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Workshop
on Community based responses to coastal erosion
The objectives for the workshop entitled 'Community based responses to coastal erosion' were as follows: (1)
To share experiences between different Caribbean islands The workshop was organised by the Central Institute of Physical Planning, Directorate of Physical Planning of Havana Province and the Cuba UNESCO Office. Participants came from other agencies in Cuba including the Institute of Oceanology, CITMA, Instituto Pre Universitario Vocacional de Ciencias Exactas 'Ernesto Guevara', Santa Clara (Sandwatch partners), Investigaciones y Proyectos Hidraulicos Villa Clara. Overseas participants came from government agencies in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, San Andres Archipelago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. A list of participants is included in Annex 1.
The programme for the workshop is shown in Annex 2. After the opening ceremony, a presentation was made by Mr. Carlos Rodriguez describing the physical planning system in Cuba and how it works at the central, provincial, municipal and community levels. Extensive work has been done on the dangers and vulnerabilities of people living in the coastal zone, and various adaptations were outlined. Following this, a presentation was made by Mr. Daniel Bulgado Benavides, the teacher involved with the Sandwatch Project in Cuba and one of his students, Mr. Ernesto Ardisana Santana. The afternoon session was devoted to a presentation and discussions relating to the project on the south coast of Havana Province and the different ways the Directorate of Physical Planning for Havana Province was assisting coastal communities to cope with the problems of coastal erosion.
During the second day of the workshop participants visited two coastal communities on the south coast of Havana Province - Playa Mayabeque and Playa Rosario - to observe the coastal conditions and discuss various issues with coastal residents.
During the morning of the third day of the workshop, participants from the other Caribbean islands made presentations on how their islands were dealing with coastal erosion problems, especially at the community level. Presentations were made by:
In the afternoon of the third day participants divided into two groups to discuss 'Strategies to mitigate coastal erosion from a community standpoint,' and in particular the following topics:
The two groups presented their findings, which were later combined as follows:
On the fourth and final day of the workshop, short presentations were provided on the following projects, which provided a wider framework for the project being developed in this workshop. Short descriptions were provided of the following activities:
The basic outline of a project proposal had emerged from the previous day's discussions. This proposal was given the preliminary title: Building community resilience to coastal erosion in small islands. The final activity of the workshop focused on continuing the small group discussions to provide more substance to this preliminary project proposal. Three groups were formed and each was asked to work on one of the following subjects:
As a result of these discussions, the following project proposal has emerged. Title: Building community resilience to coastal erosion in small islands The project would have three main components: (1) Field projects: A series of pilot (field) projects in different islands, all focusing on sensitisation of communities about beach erosion issues. The sensitisation would be combined with the implementation of specific activities e.g. tree planting, beach clean-ups, beautification, sand dune restoration, etc. These projects could build on existing activities, e.g. sand dune fences in Anguilla, Adopt-a-beach programmes in San Andres, reconstruction of groynes in Mayabeque, Cuba, Sandwatch-related activities with youth groups; as well as starting new activities. While all projects would include sensitisation, the particular activities undertaken would depend on a specific community's needs. The projects would run for a minimum of two years and could be organised by government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community organisations or combinations of the above. (2) Communications and networking: The projects would be linked using electronic discussion groups, email and an interactive website. Other facilities for interaction and communication should be included such as exchanges among project personnel from different projects, telephone discussions and telephone conference calls, video conferencing. Each project would develop its own communication plan using newspapers, radio and television to inform those inside and outside the project about their activities. (3) Guidelines for building community resilience to coastal erosion: Based on the outcome of the field projects and the lessons learnt, a set of guidelines on ways to build community resilience to coastal erosion would be produced. These guidelines would cover the following topics:
The final recommendation of the workshop was to establish an electronic discussion group, composed of the workshop participants. The first task of this discussion group would be to comment on a draft project proposal (in English and Spanish), which would be circulated by the end of March. The workshop was then closed with warm thanks and appreciation to the participants and the workshop organisers, and the reading of an original poem by the Sandwatch student representative Mr. Ernesto Ardisana Santana, entitled 'Reflections'. Ayer?...
Eso hace tiempo. Para
decir cuidemos, para decir nosotros podemos, Nuestra
ayuda, mañana, puede ser inútil Porque mañana puede ser muy, muy tarde ! No
dejemos el mañana para decir: No
dejemos para mañana: No
dejemos el mañana para preguntar: Recuerda:
Mañana puede ser tarde, muy tarde! Solamente el "Hoy" es definitivo! |
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LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
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COMMUNITY-BASED
RESPONSES TO COASTAL EROSION
Tuesday 24th February 2004 10:00
11:00-13:00
Lunch 14:30-18:00
Wednesday 25th February 2004
Thursday 26th February 2004 09:00 - 13:00
Lunch 14:30 - 18:00
Friday 27th February 2004 09:00 - 13:00
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