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The Department of Marine Resources (DMR) has taken part in collaborated activities with Ministry of Tourism under the theme, “Good For Us, Better For All.” In observance of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and the St. Kitts Ministry of Tourism organised a Climate Smart Sustainable Tourism Forum 2017, to promote sustainable ability practices and enhance the climate resiliency of the Caribbean Tourism. The forum was held at Ocean Terrace Inn (OTI) from 11th-14th December, 2017 bringing together local regional and international representatives from public and private sector tourism entities, as well as development agencies that offer programming in sustainable tourism.

Interactively engaging practices of sharing in building climate sensitive and sustainable Caribbean tourism products, practical workshops, experiential field visits and the presentation ceremony for CTO’s 2017 Sustainable Tourism Awards. The CSSTF 2017 initiative, aims to strengthen holistic destination management approaches in the Caribbean. The forum addressed major sessions to include:

Leading The Way – Destination St. Kitts – tackling common issues for Small Island Developing States and created truly sustainable solutions to maintain this balance.

Speakers on this session were: Carlene Henry-Morton – Permanent Secretary, St. Kitts Ministry of Tourism, Dianille Taylor-Williams – Assistant Secretary, St. Kitts Ministry of Tourism, Tricia Greaux – Marine Management Areas and Habitat Monitoring Officer, Department of Marine Resources (DMR), St. Kitts.

Tourism Resiliency through Climate Change Adaptation & Mitigation – strengthening resiliency through adaptation and mitigation strategies that buffer tourism industries from environment catastrophes.

Speakers on this session were: Dr. Ulric Trotz – Deputy Director, Caribbean Community Climate Change Center (CCCCC), Dr. Halla Sahely – Environmental Consultant/Representative, Caribbean Water & Wastewater Association, Angela Burnett – Environment Officer (Climate Change) Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour Government of the British Virgin Islands, Danker Kolijn – Coastal Engineer – CBCL Limited, Clive Bacchus – General Manager/Editor in Chief, West Indies News Network

Leading The Way – CTO in Action – holding fast to their vision to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year round, warm weather destination.

Speakers on this session were: Hugh Riley – CEO & Secretary General, Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), Dr. Peter Schuhmann – Professor of Economics, University of North Carolina at Washington

Climate Change as an Opportunity – discovering solutions that help businesses to thrive on the context of future climate conditions in the Caribbean.

Speakers on this session were: John Marcocchio – Regional Project Manager, Caribbean Clean Energy Programme (CARCEP), Dr. Roche Mahon – Social Scientist, Caribbean Institution for Metrology & Hydrology (CIMH), Arno Boersma – Manager, Aruba Centre of Excellence (COE) for the Sustainable Development States (SIDS) Dr. Lisa Indar – Head, Tourism & Health Program Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Kimberly Carr-Tobias – Research Assistant, Institution for Gender & Development Studies (IGDS) University of the West Indies – Mona Campus

Innovative Models & Best Practices in Sustainable Tourism – enhancing working knowledge of sustainability models to maximize new markets opportunities.

Speakers on this session were: Greg Phillip – CEO, Nevis Tourism Authority, Geoff Bolan – CEO, Sustainable Travel International (STI), Ena Harvey – Representative, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Delegation in Barbados, Buddha Jezu-Maria – Marketing & Communications Executive, Travelife, Meshach Alford – Independent Consultant, Tipping Point Planning Services

Risk management for Sustainable Tourism – networking with the experts and forge relationships with partners to seek a process of crafting well-defined disaster management protocols.

Speakers on this session were: Dr. Yves Robert Personna – Project manager, Environmental Sustainability Unit (ESU), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Gina Sanguinetti – Communications Programme Director, Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), Amanda Charles – Sustainable Tourism Specialist, CTO

Moving Tourism Development Beyond National Borders – experiencing St. Kitts with field visits to provide a platform for destination’s showcase.

Speakers on this session were: Gregory McKenzie – Televising Presenter and Reporter, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), United Kingdom, Michael McKenzie – Arts & Entertainment Producer, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), United Kingdom

The CTO was honoured to partner with St. Kitts & Nevis to host this forum, which will explore various facets of sustainable tourism, in view of the threats and opportunities for regional tourism development, as a result of climate variability and climate change.

   

Lucianno Eddy, Ashadi Duncan, Tasia Jones, Sasha “Kodi” Edwards, Ahisha Herbert , Locksley Edwards (Marine and Beach Conservation Officers )

Tricia Greaux giving Welcome Remarks at the STF Launch.

 

Thema Ward and Tricia Greaux prepared the presentation for the Leading the Way Destination St. Kitts

Marine and Beach Conservation Officers with the guest speaker Gregory McKenzie.

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TURTLE CAMP A SUCCESS!

The St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network (SKSTMN) held its 10th annual Sea Turtle Camp from 17-29 July, 2017. Marine and Beach Conservation Officers from the Department of Marine Resources and St. Kitts Department of Environment served as Camp Counselors. The six officers were Locksley Edwards, Tasia Jones, Jevanito Huggins, Kaywanna Hughes, Ashadi Duncan and Lucianno Eddy.

Ashadi Duncan, Marine Conservation Officer recalled “We were all excited about becoming Camp Counselors and sharing our knowledge with the campers. It was easier than we thought; the campers were very engaged and enthusiastic about all of the presentations and field trips. The camp promoted positive messaging about sea turtles through art and craft interpretations which were displayed at the turtle release.”

The campers learnt about the importance of preserving sea turtles, their ecosystems and how they can get involved in sea turtle conservation in St. Kitts. Turtle edutainment (education and entertainment) through arts and crafts, games, and field trips to various beaches where they participated in beach scavenger hunts, beach clean ups, learned how to do beach profiling, and monitor sea turtle nests.  Another highly anticipated field trip was to the St. Kitts and Nevis Aquaculture Pilot Project and Environmental Research (SNAPPER) where campers met sea turtles that were there for rehabilitation by the SKSTMN. Plastics harm turtles! Campers learnt about the importance of recycling and reducing waste and participating in the St. Kitts Plastic Free July Campaign.

The Sea Turtle Camp concluded with a Hawksbill Turtle release on Saturday July 29th 2017, at Whitehouse Bay.  Over 250 persons lined the beach area to witness “KITTAR- The Kittitian Turtle” entering the Caribbean Sea.

 

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