Research Projects

Conset Bay Pilot Project : Project Home

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Background

Conset Bay and its surrounding communities are situated on the East coast of Barbados in the parish of St. John and lie on the southern boundary of the National Park Land Use Plan for Barbados (Physical Development Plan 2003). These communities include families who have lived there for generations, many of whom have strong linkages to the fishing industry, and some are also small scale farmers (Cumberbatch and Simmons 2010). The freshwater streams that flow through the area not only add to the aesthetic but community members recall times when they would go cray fishing in them.

This project follows on from ongoing and past initiatives conducted in these Conset Bay coastal fishing communities, in particular the Sustainable Fishing Educational Exposition in Conset Bay (2009-2010) hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Drainage. Through previous stakeholder consultations, the communities’ close ties to both the terrestrial and marine environments was realised, as these communities expressed their concerns about the impacts of land use affecting marine habitats and productivity.

In efforts to upscale sustainable resource management in the area, UNEP and the Ministry of Environment and Drainage of Barbados, in conjunction with the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) from The University of the West Indies (UWI) are cooperating on a pilot project entitled “Upscaling Sustainable Resource Management in Coastal Watershed Communities of Barbados’ National Park and System of Open Space” in the context of the project “Strengthening National Capacities for Sustainable Resource Management in Latin American and the Caribbean”.

Project objectives

To improve the management and monitoring of nearshore marine and terrestrial natural resources within coastal watershed areas; and
To enhance the capacity of the local fishing community to participate in sustainable fisheries governance and management.
To institute systems for project management, reporting and information dissemination

Expected project outputs

Draft/Preliminary Conset Bay Watershed State of the Environment Report
Presentation of findings of an institutional assessment and strengthening initiative for the Conset Bay fishing community
Draft Local Sustainable Fisheries Code to Promote Responsible Fisheries Development and Management
Preliminary proposal with the interventions needed to address the challenges from Conset Bay and future steps

Project area