The Government of Trinidad and Tobago, through the Ministry of Planning and Development, has received approval from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to execute the project titled “BIOREACH: Biodiversity Conservation and Agroecological Land Restoration in Productive Landscapes of Trinidad and Tobago”. The project is valued at US$22,454,792.00 through a mix of grant funding from the GEF and co-financing commitments from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
The project will promote biodiversity conservation, restore degraded lands and improve livelihoods of rural communities in targeted productive landscapes (agriculture, forestry, and other land uses) throughout Trinidad and Tobago.
Speaking at the project’s Inception Workshop held in San Fernando on Wednesday 5th October, Dr. Marissa Gowrie of the Environmental Policy Planning Division of the Ministry of Planning and Development, noted that the BIOREACH project is a critical intervention towards the sustainable development and management of the country’s biological resources and seeks to disrupt ecologically and socially negative cycles. It also aims to support livelihoods and food security as well as develop diverse and improved integrated production systems. This will increase environmental resilience, especially in the context of severe climate events, to which small island developing states such as Trinidad and Tobago are especially susceptible.
BIOREACH will be jointly executed by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (NAMDEVCO) with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/UN) as the GEF implementing agency and the Environmental Policy Planning Division as the National Technical Project Directorate.
Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Senator the Honourable Avinash Singh stated that there is a need to work hand in hand with farmers in executing climate-smart food production plans. As a nation, Trinidad and Tobago needs to secure its human, food and environmental assets in order to ensure a future for the coming generations.
Hayden Romano, CEO of the Environmental Management Agency noted that the BIOREACH project aligns well with the National Environmental Policy, and maintaining a healthy environment is central to our health and well-being, security, and enjoyment of life and property.
The biodiversity of Trinidad and Tobago plays an important role in the provision of products and ecosystem services that maintain our well-being. These include the support services such as nutrient cycling, pollination and soil formation; the provision of food, medicine and other raw materials; the regulation of our climate, air and water purification and our many cultural and recreational opportunities. The depletion of biodiversity and land degradation, therefore, reduces our access, use and enjoyment of these valuable services, which will invariably lead to impacts on our livelihoods, health and food systems.
The goals of the BIOREACH project align with the government’s national strategic goal to place the environment at the centre of social and economic development, while working to achieve Sustainable Developmental Goals 12: ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’ and 15, ‘Life on Land’.