Improved capacity for Conservation Action and Sustainable Management: Data collection to inform biodiversity conservation, wildlife protection and general area surveillance programmes within the PSEPA.

Improved capacity for Conservation Action and Sustainable Management: Data collection to inform biodiversity conservation, wildlife protection and general area surveillance programmes within the PSEPA.

The COVID-19 pandemic reduced the income generated by the Saint Lucia National Trust (SLNT), an NGO charged with heritage conservation and the management of protected and conserved areas and biodiversity in Saint Lucia; resulting in a 60% reduction in staffing, and significant reduction in conservation and PA management activities within the Pointe Sables Environmental Protection Area (PSEPA). The PSEPA, a 1038ha site along Saint Lucia’s southeast coast inclusive of two offshore islands, is home to critically endangered species. Reduced monitoring will result in reversal of achievements under previous conservation efforts. The SLNT received a 12-month BIOPAMA Rapid Response Grant-Caribbean (RRG-C-1090) in 2021, and this facilitated a robust response to the debilitating impact of COVID-19 on its programming. RRG-C-1090 greatly improved the SLNT’s monitoring and management capacity and sustained conservation initiatives during this period of economic downturn.