Mango, Cocoa and Chestnut trees were planted along the Fond/Malgretoute riverbank to prevent further soil erosion

Wednesday, August 14, 2019 — The OECS Commission and the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF SPC) are continuing efforts to reduce flooding and strengthen resilience in the community of Malgretoute, in Micoud, Saint Lucia.

This latest effort facilitated the planting of trees along the Fond/Malgretoute River by student volunteers from the Vide Bouteille Primary School’s Scouts and the Duke of Edinburgh Caribbean Awards Sub-regional Council.

Programme Officer in the OECS Environmental Sustainability Cluster, Josette Edward-Charlemagne, welcomed the participation from the students and highlighted the need for sensitisation on environmental sustainability at all levels.

“It was a pleasure to have the students be a part of this riverbank stabilisation activity. This project serves to sensitise the community of Malgretoute but also our wider community on the ways in which they can intervene, albeit in small ways, to protect the environment.

“The trees that were planted in the past few weeks will in time aid in preventing the extensive erosion and flooding that the residents of Malgretoute experience every year during the rainy season,” Charlemagne said.

Eva Williams, Teacher at the Vide Bouteille Primary School, played a key role in organising students to participate in the river stabilisation project and was pleased the initiative was a success.

“We started this project in July with a group of students from the Vide Bouteille Primary School – the Scouts. The activity was not complete, however, so we decided that we would bring the campers [from the Duke of Edinburgh Caribbean Awards Sub-regional Council] here to complete the project.”

“We are very happy that the OECS and CCRIF were able to bring us on board to be a part of this project.” 

Duke of Edinburgh Participant from the Cayman Islands, Julien Manko, noted the importance of extra-curricular groups such as the Duke of Edinburgh Programme to foster leadership skills and help young people give back to their communities.

“The Duke of Edinburgh is an excellent experience that I would certainly recommend to anyone wanting to improve their leadership skills and who would like to have an opportunity to visit other beautiful countries in the Caribbean, learn more about the culture and work on a project that can help the local community.”

“Today I’m very excited to be working with the rest of my teammates on this project for river bank stabilisation. We are working on planting trees to ensure that the silt does not continue to block the river here in Malgretoute.”

Mitigation work in the Malgretoute area has been ongoing for approximately eighteen (18) months and the project continues to engage members of the community, both in the performance of project activities and in the transfer of knowledge, to better maintain the watershed and riverbank. 

The main goal of the Malgretoute riverbank stabilisation and reforestation initiative is to replant at least half of the deforested areas along the Malgretoute/Fond watershed and implement measures to stabilise the river banks.

The project is estimated at thirty-four thousand, one hundred dollars (USD $34,100). 

About the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States: 

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is an international organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance among independent and non-independent countries in the Eastern Caribbean comprising Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Martinique and Guadeloupe.

About the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility Segregated Portfolio Company:

The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF SPC) is a segregated portfolio company, owned, operated and registered in the Caribbean. It limits the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes, earthquakes and excess rainfall events to the Caribbean and – since 2015 – Central American governments by quickly providing short-term liquidity when a parametric insurance policy is triggered.

CCRIF SPC is the world’s first regional fund utilising parametric insurance, giving member governments the unique opportunity to purchase earthquake, hurricane and excess rainfall catastrophe coverage with lowest-possible pricing.

About the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Programme:

The Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young adults for completing a series of self-improvement exercises.