LUCELEC Assisting with Forest Restoration

LUCELEC is collaborating with the Department of Forestry and the St. Lucia National Trust in helping to replant areas that were stripped of trees and soil as a result of the passage of Hurricane Tomas last year.

LUCELEC made the offer to the Department of Forestry shortly after Hurricane Tomas having witnessed first-hand the numerous landslides and bare slopes while undertaking electricity restoration works post Tomas.

Recently, the power company participated in the launch of the Forestry Department’s National Tree Planting Campaign, and last week, a team from LUCELEC joined the St. Lucia National Trust in replanting some areas in Forestierre.

LUCELEC’s Corporate Communications Manager Roger Joseph says the company recognised that restoration, stabilisation and rehabilitation of the forest reserve and certain slopes was a critical issue post Hurricane Tomas and was eager to provide both financial and manpower support to a national effort to repair some of the damage.

“Not only that,” Joseph added, “but LUCELEC is cognisant also of the long term beneficial effects that more trees will have on the environment, since trees play a critical role cleaning the air of carbon emissions.

“The company’s participation in the recent tree planting activities is a demonstration of LUCELEC’s commitment to this effort and we are ready to provide further support to both the Forestry Department and the St. Lucia National Trust in seeing the restoration and reforestation of the islands forests ecosystem through to the end,” Joseph said.

Further, he noted, the effort is aligned with one of LUCELEC’s strategic priorities -  environmental stewardship - and the Company is actively engaged in establishing an environmental management system as a critical aspect of its operations with a view to securing ISO 14001 certification.

The Forestry Department says the mass movement of soil caused by Hurricane Tomas saw the loss of 605 hectares of forest and 66.2 kilometres of forest roads and trails.  Through the National Tree Planting Campaign, the Forestry Department expects to work with the corporate community and other sectors to restore these areas.