Environmental research

The project will address these climate change risks through improved management of some agricultural land and popularize proper soil management practices, with the aim of enhancing ecosystem services. Colihaut seeks to build capacity in adaptation-oriented community-based natural resource management by empowering members of the community to manage the ecosystems upon which they rely. The participatory process to project design, implementation and management will be employed to ensure and increase levels of stakeholder involvement at all stages. This project will simultaneously support best practices through the promotion of greenhouse farming and composting with the demonstration site situated on the school compound to engage youth and students of Colihaut and ensure a sense of community ownership . Individual and group farmers will then be encouraged and motivated to adapt the best practices demonstrated in this. It will focus on limiting land based and coastal erosion, as well as protecting the shoreline with tree planting activities. This project will address a key climate risk and its drivers and emphasize community ownership in partnership with relevant government ministries. Further it will have direct bearing on providing replicable lessons that can influence policies within the country. Activities will include: The securing of food production through: 1. introduction of new varieties and more resistant vegetables under green-house conditions and the practice of composting The training of children on sustainable land management Tree planting Community education and outreach In line with the thematic areas, this project will adopt the goal of Loss of natural resources and associated damage to livelihoods, ecosystems and economy reduced , by addressing the objective of: Enhancing resilience of natural resources and livelihoods sensitive to climate change impacts through improving community adaptive capacities to sustainably manage natural resources; The following impact indicators support this objective: Assessment of climate change risks and impacts affecting Dominica presented in Dominica s Climate Change Adaptation Policy and Action Plan (2002) updated in the Second National Communication (SNC) to the UNFCCC. Colihaut-specific climate risks identified during the Special Programme for Adaptation to Climate Change SPACC) and the Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Project point to the following sectors as its focus: o Agriculture (Food Security) o Water Resources and o Human Health. Benefits to Community GEB BD + LD/Outcomes and Impact indicators 1. Raised awareness of climate change, its effects on ecosystems and local livelihoods. Community members from oldest to youngest become aware of importance of protecting ecosystems in the village. 2. Improved village capacity to plan, develop and implement projects in the face of climate change to a standard that can be models for other village projects and village communities. 3. Planting of trees especially along the coast line. This is also accompanied by the education of the children and the rest of the community about the effect of climate change on the seas tides and strategies to mitigate against its effects 4. An understanding and practical experience of the effect of climate change on agriculture and the need to change practices to mitigate those effect using greenhouses and composting, seedling propagation; plant propagation 5. Promote behavioural change and communication especially among the youth 6. Documentation of the effect of climate change as a mitigation effort of the community before and after the project

Dominica