Above: Carmen Lomellin, Permanent Representative of the United States to the OAS; Joel Hernandez, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the OAS; José Miguel Insulza, OAS Secretary General; Albert R. Ramdin, OAS Assistant Secretary General (OAS Photo/Juan Manuel Herrera)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

A group of green projects in the Caribbean will be receiving grants from the Organization of American States’ Sustainable Communities in Central American and the Caribbean Project.

The projects are financed by the US Department of State.

“The challenge for this century is to reduce the urban ecological footprint, while at the same time improving the quality of life for all inhabitants,” said OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza. “This project – promoting small grants that finance case studies that are replicable – forms the building blocks for substantive, sustainable urban development.”
The projects include:

• A waste management programme by Plenty International Belize;
• The Grenada Project, a plan to recycle certain waste streams to create a protein that will lower the cost of feeding poultry;
• A Trinidad-based project to analyze the built and cultural heritage of five Caribbean cities for elements of smart urban design that will decrease car use and encourage cycling and walking;
• HOPE Nevis Incorporated’s plan to build community resilience to drought, flooding and other natural hazards in Nevis;
• The Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College’s plan to introduce sustainable transportation for St Kitts in Nevis, including the development of a transportation plan for the federation.

The proposals have been funded by up to $50,000.

“They are creative, sometimes bold, new initiatives with the markings of social entrepreneurship,” said Belize’s Permanent Representative to the OAS, Nestor Mendez. “They are all anchored in the conviction of the need for sustainable long term economic viability.”