During her welcoming remarks, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Ms. Elreter Simpson-Browne, expressed “The project is of particular significance for this Ministry  as we are charged with the responsibility for land use, planning and management, and this project will help us to promote sustainable development through the update of the National Physical Development Plan, building codes, associated legal and regulatory frameworks, and our digital capabilities,” said PS Simpson-Browne. “Our ministry is also charged with ensuring that there is a coordinated approach to sustainable development which is grounded in social, economic and environmental resilience. We, therefore, welcome multi-sectoral initiatives such as this, which, of course, are facilitated by grant funding, and allow us to work with our national partners to secure that sustainable future, continually invest in our people, and ensure that no one is left behind.”

The Minister of Environment, Mr. Eric Evelyn, expressed the importance of this initiative, particularly to build capacity, enhance coordination among key stakeholders and promote sustainable development at country level. The Minister reassured the commitment of the Minister of Environment to work in a complementary manner and in alliance with all involved partners.

IUCN Regional Director Ursula Parrilla, applauded the leadership from the government of Saint Kitts and Nevis for the decisive efforts to conserve biodiversity habitat and ecosystems services, in enabling sustainable agricultural production on degraded lands, and supporting legal and policy mechanism for decision-making processes and policy implementationThe project “Improving Environmental Management through Sustainable Land Management”, has benefitted from national stakeholder consultations including  national authorities responsible for Environment, Agriculture, Tourism, Sustainable Development, and numerous other national stakeholders including, civil society and, the private sector. This is a GEF funded initiative which involves the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - as the implementing agency, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as the executing role.

Photo: St. Kitts and Navis launches the Project “Improving Environmental Management through Sustainable Land Management”