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SIXTH REGULAR MEETING OF THE INTER-AMERICAN OEA/Ser.W/XIII.3.6

COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CIDI/COMCYT-VI/inf. 1/10 add. 3

September 9-10, 2010 2 September2010

Room Rubén Darío Original: English

Washington, D.C.

NATIONAL PROGRESS REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF

THE PLAN OF ACTION OF MEXICO AND SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVES

(GRENADA)

  1. STEI and Public Policies for Integral Development

INITIATIVE: Science Popularization and Youth Empowerment

The Science and Technology Council (STC), Grenada, is cognizant of the importance of Science and Technology, Engineering and Innovation in an developing country and has been exploring means to sensitize the citizenry of Grenada, especially the youth, to be more aware of the basic STEI elements in their livelihood. To this end, the STC has been collaborating with all the Ministries of Government to achieve its goal. The STC has been working with the local Ministry of Education (MOE) and other regional bodies to stage science fairs, exhibitions and competitions, not so much to gain immediate awards and prizes but more so to:

  • Strengthen S and T education by developing innovative informal approaches and strategies.
  • Bring local, regional, and international people together to share in S, T, and I issues.
  • Introduce (highlight and acquaint) students and other youth to the main science programmes available in our school system and in the region.

The STC recognizes a drastic drop in the enrollment of science and technologically related subjects in our secondary and tertiary institutions. The forementioned science fairs have been geared more specifically to this. They aim at providing an arena so that students and youth can:

  • Discuss important S and T issues
  • Interact with regional and international scientists
  • Share S and T innovations with each other
  • Develop comarderie with each other
  • Share culture and participate in clean educational fun

The project is on-going (though with occasional lull). The STEI impact is remarkable; but that of youth involvement, creativity, and cultural industry development is breath-taking.

Our local and regional youth have been showing that they are the backbone of our evolving, creative and cultural industries in music, fashion, film, and audiovisuals, festivals, dance, drama and visual arts. Our participation in NIHERST’s (Trinidad) yearly Caribbean Youth Science Forum (CYSF) has been a showcase of youth and regional talents. Our young people are indicating that they are the primary producer, artists, managers and consumers of the products and services developed in the creative economy. They are indicating that their work should be included among our museum, sports, amusement and marine parks and festival collections. Their STEI and cultural industry, though small, consists of a set of knowledge-based activities that can produce tangible goods and intangible intellectual or artistic services with creative content, economic value and marketable goals.

  1. STEI As Tools for Increasing Productivity

INITIATIVE:Biotechnology: Tissue Culture in Grenada

Plant biotechnology was introduced in Grenada in 1990 in a combined form of sciences called Plant Tissue Culture. The technology was introduced into the island and taught by the Taiwanese Agricultural Mission which was involved in agriculture on the island at that time.

This introduction came at a time when the banana industry was facing collapse and the threats of many diseases. Moko, yellow saratoka, Panama disease and, more recently, black saratoka, have all but decimated the industry. The technique was introduced to provide disease-free planting materials to farmers to eliminate the threat of spreading these diseases from farm to farm.

The aim of the practice was to produce other economically beneficial plants like a wide variety of Orchids, plantains, Anthuriums, and tubers like tannias, yams potatoes, and dasheens. This has brought significant benefits to the industry. Very significantly, the use of tissue culture has reduced the cost factor of planting materials and eliminated several constraints faced by famers.

The Government of Taiwan generously equipped and trained our personnel. To date, our small unit is operational. Our trained Grenadian biotechnologists have continued to function with the same capacity to produce much needed planting materials. Although there are several setbacks e.g. improvement of the facility and further training, the Tissue Culture Laboratory continues to contribute to the development of science, technology, engineering and innovation in Grenada in particular and in the Caribbean in general. The science has proven to be adequate and most timely for the current and future requirement of the industry.

  1. STEI AS TOOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES.

INITIATIVE:CAPACITYBUILDING AND MAINSTREAMING OF SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT IN GRENADA (SLM Project) AN OVERVIEW

Land degradation is increasing in severity and extent throughout many parts of the tri-island state of Grenada. Defined as the long term decline in ecosystems, function and productivity in forest, agricultural and other terrestrial ecosystems, this issue of global importance is threatening the livelihoods of vulnerable communities, and hindering efforts at sustainable growth and development.

The causes of land degradation in Grenada are diverse. The National Capacity Self Assessment project and other similar initiatives identified a range of contributing factors inter alia inappropriate agricultural practices, limited resources to farmers, deforestation, poorly managed mining and quarry activities, unregulated land development, and uncontrolled grazing. The issue is further compounded by inadequate institutional and legislative frameworks, limited financial resources to support SLM, inadequate technical and technological capacities within key agencies, critical gaps in land information systems, and low level of knowledge among the general public regarding SLM principles and best practices. A new approach which focuses on capacity development and mainstreaming of SLM in national development planning is urgently needed if significant progress at combating land degradation is anticipated.

In response to the above challenges, the Government of Grenada through its Ministry of Agriculture has commenced the CapacityBuilding and Mainstreaming of SLM project. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the long term goal of the project is to ensure that the agricultural, forest and other terrestrial land uses of Grenada promote sustainable systems that maintain ecosystem productivity and ecological functions while contributing to environmental, economic and social well-being of the country. Specifically, the intervention’s objective is to strengthen capacities for SLM within appropriate government, private sector and civil society institutions/user groups, and mainstream SLM principles and practices into long term development planning.

