20 July – Castries, Saint Lucia – The local forests in Saint Lucia are critical to the tourism sector,
food and agriculture resources, biodiversity, water resources and the livelihoods of many of its
rural residents, among others. However, it is estimated that only 40% of the island’s forests are
designated as Forest Reserve with the remaining 60% of forested lands being under private
tenure. Hence, The Department of Forestry with support from the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) teamed up to host a five day workshop to better
equip participants on the application of participatory approaches, discovery-based extension
and engagement techniques. These new skills will enable them to adopt integrated and
participatory approaches when dealing with environmental, socio-economic and sustainable
livelihood issues.
The workshop attended by 21 Forestry, Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Engineering and
Water Resources Officers, focused on community or participatory forestry management, an
effective strategy, which allows the Division of Forest & Land Resources Development to work
with local communities to sustainably manage forest resources and preserve the livelihoods
that depend on them.
During the first four days of the workshop, the officers were engaged in interactive sessions,
which explored topics such as participatory approaches, community empowerment,
stakeholder mapping and analysis, negotiation skills, conflict resolution, discovery-based
extension and engagement methods. Additionally, through practical field exercises, participants
were also exposed to the methodology used for conducting Rapid River Assessments (RRAs). In
the next phase of the project, the skills developed during this training will be put to good use in
effort to foster improved relations with communities and contribute to the sustainability of
revegetation efforts along three degraded watersheds through participatory forestry.
Therese Yarde, FAO’s Regional Project Coordinator expressed the organization’s satisfaction in
working with the Division of Forest & Land Resources Development to execute the project. She
indicated that the project would boost the capacity for a people-centred approach to
rehabilitating riverbanks and regenerating important ecosystem services that rivers provide to
Saint Lucia. She stated, “The engagement and enthusiasm of the participants from the Division
of Forest & Land Resources Development and other important partner agencies in the
government has been extremely encouraging. FAO is looking forward to the next stage of our
partnership with the Division of Forest & Land Resources Development, which will involve
working with communities to revegetate the riverbanks and improve practices that are harmful
to the selected rivers”.
Meanwhile, Natachia Fanus – Forest Officer, Division of Forests and Land Resources
Development, stated, “I had a rewarding experience, I gained knowledge and skills. We need
more courses like this to build capacity at Forestry. Job well done”
Kisha Jacob, Extension Officer, Extension Services, remarked that, “This training from FAO
consultant Michael Andrew in my opinion, could not come at a better time. This has been the
best training and facilitator in a long time and would be beneficial to other members of staff.
Although it was a very compact four-day training, the level of interaction made it easier to
grasp concepts. When I receive the presentations, I will be making them available to other
members of staff, and also try my uttermost to impart the knowledge I have received. A warm
thank you to FAO, Leshan Monrose and Michael Andrew and to my fellow group one team for
making this possible”
The workshop ended with a closing ceremony and presentation of certificates to the
participants along with featured remarks from Alwin Dornelly, Chief Forestry Officer, Souraya
Niles-Regis, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Leshan Monrose,
FAO National Project Coordinator. The Deputy Permanent Secretary she thanked FAO for its
support and encouraged the participants to utilize the knowledge and skills developed during
the workshop.
