Labor Day weekend St Thomas, us Virgin Islands, and Diamond Key, marina, yosvendike, british Virgin Islands. Home of Foxy's Taboo and Gateway to the Bubbly Pool, a natural jacuzzi and hidden gem. Have news and information you'd like to share with us. Send news releases to news at pulseofthecaribbeancom. This has been your Pulse of the Caribbean News Roundup, episode 2, for the week of June 9th. I'm Keisha Blyden. See you next time.

Speaker 1:

For more Caribbean news stories and information, visit us online at pulseofthecaribbeancom news stories and information. Visit us online at pulseofthecaribbeancom. If you found value in this podcast, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and thank you in advance for choosing Pulse of the Caribbean Caribbean News Roundup as your source for Caribbean-centered news.