Current and future plans to address land degradation and drought in St Vincent and the Grenadines were discussed during a round table meeting held the Fisheries conference room in Kingstown on Tuesday, June 24, 2014.

The meeting was hosted by the Project Steering Committee {{more}}for the project titled: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought (UNCCD) Reporting and National Action Programme Alignment, housed within the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment.

One of the objectives of the project is to align SVG National Action Programme to Combat Land Degradation and Drought to the 10-year strategy of the UNCCD.

The objective of the meeting was to bring together the various entities for an information sharing session to develop synergies and a more coordinated approach, as SVG moves forward to address land degradation and drought. The stakeholders shared information on the current and future projects that will address land degradation and/or drought issues, and also explored other measures that may need to be effected to achieve the same.

Some of the projects include construction of new intakes, sea defences, river bank stabilisation and reforestation in the watersheds.

In attendance were representatives from the Lands and Surveys Department and the Physical Planning Unit within the Ministry of Housing, the Central Planning Division within the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the Central Water and Sewage Authority, VINLEC, BRAGSA, the Ministry of Transport, Works, the the Environmental Management Department within the Ministry of Health, the Forestry Division within the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Emergency Management Office (NEMO).

The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment continues to urge all Vincentians to protect the nation’s lands and rivers.