Babonneau Youth Synergy partners with WASCO, GEF to repair riverbanks

The Babonneau Youth Synergy (BYS), Global Environmental Facility (GEF), Saint Lucia Department of Forestry (DoF) and the Water and Sewerage Company Inc. (WASCO) have come together in a Community Water Stewardship Partnership to provide half a million square feet of fragile riverbanks and riparian strips with re-vegetation and stabilization at watersheds in the community of Talvern and Maquis, Babonneau.

This project aims to enhance water security for the residents of the community and provide them with a more reliable raw water source. The Talvern watershed has been degraded over the years, with poor agricultural practices starting a vicious cycle, intensive banana cultivation on relatively steep slopes as the main culprit, followed by livestock rearing.

Aldrick Edwards president of the BYS noted, “In order to realise improved water production quality, sustainable land and biological resources in Babonneau through application of climate change-resilient solutions that maintain the flow of ecosystem benefits and their contribution to long-term socio-economic and sustainable development, and the watersheds security and reliability, the partners have further engaged the Babonneau community’s civil society groups in a project deemed ‘Donate a Tree, Adopt a River’.

The president, on behalf of the partnership, invited residents of Babonneau and Saint Lucia at large to a tree donation project at the Talvern, Babonneau Water Intake yesterday, Friday, June 10