CASTRIES, St. Lucia – The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission says it has launched a documentary on forest management coinciding with the with the observance of the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought (UNCCD).
The Commission said that its Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) Project Management Team launched the documentary titled “The OECS Forestry Management Training Initiative,” and is in line with the strategic goals of the OECS ILM project funded by the European Union (EU).
That project aims at increasing capacities and rehabilitating degraded lands within the nine-member OECS grouping and that the focus of the documentary is the training initiative in management and conservation of forestry, wildlife, parks, and the environment at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) “which seeks not only to ensure the sustainability of the interventions of the OECS ILM Project, but also help to build a cadre of competent professionals committed to building the resilience of the OECS region”
The documentary relates the experiences and aspirations of 11 students from seven OECS member states, namely Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, The British Virgin Islands, and Anguilla.
“Their stories capture the essence of their journey and the transformative impact of the training initiative,” the Commission added.
The Senior Technical Specialist of the ILM Project, Mrs. Delamine Andrew-Williams, said that the initiative and documentary highlight the need for such continued support, given that the individual career investments would be too burdensome to go alone against the current salary scales within the region.
