Three way alliance to strengthen natural resource management in the Caribbean

Panos Caribbean

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For further information contact: Indi Mclymont/Jan Voordouw, Panos Caribbean.

Tel: 920-0070-1, E-mail: jamaica@panoscaribbean.org

Three way alliance to strengthen natural resource management in the Caribbean

Dominican fishermen first to benefit from NGO initiative

Kingston (Panos) September 16, 2010 - Fishermen will tell you that it is not easy making a living.  Fish get scarcer or smaller, and you have to go further or deeper to get good fish.  You also have to protect the nursery areas of baby fish. So fishermen have to balance many environmental concerns.

In the island of Dominica, fishermen participate in a group effort to find solutions to these challenges.  They are a part of the Soufriere Scott’s Head Marine Reserve (SSMR), an initiative that tackles protecting the island’s marine resources while addressing the growing seafood demands of the Dominican population and visitors. The SSMR is one of only two locations with legislated local area management authorities in the entire Eastern Caribbean.

Therefore, it provides valuable lessons for other Caribbean islands. These lessons are being documented by the University of the West Indies Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) in the scope of a research project.  The project is co-funded by The Nature Conservancy and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The research recommends that a legal-administrative review of SSMR’s Local Area Management Authority (LAMA) be done.  Inconsistencies in legislation, by-laws and procedures need to be fixed.  All should be in place to support a new management plan.

Also, the LAMA needs to have a small executive board of core stakeholders.  This should be surrounded by a broader stakeholder advisory group.  Clear terms of reference for both groups need to be ensured.

According to the research there is a great need for a communications strategy and plan for the LAMA.  This should be based on a determination of what is needed and what is the capacity to deliver it. Further, the LAMA should network closely with community and business development agencies.

CERMES is collaborating with two other regional organisations that also have an interest in working with the LAMA to implement the recommendations. The three entities – CERMES, the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) and Panos Caribbean – were in Dominica in July for a validation meeting on the research findings.

“It was a very good learning experience as you could clearly see the research being applied at the community and even national level,” said Indi Mclymont-Lafayette, Regional Director Media, Community and Environment at Panos Caribbean.

 “The findings of the research identify key areas where stakeholders involved in managing the SSMR need to negotiate some critical issues,” said Nicole Leotaud, Executive Director of CANARI.“They also need to build their capacity to implement the decisions made about how the marine resources will be managed.  CERMES, CANARI and Panos can bring their experience from around the region to help support stakeholders in Dominica with their efforts.”

For Patrick McConney, the research project manager at CERMES, information sharing among Caribbean countries is very important.”There is a lot that we in the Caribbean can learn from each other about how best to govern the use of our natural resources for the benefit of our people … the answers are often closer at hand than we expect once we are prepared to share information and collaborate in finding solutions.”

While Dominica is the first collaboration for the three regional organisations, it is definitely not the last. Panos, CERMES and CANARI have recently signed an agreement that will increase their joint work and impact.  The three aim together to better support and strengthen Caribbean organisations.  Skills, technical resources and knowledge will be shared.

The new alliance in this way, aims to promote participatory natural resource management and governance.

“The bringing together of three organisations with distinct skills in community participation, research and communication will have a strong impact on the lives of Caribbean people.  It should enable for instance the fishermen from Dominica to shape their future,” said Jan Voordouw, Executive Director of Panos Caribbean.

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