As a national NGO, the Environmental Awareness Group (EAG) has been at the forefront of environmental action for over 30 years. Through the work of the EAG, Antigua and Barbuda has benefited from improved ecosystems that support endangered and threatened endemic species. These ecosystems further support sustainable livelihoods particularly in the fisheries and ecotourism industries. This has been most evident in the North East Marine Management Area (NEMMA), which was designated a Marine Reserve under the Fisheries Act of 2006.
Key to the designation of the area, is also the impact that protected systems have on the coastal communities that surround and support the ecosystems. While communities understand their importance as users of the natural resources, they are often left out of the associated decision and management processes, especially as government agencies become more visible in their management. Unfortunately, this leads to a somewhat ?hands-off? approach by communities, effectively leaving them powerless to respond quickly to pertinent environmental issues because they are unaware of the gambit of the legal and political framework to manage these situations.

As they are unaware of the laws and policies that have been enacted to respond to a variety of environmental scenarios, communities are often not empowered to build methodical, consistent, and impactful responses. Essentially, these communities have no means to ensure that the natural resources that they use daily are maintained by and for them, to safeguard against adverse impacts by climatic pressures, development blunders, and general mismanagement of the natural resources.

Recognising this gap, the EAG has chosen to embark on the Environmental Stewardship: Demonstrating linkages between environmental policies and community activism in the North East Marine Management Area (NEMMA) project targeting civil society organisations (CSOs) within the communities of Parham, Seatons, Glanvilles, and Willikies.