Project assistance completion report : Eastern Caribbean environmental profiles project

The project underestimated the time and resources required to produce the target number of 8 environmental profiles. In the end, the project required a 2-year extension and a $300,000 cost overrun to produce profiles of only 6 countries (St. Lucia, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Christopher and Nevis). Nonetheless, the profiles are considered landmark documents in that they were the first to compile a vast array of natural resource information along with prioritized recommendations for short-, medium-, and long-term proactive and remedial solutions to environmental degradation. The profiles serve as important tools for government and nongovernmental organizations to plan environmental strategies and programs. Although difficult to quantify, evidence exists that environmental awareness was also enhanced in the general population through increased use of the mass media to transmit environmental conservation messages. The project also strengthened local institutions that were brought back into active status to assist in preparing the profiles. These include the Dominica Conservation Association and the National Trust in St. Vincent. Other key support institutions for the profile exercises were Dominica"s Years of the Environment and Shelter Committee, the Grenada National Trust, and the Antigua Environmental Awareness Group. In St. Lucia, closer linkages were woven between the already strong National Trust and the Central Planning Unit. In addition to these national institutions, the Caribbean Conservation Association strengthened its capacity in proposal preparation, financial management, and implementation.