On Saturday May 30th 2015 in the village of Tantan, The Eastern Caribbean Marine Management Network (ECMMAN) through the support of local stakeholders launched the commencement of a six (6) – eight (8) months campaign to recognize and appreciate the value of the Cabrits Marine Reserve, to connect people and communities to it and to generate national pride in the diversity of its environment.
During this period, information on the Cabrits, its resources, values and place in our ecosystem and livelihoods, will be disseminated utilizing several interactive and participatory approaches and tools such as radio programmes, seminars, workshops and other educational sessions, town hall style meetings, school based activities, competitions in poster and essays, reef tours, and special social events such as fish festivals.
At the launching, Parliamentary Representative Honourable Reginald Austrie emphasized the importance of the marine reserve as a source of sustainable livelihood for the people of his constituency; from Capuchin to Portsmouth and expressed his continuing support for the work of local stakeholders engaged in these efforts.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Mr. Harold Guiste welcomed the presentations made on the environment by students of the Savanne Paille Primary School and the St John’s Academy. He stressed the importance of education of children from local communities on the importance of marine environment as key to its preservation. On behalf of his Ministry, gifts of fishing equipment were presented to the students. Director of Fisheries Mr. Riviere Sebastien mentioned the ongoing support of Division for fish day activities.
There is a cow watching the show man
Skerritt and his DLP Gov’t carved out 15 acres of our land from the Cabrits National Park by a swoop in Parliament.
Worse yet he grabbed STATE LANDS, that belong to the people of Dominica and gave it to a foreigner/Range Development.
Dominicans just stood there and allow their land to be taken away for how much?. Enslaved? Our forefathers fought, lost their lives to preserve the Land for their children.. The land does not belong to any one man to give away as he wishes, to whoever he wishes.
And for what? Dominicans in the dark.. Only a few will benefit. Madness. \Skerritt and his DLP Gov’t, in their Madness, still gave the foreigner our passports to sell to raise $$$$ to build his hotel?
What is in tha deal for us Dominicans? Our Land from the Cabrits National Park given away to foreign concern, our passports given for him to sell., After all that if hotel build, it will not be our hotel. 15 acres of our land gone.
Where’s the EIA? What…
Great initiative !!!
Honourable Reginald Austrie emphasized the importance of the marine reserve as a source of sustainable livelihood for the people of his constituency; from Capuchin to Portsmouth and expressed his continuing support for the work of local stakeholders engaged in these efforts.
I really wonder if Mr. Austrie truly understands the importance of the MARINE Reserve and how the construction of two hotels can negatively impact the the resource. If he did then he would not have been in agreement to such undertakings because we should be fully aware the the waste disposal will ultimately end up in the sea and the Cabrits might just resemble Rodney Bay in St. Lucia … loads of dead coral reefs
@UserName:
I agree with you. It is difficult to give serious consideration to Mr. Austrie’s words. As the representative for the area he has shown absolutely no interest in preservation of the environment. Here he is talking about the importance of the Marine Reserve as a source of livelihood for the people of his constituency. The Marine Reserve is about preservation, not exploitation.
The man simply does not understand the role of parks and protected areas. Did he speak out against the removal of 15 acres of habitat from the Cabrits National Park? The answer is ‘No’..
It’s about time for all of us to pay more than lip service to the environment and biodiversity in Dominica. Stop the charade; stop the hypocrisy.
They could have built a small platform for the group to perform,