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$13 Million for Activities to Protect Natural Resources

April 1, 2008

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Natural resources protection and conservation activities in the Office of the Prime Minister, is to benefit from $13.32 million, which has been allocated in the 2008/09 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House.
The allocation has been divided among: coastal zone management; pollution control and waste management; parks and protected areas species habitat monitoring; public education and communication; and watershed management and protection.
The grant for coastal zone management is $2.823 million, which will enable the continuation of the following activities in the fiscal year: monitoring of ecological systems (marine and terrestrial) and physical systems (beach stability and oceanography) within the country’s coastal zone; development of pre-approval inspection procedure and guidelines for internal use and post-approval inspection guidelines to assist post-inspection monitoring by environmental wardens; provide mapping of development information in a formal way to aid in future development; assist in the development of wetland protection plan; beach rehabilitation process, streamlining and implementing the next phase of rehabilitation; and develop standards and guidelines to mitigate the impact of sea level rise.
Meanwhile, $2.5 million will be spent on continued implementation of national programmes for pollution control and waste management, with a monitoring process that encourages compliance with standards and establishes links with private and public entities.
The project is responsible for, among other things: implementing an environmental Management System; developing an inventory of sewage and industrial discharge; and strengthening the legislative basis for accountability for environmental stewardship.
Parks and protected areas species habitat monitoring activities will benefit from a sum of $5 million for the establishment and management of a system for protected areas, both directly and through appropriate delegation, using a variety of strategic co-management partnership and contractual arrangements with the public sector, non-governmental organisations, community groups, private companies and individuals.
The public education and communication component will receive
$1 million to create greater awareness of the importance of the environment and emphasize the methods of conservation, protection and usage of available natural resources in a suitable manner. Meanwhile, $2 million will go toward the continued protection and management of the island’s watershed and natural resources.
This project seeks to: reduce the incidence and impact of bush fire on watershed resources and ecosystem; facilitate the work of local watershed management committees; provide land use information or problem analysis, planning and development; and develop and implement an appropriate information system.

Last Updated: April 1, 2008

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