GEF Antigua and Barbuda

11th November 2009

Antigua and Barbuda is celebrating Arbour Month during the month of November. This is because November has the best conditions for newly planted trees to flourish; it is the wettest month of the year and the end of the hurricane season. For Arbour Month 2009 the Forestry Unit in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and Environment, is focusing on reforesting the Body Ponds Watershed and highlighting to the public the importance of trees.

The current warming of the climate system is undeniable, as evidenced through the increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level. This will in turn pose huge challenges to nations with developing countries suffering most from the adverse impacts of climate change.

The Sustainable Island Resource Management Mechanism (SIRMM) Project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), is currently being implemented in Antigua and Barbuda to ensure the sustainability and maintenance of island ecosystem integrity, health, and function through integrated planning and management of island resources.

The Sustainable Island Resource Management Mechanism (SIRMM) Project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), is currently being implemented in Antigua and Barbuda to ensure the sustainability and maintenance of island ecosystem integrity, health, and function through integrated planning and management of island resources.

As is customary at this time of year in commemoration of Arbour month the Forestry Unit and the Environment Division in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment would like to strongly encourage every Antiguan and Barbudan to plant least one tree.

Arbour Month is celebrated throughout the world at different times of the year. It will be celebrated in Antigua and Barbuda in the month of November. This is because November has the best conditions for newly planted trees to flourish, it is the wettest month of the year and it is at the end of the hurricane season.

PRESS RELEASE
18th January 2008

The Environment Division would like to announce the commencement of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded project. This project is the Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Island Resource Management Mechanism in a Small Island Developing State (SIRMM) and the Environment Division is the National Executing Agency. The GEF contribution to the project will be USD 3 million over a period of 4 years.

THE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF CLEARING LAND

This message is supported by the SIRMM Project - Demonstrating the Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Island Resource Management Mechanism in a Small Island Developing State

Point and nonpoint pollution are impacting Antigua and Barbuda's (AB) freshwater and near shore marine water. Such pollution is adversely affecting drinking water supplies, recreational waters, and ecosystem survival. In this regard, there is need to introduce “Water Quality Guidelines” within these watersheds to safeguard the public and meet the needs of water for agriculture, fisheries and recreational activities.

2008 marked the start of the Rehabilitation of the Body Ponds Watershed through the Forestry Division in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Marine Resources and Agro-Industries with close collaboration with the Environment Division in the Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Culture and the Environment.

This is a quarterly newsletter produced by the GEF-IWCAM Project Coordination Unit.

Small background of the GEF-IWCAM Project: