Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 01, 2021 (SKNIS): The UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Committee held its first community sensitization meeting on the project ‘Clean-up of the Cayon River/Ghaut, Hermitage & Keys Bay Areas’ at the Cayon Community Centre on March 30, 2021.
Secretary-General of St. Kitts and Nevis National Commission for UNESCO, Dorothy Warner said that the committee is reaching out to the community to help roll out the project as there is much work to be done.
“There is also much to learn about how we hope to strike a delicate balance between conserving, preserving, and protecting the environment in which we have to live and work,” she said. “Learn about your history and pledge to safeguard your heritage and leave a rich legacy for the younger generation yet unborn.”
At the meeting, residents were urged to desist from illegal sand mining, indiscriminate dumping in the ghaut, demolition of the area’s relics, and encouraged to protect the flora, fauna, and marine environment.
The rich history of the Hermitage Estate was also relayed to the residents. Ms. Warner said that once it is cleaned up, space will be used for the MAB Secretariat and Orientation Centre.
“So, the initial clean-up of that space is all a part of the project down the road to make sure that the Secretariat is established there,” she said.
Ms. Warner said that during the clean-up farmers will be engaged to ensure that they employ sustainable practices. Homeowners will also be encouraged to start home gardens and control their waste.
“Sometime in 2019 we started a clean-up of the Cayon Ghaut and the amount of household waste that we pulled from the ghaut was amazing, old refrigerators, old louvers, old plastic containers, etc. That is why we are embarking on this major clean-up of the ghaut,” she said.
Business owners, who attended the meeting, were also encouraged to control their waste and partner with the committee to ensure that they are a part of the clean-up and the sustainability of the project.
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