BEST reinforces its support of ultramarine biodiversity

The European Commission has launched BEST 2.0 and has reinforced its support for the protection of ultramarine biodiversity by offering new possibilities for financing to Overseas Countries and Territories (PTOM). In the Caribbean, this is good news for Saint Barthélemy, the five British Territories, and the six Dutch territories, as there is now 6 M€ available over a period of five years. Studies are underway for such Outermost Regions (ORs) as Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Saint Martin in the Caribbean to benefit from a similar initiative. Stay tuned… Of course, these RUP’s already have access to European funds, if their politicians consider protection of their environment as a major cornerstone of their political strategy. Let’s hope they make the right choice! Concerning the PTOM’s, a first call for projects has been launched, requesting about 400,000 € in aide. These projects will be evaluated by a committee of experts, then followed- up by Romain Renoux, Amandine Vaslet, and the project BEST team for the European territories of the Caribbean, as part of the regional cooperation division of the Réserve Naturelle of Saint Martin. Their mission will be to best advise the project leaders and to make sure that the financing corresponds to the issues identified during consultations with the local representatives in each territory. They will work in concert with Julie Belmont, a new recruit for BEST, based at CAR-SPAW in Guadeloupe and in charge of tracking the new projects as funded.