The Saint Lucia National Conservation Fund had its launch ceremony with the participation of CBF staff.
On Monday May 28th, 2018, the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) was pleased to be in Saint Lucia at the Pigeon Island Landmark with national and regional stakeholders for the launch of the Saint Lucia National Conservation Fund – the SLUNCF. The SLUNCF was established in 2016 and has been busy since then. They were one of the first National Conservation Trust Funds (NCTFs) supported by the CBF to receive a Pre-Financing Grant in 2016 to support their establishment and operations and then moved to sign their Partnership Agreement in June 2017 at the 2nd Annual CCI-CBF Week in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They received the first tranche from the Partnership Agreement in March 2018.
The event was not only an occasion to celebrate the successes of the Fund, but also to increase national awareness of the SLUNCF and launch its website (www.sluncf.org) as they prepare for their first grant awards in Saint Lucia.
Of significance at the event, was the support for the Fund by a range of national leaders in conservation from both the Government and Civil Society, some of whom are serving on the SLUNCF Board including the Ministries of Finance and Sustainable Development, the Caribbean Youth Environment Network, the Saint Lucia National Trust and the UNDP Small Grants Programme.
CBF’s Chief Executive Officer, Yabanex Batista, congratulated the SLUNCF on the occasion of the launch. “the SLUNCF,” he noted, “has been a leader throughout the CBF process of operationalising Nationals Conservation Trust Funds.” Mr. Batista said he looked forward to the next phase of grantmaking when the Fund would begin to make an impact on conservation through grant projects across Saint Lucia.
