Environmental study to begin shortly in Antigua & Barbuda

Wednesday February 07 2007

Antigua & Barbuda will shortly come under the focus of a study as part of an ongoing effort by the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to protect and preserve the ecosystems of certain natural habitats throughout the sub-region.

The ongoing exercise is called the OECS Protected Areas and Associated Livelihoods Project (OPAAL).

It is a five-year project designed to improve the management of protected areas in participating member states and seeks to increase participation in the management of protected areas by private organisations and civil society, and facilitate sustainable community livelihoods for those communities traditionally dependent on the resources of protected areas.

The site that was selected in Antigua is the North East Marine Management Area (NEMMA).

The study, to begin in the region this week, will seek to determine the environmental and socio-economic characteristics and issues facing this area and two others in the region which fall under the project.

The other two are the Cabrits National Park (CNP), Dominica and the Tobago Cays Marine Park (TCMP), St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The study will be conducted through a consultant firm, Eco-engineering Caribbean Limited.

The consultants are scheduled to commence work on Thursday 11 Feb., at the Tobago Cays Marine Park in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and are expected to collaborate with a number of national agencies as they assess the status of the resources in and around the site, the current activities and the nature of communities associated with them.

During the course of their work, the consultants will also seek specifically to assess the potential impacts of specific activities to be undertaken during implementation of OPAAL; develop appropriate environmental safeguards and mitigation measures; provide procedures for environmental screening prior to implementation of livelihood projects and collect baseline ecological and social data on the demonstration sites.

The findings of the consultants will guide the completion and implementation of management plans for each of the sites and provide additional indicators for monitoring natural resources and their levels of use within sites.

In the conduct of the study, the multi-disciplinary team of consultants will use a participatory approach to their work, which will include focus groups discussions.

The study will be conducted over a period of five months and is due to be completed in June 2007.

Data and information from the study will also feed into a number of other components to be implemented over the life of the OECS Protected Areas and Associated Livelihoods (OPAAL) Project.