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Sustainable development at work in St. Lucia: Managing a mangrove for firewood and farming
June 1999

by Barbara Jacobs-Small, CERN correspondent, St. Lucia

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The sustained economic livelihoods of many St. Lucians depend heavily on the island's forests and their management. Willy is a member of the Aupicon Charcoal Producers Association in the Southern St. Lucian town of Vieux-Fort. His trade is that of a charcoal maker during the dry season, when the Mankòtè mangrove, just a mile off, is open for the hewing of wood. Willy has been using this mangrove as a source of wood for quite awhile. Nonetheless, despite of the activity of him and other charcoal makers, Mankòtè looks like a very healthy mangrove.
Willy explained that his group has a system in place to ensure that their livelihood is not jeopardized: "We explain to our group how to do the cutting, and which trees to cut and which ones to leave".

Nicholas Samuel, President of the Aupicon Charcoal Producers added that the minimum cutting size is two inches in diameter. And only after a period of two years, the trees can be re-cut. He said that the measuring and monitoring is done with the assistance of the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI). The result is that a good amount of wood can be turned into charcoal.

Yves Renard of CANARI has been closely associated with the process of reforestation in St. Lucia. He has worked in the development of the general idea behind community forestry, informed planning as well as the careful management of forests by the communities that they serve.

He explained that the system of the Aupicon group is first of all forestry, which means the management and conservation of the forests for sustainable development. "Management of the forest for and by the community means that it has to have benefits for the community. At least some of the benefits of the management of the forests should go directly to the community, whether it has to do with water supply, timber harvesting or ecotourism activities. But such management should also be done by the community; the community should not only be involved in the implementation of management, but also make management decisions. The community should feel that the forest resource is its resource to some extent, and that it has a responsibility to manage it well."

According to Renard, community forestry may be a new term to some, but the practice is age-old. He dates it back to the 18th century maroons, and in more recent times to farming communities which, for various reasons, have stayed in touch with forests.

However, economics, urbanization and growing populations create increasing pressures on forest resources, whether it is for housing, farming or craft making. At the same time, according to Renard, there are increasing pressures on people, relating to poverty and changes in the economy. "We need to be much more systematic in our search for economic ventures that can bring benefits to the community. Practically all the wood that we use in the region is imported. Maybe we can plant some, maybe the production of charcoal can be improved and organized on a rational sustainable basis, and as such be an additional supply of energy for Caribbean communities, as it has been for a very long time. And maybe there are other potentials, for example in nature or ecotourism. The latter should not only show the forests to visitors, but also show the cultural relationships that people have with their community and environment. It should of course provide as much income and jobs to the host community as possible".

He said that the charcoal-producing group, at present about 14 members, is a good example. In the rainy season, nobody can come inside the mangrove because of the high level of water. So in collaboration with the Ministries of Forestry and Agriculture, community farms were organized for the members, so that during the rainy seasons they can produce vegetables on the farms as a substitute for the charcoal. There, the Aupicon charcoal producers farm corn, cucumbers, yams, melons and cantaloupes. They also maintain a fish pond.

Edward Bellas, Marketing Coordinator of the St. Lucia Marketing Board, says that the Board offers definite guarantees to the farmers: "We give them contracts to cultivate specific crops for us at a given time. We ask them to work in such a way that there is continuity and not all the farmers deliver the same crops at the same time. We also give them a guaranteed minimum price".

Willy states that he makes a very satisfactory living from the controlled charcoal production, combined with the farming under these guarantees. He informs that in a good month, he makes a couple of thousand dollars in the sale of produce, supplemented by 500 to 600 dollars a month in charcoal sales during the dry season.

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In collaboration with the Caribbean Environmental Reporters Network (CERN), Panos produces a weekly 10-minutes radio series: "Island Beat - News from the environmental frontline of the Caribbean". It documents community environmental themes, in particular highlighting community experiences in finding solutions to environmental problems, reported by journalists from across the Caribbean region. This current print feature has been derived from a radio programme which was produced in July 1997.

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