 In other sustainable development matters on World Earth Day 2021, Thursday 22nd April, Latin America and the Caribbean welcomed the treaty into force of the new regional agreement on access to information, public participation, and access to justice in environmental matters, otherwise known as the Escalzo Agreement. St. Lucia was one of the first countries to sign in 2018 and later ratified the treaty in 2020. Government now reaffirms the importance of this first regional environmental treaty and its commitment to protecting the planet and the people who defend it. The legal officer in the Department of Sustainable Development explains the next step in St. Lucia meeting the obligations of the agreement. More importantly, we need to look at our legal frameworks, our legal and procedural frameworks, so we know that the World Resources Institute, they are on the ground. They had selected three countries, St. Lucia, Jamaica, and there's a third country. To look at the laws, and I know a consultancy, I'm not sure if it is finished yet, but we are hoping that we will get the recommendation soon for us to know what we need to do in terms of our legal framework. The Escalzo Agreement requires each participating state to guarantee their rights of every person to live in a healthy environment. It also seeks to deepen environmental governance by strengthening community engagement.