The project will realize five (5) outcomes as listed below:

  • Outcome 1. : Sustainable land management mainstreamed into national development policies, plans and regulatory framework.
  • Outcome 2. : Individual and institutional capacities for SLM developed.
  • Outcome 3. : Capacities for knowledge management in support of SLM developed.
  • Outcome 4. : Investment planning and resource mobilization for implementation of SLM interventions elaborated.
  • Outcome 5. : Adaptive management and learning, which includes monitoring and evaluation elaborated.

On completion, the project is expected to improve the current management framework for SLM at national and community levels, thus reducing the manifestations of land degradation, and strengthening the resource platform for sustained economic growth and prosperity.

SUMMARY OF PROJECT’S ACHIEVEMENTS TO 30 JUNE 2010

ACTIVITIES / OBJECTIVES / OUTPUTS
Outcome 1: Sustainable land management mainstreamed into national development, policies, plans and regulatory framework.
Review of Policy, Legislative and Institutional Framework and Standards for Sustainable Land Management in Grenada
(October 2009 – February 2010) / To assess the Policy, Legislative and Institutional Framework for SLM within the public sector of Grenada with a view to determining the best approaches for mainstreaming SLM into national development policies, plans and regulatory frameworks. / a)Conduct reviews of all government agencies involved in land management;
b)Assessed the gaps in technical capacity to support SLM in the targeted government institutions;
c)Identified weaknesses and strengths regarding the current policy, legislative and institutional framework for SLM among the public sector agencies in Grenada, making determinations as to the adequacy of the above instruments and arrangements in promoting and attaining SLM;
d)The extent to which SLM considerations are incorporated into macro-economic policies were assessed and detailed recommendations for mainstreaming SLM in the aforementioned policies were proposed.
e)The findings of the review were presented to 19 key stakeholders including the Project Steering Committee at a dissemination workshop held on February 18th. The workshop provided increased stakeholders’ awareness of the current framework for land management, and solicited their views regarding the most expedient interventions for mainstreaming SLM into national development planning.
Outcome 2: Individual and institutional capacities for SLM developed.
Writers workshop to develop training manual on best land management practices for resource users in the Agriculture, Tourism and Construction sectors.
(January 21 – 23, 2010.) / To provide a forum for stakeholders in the Agriculture, Tourism and Construction sectors to develop and finalize technical information for inclusion in the training guide. / a)Twenty-nine (29) participants from the aforementioned sectors were engaged in the forum. The resource guide is currently being developed.
(In Progress) Training in BestLand Management Practices for the Construction Sector
(June 24, July 9 & 15,2009) / To strengthen contractors’ knowledge of wise land management practices for construction sector. / Targeting all building contractors in Grenada to build awareness of the implications of land degradation to promote the use of best land management practices in the construction sector.
Training in Applied Environmental Economics: Implications for land degradation and sustainable land management
(June 14 – 18, 2010) / a)Introduce participants to the field of Applied Environmental Economics, and its importance to land degradation and SLM.
b)Discuss and demonstrate the approaches, tools and methodologies for analyzing and valuing the costs of land degradation and the benefits of sustainable land management. Mechanisms for assessing the costs and benefits of land use change will also be included.
c)Increase participants’ knowledge of best practices for integrating the results of economic valuation and cost benefit analysis into development planning at the national level. / a)Thirty (30) government officials and NGO representatives were engaged in lecturers and discussions covering:
  1. Ecosystem services;
  2. Ecological-economic modeling
  3. Cost-benefit analysis of erosion control measures;
  4. There was also a field activity to Grand Etang Forest Reserve to analyse and value the ecosystem services provided by the National Park;
  5. Participants were involved in case studies using the tools learnt in order to assess (a) the impacts of bushfires on Grenada’s environment and the economy or (b) the impacts of and responses to an oil spill in the Grenada coastal environment.

Outcome 3: Capacities for knowledge management in support of SLM developed.
Training to Integrate GIS, GPS & IT in sustainable Land Management
(November 23 – 26, 2009) / To equip land management participants with the skills necessary to monitor land degradation and other environmental changes through the use of GIS, GPS and IT technologies. / a)Twenty-seven (27) government officials and NGO representatives were taught:
  1. How to created panoramic views of the landscape using standard digital cameras mounted on monopods;
  2. How to use GPS cameras effectively in the field to capture important land features and record the location coordinates;
  3. IT software was used as a platform for displaying and sharing field data, and working collaboratively via on-line mapping services such as Google Maps, Picasa Web Service and Microsoft Maps.

Workshop to establish protocol for Monitoring Land Degradation and Sustainable Use of Lands
(December 17, 2009) /
  1. Develop a platform for establishing a land degradation monitoring network;
  2. Strengthen key stakeholders’ knowledge of land degradation;
  3. Develop a protocol for monitoring land degradation within agricultural, inland and coastal forest ecosystems and the built environmental areas.
/ a)Twenty-five (25) officials representing 12 government agencies and I NGO entity developed a participatory monitoring and evaluation system for protocol for state for environmental/land resource assessments.
b)Procured seven (7) GPS-enabled cameras to facilitate in implementation of the protocol
Workshop to formulate a proposal to undertake a Land Degradation Assessment (LADA) in Grenada
(April 27, 2010) / To develop a Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) for the formulation of a LADA for Grenada. / a)Engaged Dr. Lystra Fletcher-Paul, FAO Regional Land and Water Officer and eleven (11) governmental and NGO officials in a discussion that:
  1. Identified the main elements of the TCP and
  2. Formulated a log frame for the LADA project, to include expected impacts, outcomes, outputs and activities.