May 19, 2008 No. 9/08 The Board of Governors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will discuss Climate Change and its impact on the Caribbean, as well as the Food Crisis when the Bank holds it Annual Meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, next week. CDB President, Dr. Compton Bourne, believes the impact of climate change is not fully appreciated and its effects are likely to be pervasive for countries of the Region. He says this impact is felt most keenly in agriculture, Tourism and fisheries. The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre will present a paper on the activities of the Centre. Among the areas dealt with in the paper will be Caribbean Vulnerability to Global Warming and Climate Change and Regional Adaptation and Mitigation Activities. The President also disclosed that "We are tabling a paper on the food crisis. I believe the need to act is very urgent." Dr. Bourne is of the view that, a critical approach to addressing the crisis is to increase food production and improve distribution on a fairly rapid basis. He also believes that it is essential to alleviate the impact particularly on vulnerable groups, ensuring that there are social safety nets in place to cushion the effects, for example, school feeding programmes. The CDB Annual Meeting will be held at the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax on May 28 and 29. Canada's Governor for CDB, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Maxime Bernier, will chair the meeting.