Dr. Reynold Murray is expressing the hope that St. Vincent and the Grenadines will take advantage of resources available through the Global Environment Facility (GEF-5).{{more}}

Murray, the Programme Manager, Energy and the Environment UNDP (Barbados and the OECS), at a workshop held here, stated that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is available and ready to serve St. Vincent and the Grenadines and all other countries.

Last week, the Environmental Management Department in the Ministry of Health and the Environment collaborated with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to host a two day workshop on country priorities for the Global Environment Facility (GEF-5).

The workshop concluded on Thursday, November 18, at Frenches House.

The session aimed to build capacity for communities to sustainably manage their own natural resources.

Edmund Jackson, Director of the Environmental Management Department, said the workshop is a follow-up to one held in September to discuss how to use resources in the global society to undertake environmental programmes in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The GEF-5 Small Grants Programme (SGP) works directly with civil society Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to provide funding to undertake small environmental projects at the community level.

GEF-5’s philosophy is that a number of small projects collectively have greater impact at the national level, the regional and the global level.

A discussion followed presentations on topics such as environmental threats, biodiversity, conservation, climate change mitigation, land degradation and chemicals.

This was done with the intention of identifying priority themes and/or poor geography areas for project development and implementation during GEF-5.

Sub-regional Coordinator GEF-5 SGP UNPD (Barbados and the OECS) Giles Romulus said that development is about people and developing the quality of life of people over time. He added that one of the challenges to attain funding for projects results from lack of capacity within civil society organizations to work throughout the programme cycle.

Romulus further stated that if this sector is developed properly, the quantum of funds in the country will multiply, thus the availability of more resources to address complex problems like poverty and the environment.