Diving in a Coral Forest - click here to watch the video on YouTube!Since early 2019, the CATS Programme collaborates with CLEAR Caribbean on a coral restauration project in Soufriere, Saint Lucia. The project aims at propagating Staghorn Coral and Elkhorn Coral along the coastline in the Soufriere area, reaching from Anse Chastanet Bay to the Pitons.The corals are grown on trees made of PVC pipes and glass fibre bars and are anchored to the ground with ropes. So far, a total of ten trees have b...

Resilience of the agricultural sector against the effects of climate change does not only refer to adapted cropping practices or improved land use. It also includes the strengthening and capacity building of small businesses along the value chain which use agricultural raw materials and add value for the end consumer. Only a holistic approach and the strengthening of all stakeholders involved can create a resilient agricultural sector.Following this understanding, the CATS Programme has partnere...

A four-day training workshop in Nursery Management and Forest Ecology was successfully completed in Dominica on August 10th, 2019. A total of ten people were trained including seven men and three women from the local communities.Training participantsThe training workshop was geared to support the reforestation of the Soufriere Scotts Head Watershed. The goal was to improve the general ecological health and services of the watershed to maintain productive ecosystems in the adjoining Soufriere Sco...

The Sandy Island Oyster Bed Marine Protected Area (SIOBMPA) Office coordinated a youth summer camp held during the week of August 19th to 23rd 2019. This camp was focussed on raising the awareness of the Carriacou’s youth of the valuable ecosystems on their island and their waste management responsibility while also improving their snorkelling and swimming skills and stimulating writing and creativity.The SIOBMPA is a still generally pristine and very unique ecosystem on the island of Carr...

The Soufriere Scotts Head Village Council has been one of CATS key partners within the Soufriere Scotts Head Marine Reserve (SSMR) Watershed in Dominica. Together, we have worked collaboratively on the Alums Stream Project, beach clean activities, community sensitization programs and well as support to fishermen and other interventions aimed at improving livelihood support and adaptation to climate change. This partnership continues to blossom and bear fruit. During CATS' most recent engagem...

The Caribbean Aqua-Terrestrial Solutions (CATS) Programme works with a number of governmental agencies and groups in selected watersheds across three focal countries in the Eastern Caribbean to improve research and data collection for environmental management. Best practices and effective monitoring of environmental parameters is hinged on accurate and reliable data for timely decision making. The use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) is revolutionizing how these critical datasets and monitoring ...

On Friday, Apr 12th, 2019, the Fond St. Jacques Development Committee hosted a Business Simulation Exercise for two agro-processing businesses located in Fond St. Jacques, Soufriere: Jacq-Co Valley Products Ltd. and Rainforest Foods. The exercise was conducted by professionals of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC), namely by Dr. M. Lashley, Ms. Faye Henry, Ms. M.L. Catty and Mr. E. Ottley.The exercise, also referred to as a Micro Business Game, has been developed as “a highly i...

On October 16th, 2018, the CATS programme took part in the Saint Lucian TV talk show "What's happening now - with Laura". Our CATS colleague Dr. Camille David, expert for coastal and marine systems, discussed with several stakeholders from the Soufriere Watershed in Saint Lucia, how sustainable management and development of a watershed can be achieved. Alongside Dr. David, important partners to the CATS programme were on the show, such as the GEF UNDP Small Grants Programme , IWEco, Fruitage Jeu...

Having recognized the importance and sensitivity of the Placencia Peninsula, the Government of Belize (GOB) agreed to a project to implement a wastewater (sewerage) system for the area. Due to the rapid development and population growth being experienced on the Peninsula, the potential for ground water contamination and pollution of the waters of the lagoon and the Caribbean Sea were predicted to intensify. The Government therefore commissioned two consultancies, a feasibility study and a detail...

TAMCC students consult facilitator during lunch break at Natural Pest Control training at the farm of Evans Gooding of NEFO Farmers Saint Lucia has been conducting many training sessions on non-chemical use within the agricultural sector.  These have been facilitated by Agronomist, Thaddeus Constantine of the Ministry of Agriculture.  Several private and public sector entities within the State have also benefitted from the technical expertise of Mr. Quint Odlum, on the installation and appl...