National Parks, Rivers and Beaches Authority: Behind The Scenes

“It is important that we maintain our various bio diversity assets because once you have those, you lay a good foundation for the rest of your tourism product.”

This is the advice offered by Andrew Wilson, Director of the National Parks, Rivers and Beaches Authority (NPRBA),in an interview with THE VINCENTIAN, during which he explained how the NPRBA was integrally involved in the national effort to ensure that St. Vincent and the Grenadines remain the best possible tourism product.

According to Wilson, traditionally, in the 80s and 90s, tourism was based strictly on the sun, sand and sea aspects of our islands.

“In recent years, like 2007- 2009, diversifying our tourism product has been at the forefront of our agenda.  We not only focus on sun, sand and sea but on nature tourism on a whole,” Wilson indicated.

He continued:  “This means that visitors to our island are encouraged not only to visit our beaches, but also our waterfalls, trails and various nature hikes.”

Wilson expressed the strong belief that, “when tourists come, they want to learn about your island, they want to feel a part (of it),” and informed that towards this end, the NPRBA undertook a Tourism Development Project which involved refurbishing and opening 14 tourist sites, at a cost of over 10 million dollars.

Plans

But the NBRPA is not sitting on its laurels.  The Director pointed to the imminent implementation of a Disaster Preparedness Management Plan that will focus on: evacuation and evacuation procedures for the various sites in case of fires, bomb blasts and other disasters; and hurricane preparedness and protection for the sites.

“It is important that if a disaster strikes our island that our Tourism Industry can recover. This is the true test. Hurricane Tomas proved this to us when much of our interior protected forest area was heavily damaged,” Wilson said as he sought to emphasise the importance of the plan.

Citizens and visitors alike can also expect to see a heightened effort in relation to promotion and awareness building generally.

Awareness ‘promos’ are planned for radio and television, and a new signage placement project will be implemented.

Infra-structural work is also expected to be undertaken at Trinity Falls and in the Grenadines.
“As a country and people, there is a need for us to exercise a personal responsibility for our island. We must treat every inch of it like we would our own homes,” Wilson told THE VINCENTIAN.

The NPRBA

The NPRBA was set up to give specific attention to the preservation, protection, management and development of the natural, physical and ecological resources, and the historical and cultural heritage of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

In essence, it is responsible for co-coordinating the development of our tourist sites, as well as assisting in managing the nature conservation and ecology of our protected areas and surroundings.

It is a Statutory Body that interfaces in an ongoing manner with the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Source of article:
by Karissa Clarke
The Vincentian
03/02/2012
www.thevincentian.com