Objectives

• To produce 200,000 of mixed forest species seedlings per year;
• To demarcate and protect forested areas from fire;
• To maintain and nurture each site planted for a period of at least five (5) years;
• To maximize production of forest products using appropriate silvicultural treatments;
• To establish, through association with the Forestry Division and the Agricultural Extension Service, performance benchmarks and a system of field inspection to maintain the required quality standards;
• To improve watershed management practices and procedures in order to restore and sustain the absorptive capacity of the watershed areas;
• To establish a public awareness education initiative to generate and disseminate information on all aspects of the programme with the aim of sustaining community support for reforestation and watershed rehabilitation;
• To contribute to National Food Security through the use of appropriate agro-forestry strategies contributing to sustainable livelihoods through employment generation and those agro-forestry activities;
• To provide training and institutional capacity building for the development of the personnel and communities of the project;
• To provide for community participation in the forest rehabilitation and management efforts through systems of community mobilization, capacity building and direct involvement in the program;
• To implement planting and maintenance strategies to improve the value and diversity of the forest crops within the project area locations;
• To promote Entrepreneurial development within the Communities;

Benefits

The Programme would generate the following benefits:

• Enhanced forest asset accumulation and increased forest cover;
• Water security through improved and protected watersheds;
• Enhanced forest fire protection capability;
• Frontline mitigation against disasters;
• Reduction in flooding;
• Enhanced state of the environment  from increased carbon sequestration (removal of carbon dioxide from the air by plants);
• Increased opportunities for eco-tourism;
• Improved recreational facilities;
• Employment generation (sustainable livelihoods) and poverty alleviation;
• Entrepreneurial and personal development;
• Enhanced food security through increased food production as a result of agro-forestry activities;
• Enhanced community involvement in the sustainable development process; and
• Enhanced ability of the Government to meet its international obligations –

Re: environmental protection as provided for in various treaties and protocols, such as: The Kyoto Protocol, The United Nations Convention for Combating Desertification, Agenda 21, The Barbados Programme of Action, among others.