Sustainable Grenadines Project

SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN THE GRENADINE ISLANDS

 (ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES AND GRENADA)

Project goal: The integrated sustainable development of the Grenadine Islands area for the social and economic well being of the people who live there.

Project purpose: To develop functioning participatory co-management for integrated sustainable development in the Grenadines

To demonstrate participatory sustainable development in small island systems that can be adapted and applied elsewhere.

Background: The Grenadine islands lie on the Grenada Bank and straddle the boundary between Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. There are over 20 islands, of which 9 have permanent settlements. Two are resort islands. The largest islands have towns and communities with public and private supporting infrastructure. Most others are visited by yachters, and fishers. Much of the bank area occupied by the by the Grenadine Islands (about 1,500 km²) is shallower than 50 m and supports the most extensive coral reefs and related habitats in the south-eastern Caribbean. Marine-based activities are the mainstay of the economy of the area. Tourism is a major source of employment and tourism development is proceeding apace. Fishing is the other major source of employment.

Both Governments perceive their Grenadine Islands as having high potential for tourism and associated development.They also recognise the high vulnerability of the marine and terrestrial resource systems of the area to environmental degradation and the dependency of sustainable development on conservation of the resources.

 

Project area: The Grenadine Islands - Bequia to Carriacou

Duration: November 2003 - December 2008

Funding: The Lighthouse Foundation , Germany, is funding the project core (US$150,000 a year for five years).

 

 

Phase 1                                 Phase 2