BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Friday June 4, 2010 – The Barbados government has announced plans for the establishment of a National Park, stretching from the north to the east of the island, as a priority. It would run from Archer's Bay in St Lucy to the fishing community of Consett Bay, St John. Minister of the Environment, Water Resources and Drainage, Dr Denis Lowe, says the National Park would seek to ensure that development activities in the environmentally sensitive Scotland District utilised sustainable land management approaches, while ensuring that residents enjoyed a high quality of life. "Accordingly, communities will be encouraged to boost their livelihoods in a way that is not detrimental to the local ecology, through the employment of a number of policy measures," he maintained. Minister Lowe said that government's Soil Conservation Unit had been operating in the Scotland District for over 50 years employing engineering techniques to ensure soil integrity and stability in the area and their work, coupled with the work of the Natural Heritage Department, would ensure that greater focus is placed on the implementation of the National Park system. The proposed National Park, as well as scope for growth and development of fishing communities, was among opportunities, policies, and issues discussed at an informal roundtable on ‘Sustainable Fishing in the Changing Climate’ at the inaugural Sustainable Fishing Educational expo this week.
