Community Pulse

ESIA and ESMP Discussed with Stakeholders

During the month of February, the PIU undertook a round of public consultations to bring awareness of the contents of the project's ESIA and ESMP to its stakeholders. Consultations were held in Belle Plaine, Saltibus and Belvedere with the project affected people and people within the project's area of influence. In addition, institutional stakeholders such as non-governmental organizations, government agencies, churches, youth organizations, environmental groups, utility companies, representative groups, academic institutions and other key stakeholder groups were met with in Castries and Soufriere. Over 350 stakeholders attended this round of consultations.

The RESDP uses consultations as a key strategy for keeping its stakeholders informed and engaged about the project. It is also a mechanism to allow them to participate in the decision-making process. This is the fifth round of consultations since the project was launched in November 2022. Consultations are held bi-annually and whenever necessary.

This round of consultations focused on the dissemination and discussion of information on the mitigation measures identified to address the environmental and social risks and impacts of the project. In addition, land acquisition, physical and temporary displacement of residents of the project affected communities, resettlement displacement, compensation and income restoration were also discussed.

To ensure that stakeholders are adequately informed and given the opportunity to provide feedback, the ESIA and ESMP for Fond St. Jacques and Saltibus and ESIA and ESMP for Belle Plaine, respectively, have been placed on the RESDP (www.sluresdp.com) and Government's websites (www.gov.lc) and Facebook pages.

Additionally, hard copies have been placed at several microcentres around the island including Soufriere, Vieux Fort and Gros Islet Information Technology Centres; the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, Central Library and Laborie Library.

According to the project's Community Liaison Officer (CLO), Windia Jaunai, "The PIU wishes to thank all stakeholders w h o attended our consultations to discuss the ESIA and ESMP for their time, efforts and contributions. The attendees made the consultations lively and were full of questions about how the project's impact would be addressed. We are happy that we were able to satisfy the many questions of our hundreds of stakeholders. The PIU looks forward to dialoguing with everyone before we move into the civil works activities of the project around June 2025".

Over the next three months project activities will accelerate significantly as the PIU seeks to finalize land purchases, compensate and resettle displaced households.