A call has been made for a greater level of partnerships at the community level and from the private sector, to facilitate coastal projects in the future.
Acting Director of the Coastal Zone Management Unit, Dr. Lorna Inniss, made this call during a recent tour of the Richard Haynes Boardwalk on the south coast of the island with officials from the Ministry of the Environment and Drainage, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
???The Consett Bay programme was done as a component of the whole green economy programme of UNEP. It is an excellent example of taking coastal zone management from just the purview of central government and taking it to the community,??? she said.
Dr. Inniss explained that there was a role at the community level for individuals to play and noted that Government was very committed to ensuring that coastal zone management continued.
However, she stressed that it was time for partnerships to start. ???We need to partner with communities [and] we need to partner with the private sector,??? she stated, adding that the hotel and tourism sectors benefited significantly from major projects, all funded by Government over the years.
Dr. Inniss expressed the hope that in the coming years, more partnerships would develop at the community level and with the private sector for coastal projects.
julia.rawlins-bentham@barbados.gov.bb