Three Ministries joined forces to successfully apply for and lunch the ‘Leveraging Eco-Tourism for Biodiversity Protection Project (LETBP) in Dominica. The project which was officially launched on Friday saw the Ministries of Environment, Tourism and Agriculture collaborate on the project which is expected to improve the management of the Morne Trois Piton, Cabrits and the Morne Diablotin National Park.

The project is being funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and will be implemented alongside other World Bank projects. It will benefit from the Emergency Agriculture Livelihoods and Climate Resilience project. The four components of the project are Protected Area Planning, Biodiversity and Sustainability Nature-based Tourism Operations, Sustainable Livelihoods and Project Management.

Agriculture minister, Hon. Roland Royer said that the launch of this project is a major milestone in Dominica’s quest to achieve long term sustainable growth in tourism and in becoming the first climate resilient nation.

He added, “In addition to the preservation of Dominica’s biodiversity and natural environment, it is expected to produce economic benefits for local communities that will ultimately enhance the standard of living of persons who reside near those protected landmarks. These economic benefits will of course be experienced nationally as the spending power of those directly impacted increases”.

The project seeks to minimize the threat of tourism expand and unregulated agricultural practices on the island.