Earth Today | Grenada’s National Ecosystem Assessment Report supports biodiversity mainstreaming

GRENADA’S BIODIVERSITY faces growing challenges such as habitat destruction, climate change, over-harvesting, ocean acidification and pollution.

Launched in 2019, the Grenada National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) set out to provide a detailed analysis and critical evaluation of the impacts of these global and endemic forces on the island’s ecosystems.

Implemented by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) on behalf of the Government of Grenada, this project also provided tools, data and knowledge to integrate the value of biodiversity and ecosystem services into policy to build the island’s resilience to profound changes in global, regional and local environments.

A key source of policy-relevant information, NEAs gather and consolidate current knowledge on the status, trends and threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services in target countries. NEAs also showcase and emphasise the economic, social and intrinsic value of ecosystems and ecosystem services. Further, they encourage a more thorough and consistent mainstreaming of ecosystem services, sustainable development and resilience into the country’s overarching decision-making processes.

After a scoping exercise to frame the assessment and identify policy questions to be addressed was completed for the Grenada NEA in 2020, a multidisciplinary team of authors utilised literature and data, as well as local and indigenous knowledge, to produce the NEA.

“The team of 72 authors, comprised of economists, anthropologists, climate change specialists, biologists and other natural resource management specialists completed the document in 2023. Final recommendations included ways to integrate biodiversity conservation into every aspect of economic, social and environmental policy towards healthy ecosystems that can provide an array of valuable services that contribute meaningfully to Grenada’s economy and its citizens’ well-being” said a release from CANARI.

PRESENTATION OF REPORT

The Grenada National Ecosystem Assessment Report was officially presented to the public at a launch ceremony at the Radisson Hotel in Grenada on October 26. Senior Technical Officer at CANARI and manager of the Grenada Ecosystem Assessment: Linking Science and Policy project, Dr Natalie Boodram, placed the spotlight on both the economic and non-economic value of ecosystems in her remarks at the launch, emphasising that the NEA Report along with the accompanying Summary for Policymakers would serve as important decision-making tools for national development.

Boodram concluded her remarks noting that a citizen’s guide to the NEA was also in development to succinctly present the facts and information found in the larger report that can be used by civil society to effectively communicate about issues affecting Grenada’s ecosystems.

The Grenada NEA Report 2023 was produced by CANARI on behalf of the Government of Grenada as part of the initiative on building capacity for national ecosystem assessments: linking science and policy and the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Network.

Development of the Grenada NEA was funded through the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection of the Federal Republic of Germany, International Climate Initiative with global project oversight by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre.