Bio-diversity

The Grenadines Islands, which are administratively divided between St. Vincent and Grenada, are noted for their beautiful scenery, spectacular beaches and diverse marine habitats that include coral reefs, mangroves and seabird colonies. Marine-based activities are the mainstay of the economy of the area and as a result they are major competing marine resource users. Water taxis are primary users of the sea in a variety of ways. They operate small, open, outboard powered boats. throughout the Grenadine Islands and are an important and integral component of sustainable livelihoods and social life there. They provide transport between islands to visitors and locals. They also offer visitors day trips for sightseeing, snorkelling and picnicking. Water taxis impact the marine environment directly through poor operating or waste disposal practices leading to pollution, or physical impacts through grounding and anchoring. From a livelihoods perspective, most water taxi operators are small-scale operators who are struggling to make a living. They are currently largely unregulated and the boats are often poorly equipped. The operators are seldom trained in the skills that are required to operate a passenger craft or a small business and many lack the necessary capacity to provide safe and efficient service. For this reason, they are often marginalized in favour of a few well-equipped water taxi operators that are recognized by the tourism authorities as being capable of providing safe, reliable service. The informal water taxi operators are in danger of being further marginalized by emerging international frameworks for safety and security at sea, as well as by large-scale tourism development by international investors. The goal of the project is to transform major resource users, namely water taxi operators, into environmental stewards while allowing them to undertake sustainable livelihoods. In addition the project seeks to improve the capacity of the Carricaou Environmental Committee (CEC) (a local NGO and the grantee) to act as an agent and a facilitator of environmental management in the area. The two primary project objectives are: (ii) "to build the capacity of the CEC as an agent for improving environmental stewardship in the Grenadine Islands by working with stakeholders; and (iii) to strengthen the capacity of Water Taxi Associations in order to make a substantial contribution to the conservation of the marine resources in the area through participating in co-management as responsible and knowledgeable users, thereby allowing them to become better stewards of the environment upon which their livelihoods depend." By the end of the project is hoped that a management mechanism will exist to allow for the better management of the use of the resources among Water Taxi Associations in two jurisdictions. Project partners include the University of the West Indies and Counterpart Caribbean.

Barbados