​The Iyanola Natural Resource Management team will host community consultations this week with residents of Garrand, Boguis, Desbarras and surrounding areas on the Northeast Coast Project.

The overall goal of the project is to increase effective management and the sustainable use of the natural resources found on Saint Lucia`s north east coast.

Meetings will be held from Sep. 8 – 10 with residents of the stakeholder communities, and will provide an update to and obtain feedback of the project’s plans and objectives. The team also hopes to solicit residents’ support to ensure the successful execution of the project.

The north east coast of Saint Lucia is a significant area among the geographical regions, and is the only remaining frontier with a combination of rare and endemic flora and fauna species, landscapes of outstanding natural beauty and quality, ecosystems rich in bio-diversity, unique dry-scrub forest ecosystems, and pristine beaches.

This region is endowed with a variety of environmental resources which form an important socio-economic and cultural asset base of the island‘s national economy.

The prudent and judicious harnessing of those resources through sustainable land use planning and management can produce local economic benefits and contribute to positive environmental change and adaptation at the global scale.

The Iyanola Natural Resource Management project of the north east coast seeks to improve the effective management and sustainable use of the natural resource base of the north east coast as part of the broader objective of contributing to global environmental security. This is to be achieved through linkages to the GEF’s prescribed focal areas of biodiversity, climate change and land degradation and related priorities of land use planning, safeguarding of key areas and continuity and sustainable replacements.

The community consultations start on Tuesday, Sep. 8 from 6:30 pm at the Garrand Community Centre and continues on Wednesday, Sep. 9 at the Boguis Primary School and Thursday, Sep. 10 from 6 p.m. at the Desbarras Community Centre.