An Integrated Approach to Managing Watersheds and Coastal Areas

Contact: Rose Marie Harris

Tuesday, August 21, 2001 – Caribbean countries are taking to the drawing board again, plans on integrating the management of coastal and freshwater resources of their respective countries.   The final seminar in a three part series to assist Caribbean countries to strengthen their capacity to implement and maintain an integrated approach to management of watersheds and coastal areas is being hosted by the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) on Wednesday.

Information Services Director with CEHI, Herold Gopaul says these sessions, which have been ongoing for the past eighteen months, will bring together thirteen representatives from the Caribbean as well as Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

“What has been happening is that each of the countries has been doing an assessment of what the issues that relate to integrating water management and costal shed in their island state.  At the last meeting in Jamaica the countries prepared and presented the national report in terms of assessment   and the issues that they want to see included in the broader project. This final meeting is to finalize the project brief which will go to the Global Environment Facility of the World Bank and other funding agencies some time in October and hopefully it will be approved and implementation of the full blown project should take place early next year,” Gopaul explained.

According to the CEHI official, the project will be implemented in two phases, costing over ten million US dollars. “One at the regional level to improve regional coordination capacity within the region and at the national level.  At the national level countries are expected to identify what they consider to be demonstration projects which they will use as demonstration models to improve the integrating of the management of water shed and coastal areas in their home countries,” he said.

At the last regional workshop held in Jamaica in February 2001, participating countries presented national reports on ecosystem management problems and solutions associated with their watershed and coastal areas.

St. Lucia’s Minister for Planning, Development, Environment and Housing Honourable Dr. Walter Francois will deliver the feature address at Wednesday’s opening ceremony.

Other speakers include the Executive Director of CEHI Vincent Sweeney and Nelson Andrade who is the Coordinator of the United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Coordinating Unit for the Caribbean Environment Programme.

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