THE TRUST FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS
#23 Mc Inroy Street, Curepe, Trinidad & Tobago

www.sustrust.org

 

 

Activities During The Period August 2003 – July 2004

 

People and the Northern Range Project

We continued our participation in the implementation of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment project entitled ‘People and the Northern Range’, led by The Cropper Foundation. The Trust is a co-sponsor and the Managing Director/President and the Programme Coordinator both sit on the Steering Committee. Much the activities involved review of and input to draft reports for the various phases of the project. We are in the process of provided inputs for the Responses chapter of the final project document.

National Parks and Other Protected Areas

We were invited by the Ministry of Public Utilities and the Environment (MPUE), in March 2004, to review and comment on the Draft National Parks and Other Protected Areas Bill. We responded and were subsequently invited to serve on a Committee to review the draft bill and make recommendations. Two meetings have so far been held and a background paper prepared to guide decision making on the establishment of a management system for parks and protected areas. The MPUE also offered us a consultancy to prepare a paper on the policy framework for managing protected areas in T&T. This was completed by F. Homer and submitted in April, 2004.

Fund Raising

Our efforts at fund raising have not yet been able to produce the results that were anticipated for this period. However we were able to raise some funds from the Consultancy from PAHO (Survey of WASA installed water tanks in marginalised areas in Trinidad) and the MPUE (Policy framework for parks and protected areas). We are continually exploring ways of building relationships with the corporate sector within the region that will lead to the capitalisation of our Trust Fund. It is anticipated that a meeting will soon be held with a prominent corporation whose business spans the entire Caribbean, parts of Latin America and the USA.

Technical Assistance

We recently initiated technical assistance to NGOs and Governmental departments in the Caribbean that is consistent with our thematic areas: training, awareness building, wise use of natural resources and environmental governance. Requests were received from the Government of Anguilla: the Chief Minister’s Office, and the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources; Caribbean Conservation Association (regional NGO based in Barbados) and the Environmental Awareness Group (the major environmental NGO in Antigua). Discussions on assistance were also held with the Barbuda Council (Acting Secretary), and require follow-up from the Council.

The Trust also conducted reviews of documents that were requested by colleagues through out the region. Some of these documents included the Socio-economic Monitoring Guidelines for Caribbean Coastal Management (Natural Resources Management Unit, UWI, Cave Hill, Barbados), Training on Monitoring of Coastal Resources (Dept of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Anguilla), Module on Protected Areas Planning and Management (Caribbean Regional Environmental Programme, Barbados), and Vision 2020: Focus on the Environment (Ministry of Planning and Development, Trinidad and Tobago).

Training

The Managing Director (MD) served as a resource person during the CCA/CREP Amenity Areas Training Programme that was held in Trinidad during 1-8 May, 2004. The course was targeted to the site managers and focal points in the CREP project countries from Jamaica to Suriname. The MD prepared and delivered lectures on Data Collection and Assessment, and Surveillance and Enforcement.

The Trust was co-sponsor of a Technical Skills Development programme for workers involved in the National Housing Authority rehabilitation programme during November to December 2003. A course of training on basic landscaping was developed and implemented by the other co-sponsor, Tropical Horticultural and Landscaping Services. On-site training was held in four areas across Trinidad (Cocorite, Maloney, Pleasantville, and Couva) and 130 persons ranging in age from 18-60 years old participated; of which about 60% were women. The Secretary of the Trust’s Board was also one of the lead trainers.

Participation in Meetings/Workshops

The Programme Coordinator and the Managing Director have been involved in several national and international planning meetings and workshops, and in promoting The Trust For Sustainable Livelihoods. Below are a few of the key activities in which we participated:

• 5th World Parks Congress, South Africa. Sponsored by IUCN.
• Workshop on Desertification and Land Degradation, Trinidad. Sponsored by the UNCCD, FAO, UNEP and CARICOM.
• Sustainable Economic Development Unit 8th Annual Conference, Trinidad.
• Capacity Building Workshop on Biosafety for the Caribbean, Trinidad.  Organised by NIHERST for T&T Biosafety Committee.
• PALNET Training Workshop for Latin America and the Caribbean, Cuba. Sponsored by IUCN
• Core Group organizing for the establishment of the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean region. This activity was supported by the Government of the Netherlands, the IADB, and the Caribbean Council for Science and Technology (CCST). 
• Workshop on Developing a Five-Year Strategic Plan for the Ministry of Public Utilities & the Environment, T&T.
• Committee for the Establishment and Management of Parks and Protected Areas in Trinidad and Tobago.