Government of Montserrat Targets Four Biodiversity Projects

The Government is pushing forward with the OECS and Biodiversity Support Programme.

Press Officer Jenzil Skerritt reports that Minister for Agriculture honourable John Osborne and Parliamentary Secretary with responsibility for the environment and fisheries Dwayne Hixon met consultant from Enviroplus company, Bernard Nation this week.

Nation made a short visit to the island to engage prospective contractors for the creation of an artificial reef off the west coast of Montserrat.

This initiative is in collaboration with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and the Biodiversity Support Programme for ACP Coastal Environments (BioSPACE) Project.

The artificial reef is designed to improve the aggregation of fish, and to replace the natural reefs which were lost as a result of the volcanic eruption.

The reef project is one of four projects under the BIOSpace programme for Montserrat.

The other projects in various stages of implementation are a green house and tissue culture lab, development of mechanisms to include Montserrat’s access to Regional Environmental Data Portal and a Biodiversity Strategy.

Photo by Jenzil Skerritt