NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (February 08, 2024)- Enthusiasts and stakeholders in agriculture and the environment on Nevis participated in a recent workshop aimed at preparing them to assist in the implementation of the federal project for improving environmental management through sustainable land management.

The workshop, held at the New River Estate agricultural station, was the first in a series of such engagements and saw in attendance farmers, environmentalists, and persons involved in reforestation.

Mr. Melvin James, Agricultural Specialist for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) project, gave some insight into the initiative.

“The workshop is about replanting trees in areas that have now become deforested. It is critical that we do so and therefore we are training a number of farmers, persons in volunteer groups and persons with an interest in natural regeneration. The idea is that we would inform as to the benefits of replanting and the different techniques that could be used in replanting.

“So we’re aiming and hoping that having done the training that there’s a greater awareness, a greater appreciation, a greater understanding and it translates into us planting more trees, and for the population in general to understand and agree and don’t destroy unnecessarily, rather conserve and preserve and in the end we’ll be better off. Overall we’ll be doing something better for our environs and making our country a cooler, more ecofriendly and a nicer place to live,” he said.

Ms. Nikkita Browne, the IUCN project coordinator said the five-year initiative, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), aims to restore 500 hectares of degraded forest, farms, and mangroves in St. Kitts and Nevis in order to make them more productive areas for agroforestry and agriculture.

The workshop was conducted by a former Director of Agriculture Mr. Keithly Amory.

The project is being implemented in collaboration with the Departments of Agriculture on St. Kitts and Nevis, the Department of Sustainable Development and Environment in St. Kitts and the Department of Physical Planning and Environment in Nevis