September 24, 1997 - USAID/Jamaica officials met with ENCORE senior partners on September 19 where an agreement was signed to extend the project life for the multi-million dollar environmental project for another fifteen months with additional funding.

ENCORE is a six year, US$11 million grant project with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States being implemented in Saint Lucia and Dominica. It is intended to help preserve marine bio-diversity and promote effective environmental management in the Eastern Caribbean. The project's aim is to show that collaboration between public, private and community interests can protect the natural resource base and enhance bio-diversity conservation, while promoting viable economic development. It has been successful in fostering regional cooperation and community participation in marine resources conservation and integrated coastal zone management.

ENCORE is USAID's major Eastern Caribbean activity. Originally a programme under USAID Bridgetown, Barbados, which closed in 1996, it was scheduled to conclude this month. During discussions evolving from the May 1997 Caribbean/US Summit, agreement was reached for new regional environmental initiatives in the Eastern Caribbean to be managed by the USAID Office in Jamaica.

USAID/Jamaica officials met with the senior representatives of the project partners (OECS and the OECS-Natural Resource Management Unit and the World Wildlife Fund), to discuss project objectives and implementation arrangements. The project will now run until December 31, 1998. The project, funded at US$8.2 million to date, will have a total cost of US$11 million.