Proposed Project for Choc Watershed and Coastal Area

Transcription

1 Annex 1 Demonstration Project Choc Project Proposal

2 Proposed Project for Choc Watershed and Coastal Area Project Title: Development of Mechanisms and Procedures for the Integration of Watershed Management and Coastal Area Management Practices within the Choc Watershed in St. Lucia Goal: To develop appropriate mechanisms and procedures for the integration of Watershed Management and Coastal Area Management Practices within the Choc Watershed in St. Lucia. Background: The Choc watershed and coastal area lie within the northwestern part of St. Lucia, which has undergone significant development over the past 20 years. This watershed lies between the capital city of Castries, to its south, and the touristic town of Gros Islet, to its north. As a result of the physical limitations of the Central Castries district, over the past 20 years, several major commercial, touristic, industrial and institutional developments have been established within the Choc watershed. Meanwhile, changes in the agriculture sector and the increasing tendency to convert agricultural land to other uses, have resulted in consistent decreases in the total land area used for agriculture. All of these developments have resulted in changing land-use patterns that are inevitably associated with changes in environmental quality within the watershed and coastal areas. This is visibly manifested in high turbidity levels within the Choc

3 river, during and after moderate to heavy rainstorms, and the associated effects of this situation within the nearshore coastal waters. This situation is one of the most obvious examples in St. Lucia of the deleterious effects of watershed management practices on coastal areas. As such, it has been widely accepted by decision-makers within the St. Lucia Government that the further development of the Choc coastal area is dependent on significant improvements to the quality of water discharged from the Choc river. This situation has in fact led to several investigations and studies being conducted on the Choc river and Choc Bay, and proposals are currently being prepared to address the high turbidity levels within the Choc river through physical means. This approach is not however expected to completely address the watershed management problems and related coastal area problems. The rapid changes that have taken place within the Choc watershed are expected to continue, as a number of new projects are being planned or proposed for the area. Among these are several housing developments, construction of a new primary school, construction of hotels and other touristic facilities. However, notwithstanding the obvious negative environmental effects of the rapid changes that have taken place within the Choc watershed, there are no clearly defined arrangements or mechanisms for ensuring that activities within the watershed and coastal areas are managed in a holistic way that will contribute to sustainable development of the watershed and island as a whole. There is therefore an urgent need to develop appropriate mechanisms and procedures for integrating watershed and coastal area management practices within the Choc watershed so as to ensure that the area continues to develop in a sustainable manner. The development of such mechanisms and procedures can then also serve as models for integrated management, that can be applied to similar watersheds within St. Lucia,

4 the Caribbean region and the developing world where similar physical and socioeconomic conditions exist. This project proposed to develop the appropriate procedures and mechanisms for integrating watershed and coastal area management practices within the Choc watershed. Methodology A small Technical Working Group (TWG) shall be established to oversee the implementation of this project. This TWG shall in turn operate under the guidance of the Steering Committee responsible for the implementation of the National Programme on the Integration of Watershed and Coastal Area Management. Agencies to be invited to serve on this TWG include: 1) The Ministry of Planning, Development, Environment and Housing; 2) The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; 3) Private sector representatives (Commercial, Industrial & Touristic); 4) Non-governmental agencies involved in the promotion of co-management practices in natural resource management 5) Organised community groups operating within the watershed; and 6) Unattached citizens residing within the Choc Watershed. The first activity to be undertaken by the TWG assisted by a private consultant will be the preparation of Social, Economic and Environmental profiles of the Choc Basin which are to form the basis for decision-making on future activities. Once these profiles have been prepared this has been ascertained, a programme will be developed whereby the TWG can work alongside specific target groups toward a joint determination of acceptable measures to be implemented for improved

5 environmental management. It is expected that this programme will include monitoring of surface and coastal water quality, a review of the policy, legal, and institutional frameworks of direct relevance to the Choc Watershed, and the preparation of a land-use and watershed management plan for the area. On the basis of the reviews and profiles indicated above, options are to be developed for the mechanisms and procedures for integration of the watershed and coastal area management activities in the watershed. These options are to be widely publicized within the watershed and the wider St. Lucian community. As such, a number of consultations are to be conducted to facilitate discussion on the options and to solicit feedback on the appropriate courses of action. Additionally, public awareness and education activities are to be conducted to ensure that there is widespread understanding of the issues affecting the watershed and coastal areas, so as to increase the chances of success in effecting the required changes to current practices within the watershed and coastal areas. The desired procedures and mechanisms are then to be implemented and monitored, and changes are to be made as appropriate, to ensure that they are relevant and effective. Arrangements are then to be made to for implementation of the procedures and mechanisms on an on-going basis upon completion of the project. The entire process is to be documented in a manner that will allow the experience of the Choc watershed to be used in the development of appropriate models for other areas costalsheds in St. Lucia, the Caribbean Region and other parts of the world where similar physical and socio-economic conditions exist.

6 Activities The proposed activities to be undertaken under the project and their associated costs, are provided in the following table: Activities Cost (USD) GEF GOSL TOTAL 1 Project Coordination 90,000 24, ,000 2 Establishment of multi-sectoral Technical 2,400 2,000 4,400 Working Group; 3 Preparation of Economic, Social and 15,000 10,000 25,000 Environmental Profiles of Choc Watershed; 4 Water Quality Monitoring 150,000 50, ,000 5 Interventions for improved environmental 30,000 10,000 40,000 management. 6 Development of options for mechanisms and procedures for integration of watershed and coastal area management / Choc Watershed Management Plan; 16,000 10,000 26,000 7 Circulation of Options; 15,000 5,000 20,000 8 Conduct of consultations 15,000 30,000 45,000 9 Establishment of mechanisms and procedures for improved integration of watershed and coastal 10,000 10,000

7 area management; 10 Monitoring and adjustment of procedures and - 5,000 5,000 mechanisms; 11 Conduct of Public awareness and Education exercises; 50, , , Documentation of experiences and lessons 10,000 10,000 20,000 learned; 14 Project Administration & Operating Expenses 36,000 72, ,000 TOTAL 439, , ,400 Executing Agency: Environment and Sustainable Development Unit of the Ministry of Planning, Development, Environment and Housing. Project Duration: 3 years (36 months)