Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 11, 2017 (SKNIS): The St. Kitts and Nevis Conserving Biodiversity Project of the Department of the Environment launched its communication campaign, under the theme “It’s All about Balance” on Tuesday, October 10, as a way of educating the public on conservation and proper usage of the federation’s resources.
The campaign is aimed at increasing dialogue among students, fishers, farmers, policy and decision makers and the general public on the importance of using resources wisely and conserving biodiversity, by demonstrating how biodiversity is linked to life and livelihood.
The communication campaign, which runs from October 10 -13, includes a media tour, visits to fishing and farming communities and visits to schools.
Claudia Drew, Project Coordinator, said that it was important to launch a campaign of this nature because the public needed to be duly informed about how to properly use and conserve the federation’s resources.
“Essentially, we are just trying to conserve in some instances, protect in other instances and to manage and use our resources in a sustainable manner so that we can enjoy it, as well as persons who visit us and the future generation,” said the project coordinator, while appearing on Winn FM’s Breakfast Show on Tuesday, October 10.
Equally important, Sherlene Pablada, Communication Consultant out of Belize, shared similar sentiments, noting that conserving the federation’s resources is vital.. She spoke specifically to the rainforest, adding that it is a major resource and should be protected at all times. Ms. Pablada said that the project will aid in protecting such a precious resource.
“So the Central Forest Reserve is a National Park. Under this project, we are hoping that we can give some more awareness of it and its purpose,” she said, adding that informing people on the importance of the national park is critical.. “Sometimes we take things for granted. As we go about our daily lives and our daily business, we use and we assume that we will have at our disposal to continue to use forever. We tend to take our resources for granted and, if you look around, you will start to see that certain things are running out and it is very possible that things can diminish.”
The Central Forest Reserve comprises the entire area of St. Kitts’ Central Range above the 1,000-foot contour – an area of 4,030 hectares or nearly 10, 000 acres. It was the first National Park to be designated for the purposes of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. In 2016, St. Kitts’ Central Forest Reserve joined the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy Initiative. It is an initiative that represents a Pan-Commonwealth effort aimed at preserving and conserving – for future generations – one of the key but increasingly vulnerable assets of our natural ecosystem.
Ms. Pablada said that persons need to play their role in ensuring that the resources are conserved in order to protect lives and livelihood.