Saint Lucia community green projects pass EC$26 million milestone

At a ceremony at Government House in Castries on 21 October, the UNDP-run Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme handed over its 13th annual report for Saint Lucia, closing the books on more than a decade of community-led environmental spending. The figures behind it are substantial: since 2012 the programme has backed 137 projects worth more than EC$26 million, and trained more than 13,000 Saint Lucians in everything from project development to environmental management. As reported by United Nations Development Programme, the event drew government officials, diplomats and the beneficiaries themselves.

National coordinator Giles Romulus presented the report, and the evening was as much about people as numbers. Three grantees were honoured for service to their communities: Nadia Cazaubon of Caribbean Waterways, Merphilus James of the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities, and Cheryl Remy, recognised for close to six years of unpaid work on the programme's national steering committee. Romulus himself was acknowledged for 22 years in the role, first helping to establish the programme across the Eastern Caribbean and later building its Saint Lucia operation.

UNDP's deputy resident representative Stephanie Ziebell told the gathering that the programme's worth lies less in individual grants than in what they leave behind: communities and organisations equipped to design and run their own solutions, and evidence that local action feeds into national and global goals.

The grants, capped at US$50,000, go straight to community and civil society groups, with priority given to women, young people, Indigenous communities and persons with disabilities. Worldwide, the programme has funded more than 30,000 locally led initiatives since 1992. In Saint Lucia, that money has translated into projects touching water, coastlines and livelihoods, the same natural assets the island's tourism trade depends on.

That link matters for visitors. The tourism authority's own sustainable travel message asks travellers to support local communities and choose accommodation that takes its environmental responsibilities seriously, from eco-conscious resorts to locally owned guesthouses. Many of the small projects celebrated at Government House are the sort of grassroots work that keeps the island's reefs, rivers and forest trails worth travelling for. Anyone who has enjoyed the snorkelling off Reduit Beach or a morning hiking in St Lucia's rainforest has benefited, indirectly, from that kind of stewardship.

For readers weighing up holidays to St Lucia, the report is a quiet signal that the island treats its environment as infrastructure, not decoration. Visitors who want to go further can arrange community-focused volunteering through organisations such as the Saint Lucia National Trust and the Saint Lucia National Conservation Fund, though the tourism authority advises contacting them ahead of travel, as opportunities shift with the seasons.

Where travellers stay shapes that picture too. The island's hotels in St Lucia range from small green-certified properties in Soufrière to larger resorts on the northwest coast, and a growing number now highlight their community and conservation credentials. The dry months from December to April are generally considered the best time to visit St Lucia, and the programme's work continues year-round regardless of season.

UNDP used the occasion to reaffirm its commitment to the island, promising continued support for community empowerment, environmental protection and a more resilient future. For Saint Lucians, the 13th report marks a decade and more of steady investment. For visitors, it is a reminder that the landscape they come to see is maintained, in large part, by the communities the programme has spent 13 years funding.

UNDP's deputy resident representative Stephanie Ziebell told the gathering that the programme's worth lies less in individual grants than in what they leave behind: communities and organisations equipped to design and run their own solutions, and evidence that local action feeds into national and global goals. Romulus echoed that message, crediting the volunteers and partners who decide where the money goes.