Forestry Dept, CANARI sustainable livelihoods host workshop

A workshop which focused on the ways in which Caribbean people can maintain sustainable livelihoods from the forests took place at the Sunset Shores Conference Room from August 19th – 21st, and was co-hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries’ Integrated Forest Management Development Programme (IFMDP) and the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI).{{more}}

The workshop aimed to come up with ways to improve the methods by which Caribbean people benefit from the forest, and, according to IFMDP Chairperson Fitzgerald Providence, was an ideal opportunity to, “…promote food security and preservation of natural resources.” In her remarks, CANARI Representative Nicole Leotaud stressed that the “…rural poor” should benefit most from any initiatives or improvements that result from this workshop.

Acting Chief Agricultural Officer Reuben Robertson pointed out that people often overlook the forest’s contribution to water supply and the numerous ways in which water benefits us all – including hydroelectricity, biodiversity and ecosystems, amongst others. “We recognise… that the forest’s indirect contribution to the economy is enormous,” he affirmed. Robertson emphasised the need to work together to develop, implement and exploit (with some level of precision) the “…types of alternative livelihood programmes that are income generating and sustainable.” He further acknowledged the decline in banana exportation and the negative effects resulting from that. Robertson was adamant that alternative “survival mechanisms” need to be implemented in order to recoup revenue lost from the decline in banana production.

Participants in the workshop came from eight Caribbean countries, which included Jamaica, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis.