Staunching the flow: St. Kitts and Nevis' fight to keep its soil - UN Environment

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Fighting against the flow

Arresting the degradation that has opened the gates to increased flooding and erosion around the islands have become a top priority for the government of St Kitts and Nevis and their partners.

“The impacts of this land degradation are far-reaching and include public health risks due to flooding and inappropriate disposal of liquid and solid waste, as well as the loss of topsoil, poor water quality at the outlet of the ghaut and contamination of the nearshore environment,” Dr. Halla Sahely, national coordinator for the Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in the Caribbean Small Island Developing States (IWEco) project. “Works to reduce and control land degradation inside the ghaut are a critical first step towards a more proactive way of managing this important environmental zone."

Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with the backing of the Global Environment Facility, IWEco is working to arrest the ghaut’s degradation. With diagnostic assessments of the ghaut completed in mid-2019, soil conservation measures are now underway. Gabion baskets (mesh cages filled with stone) are being used to manage water flow and fortify the channel, while deep-rooted vetiver grass is being planted along the ghaut’s banks to stabilize the soil and minimize erosion.

Installing gabion baskets to manage water flow and prevent further bank erosion is just one of the strategies IWEco is applying to rehabilitate the College Street Ghaut. Photo: IWEco

Alongside this restoration work, IWEco is working with local authorities and residents on a master planning framework for the watershed, helping to ensure the lessons learned from the conservation of the College Street Ghaut make their way into policy.

“For far too long, despite being granted special legal protected status, ghauts in St. Kitts and Nevis have had very limited active management in place,” Eavin Parry, an environmental scientist from the St Kitts and Nevis’ Ministry of Environment and Cooperatives says.

“The land degradation intervention being implemented under the IWEco project will demonstrate best practice to mitigate soil erosion and will catalyze greater active management of these types of natural drainage zones.” 

             

The Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (IWEco) project is a five-year regional initiative contributing to the preservation of ecosystems of global significance through improved fresh and coastal water resources management, sustainable land management and sustainable forest management across 10 Caribbean nations (Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago).

For more information on IWEco contact [email protected]. To learn more about UNEP’s work in International Waters, contact [email protected].

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Staunching the flow: St. Kitts and Nevis' fight to keep its soil - UN Environment
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