The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Rural Development joins hands with the Food and Agriculture Organization and the residents of Bexon as they continue efforts to increase climate resilience through the restoration of the riverbank along the Cul-De-Sac river.

The community of Bexon is well-known for being prone to flooding, particularly during the hurricane season. The Department of forestry in collaboration with the FAO through the ACP MEA’s 3 Project is continuing efforts to increase climate resilience efforts, this time through the restoration of the riverbank along the Cul-de-Sac River.

Persons from the community of Bexon and its surrounding areas were invited to a meeting with the Department of Forestry officials and other field experts, to express their concerns and discuss the way forward with the restoration project.

National Project Coordinator of the ACP MEA’s 3 Project, Leshan Monrose notes that the project aims to rehabilitate approximately 8 kilometers of along the riverbank. She explains that it was critical to include the community in the decision-making process to ensure the project’s sustainability.

“The Food and Agriculture Organization is very keen on promoting climate resilience within the agriculture sector. Under the project we’re focused on biodiversity mainstreaming and sustainable agriculture. In planting those trees, we hope in the long run to achieve some sort of rehabilitation of the ecosystems along the riparian zone. This community is very close to my heart and I believe that with re-vegetating the riverbanks we will help to mitigate some of the flooding that we experience with every rainfall event.”

Several issues were identified along the riverbanks during the initial walk-through with technical experts, including erosion, deforestation, and waste disposal. According to the Chief Forestry Officer, Alwin Donnelly continued benefits for the community and its residents remain a priority of the project.

“What we hope to encourage even as we continue into the project is continued participation of the community persons in terms of doing the rehabilitation as well as planting of trees along the riverbanks. We’re not only looking at forest trees but we’re also looking at a mix of doing agro-forestry. Private land owners will be able to benefit from that activity, we will be looking to provide them with certain plants of economic importance. While they’re protecting the riverbanks, they can as well benefit.”

The Chief Forestry Officer reiterates the Ministry of Agriculture’s commitment to continuing efforts to protect the nation’s natural resources and increase the agriculture sector’s climate resilience.