August 8, 2012, St John’s Antigua – The Forestry Division says that a fire which swept through the hills near the area of Jennings and Bendals Tuesday night did not threaten the sensitive Body Ponds watershed demonstration project.
The project, which aims to restore the second most important water catchment terrain in Antigua and Barbuda, was wiped out by a Father’s Day fire and is only now recovering.
Fires, like the one on Tuesday, sometimes burn wide swaths of land in the area where the Body Ponds project is located. They have, over time, killed beneficial vegetation and caused soil to fill in natural water catchments.
Forestry Officer Adriel Thibou says project officers are making strides convincing people to quit starting fires due the danger.
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Since Father’s Day, the recovery efforts have also included expansion of an area of fruit trees from 10 to 12 acres.
Thibou says the police have helped, through a joint youth programme, to make that happen.
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Forresty Officer Adriel Thibou….
