KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent –The St Vincent and the Grenadines government is challenging inventors within academia and private enterprise to explore the potential of using plastics, and possibly volcanic ash, as raw materials in the production of useful products.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Barbados-based Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum (CariCOF) is warning that the peak of the wet, heat and hurricane season is forecast to bring an increase in wet days and wet spells, heatwaves and tropical cyclone activity in Belize and the Caribbean Islands.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Environment Fund (SVGEF) says it is pleased with the response to plans to have “dead/ dying” coral at Indian Bay removed.

UNITED NATIONS – A new report by the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has found that climate-related and geophysical events have resulted in the loss of 312,000 lives and directly affected more than 277 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Barbados government has signaled its intention to implement new regulations for the fisheries sector that may result in a new set of changes, including the posting of notices of closed and open seasons in the Official Gazette.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Barbados has called for differential treatment with regards to fishing subsidies, as it reaffirmed its commitment to playing its part in sustainable fishing practices.

FLORIDA – Tropical Storm Grace which formed on Saturday remains disorganized as it moves just south of Puerto Rico and forecasters say heavy rainfall across the Lesser and Greater Antilles remains the primary threat over the next few days.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Guyana government says it is seeking to revive the 165 Megawatts (MW) Amaila Falls Hydropower project (AFHP) and hoping to start construction in 2022 with a completion date in 2025.

MIAMI – The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is strengthening its collaboration with one of the world's leading conservation organizations, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), to promote sustainable tourism throughout the Caribbean and bolster its efforts to keep the region's waters healthy and thriving.

MIAMI, Florida – A tropical storm warning is in effect for Haiti, as Tropical Storm Fred moved closer towards the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country on Wednesday.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator Dr. Jerome Walcott has appealed for efforts to be stepped up to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-induced impacts, which negatively impact Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

OPA-LOCKA, Fl.  —  In an effort to expand Miami-Dade County’s tree canopy by leveraging local resources, Neat Streets Miami awarded the City of Opa-locka a Street Tree Matching Grant for its Perviz Street Tree Beautification Project in the amount of $10,220. In its sixth year, Neat Streets Miami’s street tree program awarded 15 organizations matching grants to advance the Million Trees Miami initiative, a community-wide effort to achieve a 30 percent tree canopy for Miami-Dade County.