ST KITTS&NEVIS (SKN)

SKN  is committed to implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Program of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) and more recently has committed to implementing the Caribbean Challenge and conserving 20% of its near shore. The Department of Marine Resources is in the process of establishing a MMA, which will extend around the  ENTIRE coastal areas of SKN (2-mile radius from the shore) and is therefore a very ambitious and challenging plan.

The Department of Marine Resources has requested that in collaboration with their organisation and other key stakeholders, BF draft a proposal for the co-management of the St. Kitts and Nevis Marine Management Area (SKNMMA) with the private sector.

The cabinet paper for the designation of the SKNMMA (in progress) will set out various use zones for Conservation, Fisheries, Recreation, Transportation and Multiple Use, and a Management Plan has been drafted for The Narrows, where these zones have been identified. The cabinet paper has also been modified to include co-management with the private sector as a priority.

The Caribbean Biodiversity Fund  has confirmed that funding raised through this co-management scheme could be used as the matching requirement under the Sustainable Financing and Management of Eastern Caribbean Marine Ecosystems Project.

An initial visit was made to SKN in May 2016. Meetings have been held with the Ministries of Environment (2 agencies), Tourism departments and several on-going marine conservation projects in the country such as the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund and ECMMAN (Eastern Caribbean Marine Managed Areas Network).