St. Martin, St. Maarten INTERREG projects approved for EU funding

Members of the INTERREG Selection Committee included President of the Collectivité of St. Martin, Daniel Gibbs. MARIGOT--St. Martin and St. Maarten are among Caribbean islands that have had joint projects approved for European funding within the INTERREG Caribbean Programme 2010-2014 following publication of eleven eligible projects out of a short list of 24.   The total budget of the INTERREG Caribbean Programme 2014-2020 managed by the Region of Guadeloupe is 85.7 million euros. It should be noted the funding awards for each project have not yet been disclosed.   The second Selection Committee met in the Hotel Salako, Gosier, in Guadeloupe, on May 30 and 31, 2017, prior to the announcement of successful projects. President of the Collectivité of St. Martin, Daniel Gibbs, was a member of the Selection Committee.   One of the two main projects eligible for funding is installation of a weather radar in cooperation with St. Maarten presented by the Risk Management Department of the Collectivité of St. Martin. The reported cost of this cooperation project is 2.3 million euros; split between 1.725 million euros from St. Martin and 575,000 euros from St. Maarten. Director General of Dauphin Telecom, Eve Riboud, gives her presentation on Caribix to the Selection Committee.   St. Maarten is also included in the project PAIRE: Developing an action plan to facilitate cooperation between the Caribbean air transport operators in partnership with Antigua, Dominica, St. Maarten and LIAT airlines.   The other project is Caribix, presented by Dauphin Telecom of St. Martin at a cost of three million euros. This project will develop Internet exchange points in the Caribbean in partnership with Trinidad and St. Maarten. INTERREG funding requested amounted to 402,000 euros.   Other projects to receive funding are as follows: TEECA--Setting up a trade facilitation team and improving knowledge on existing financing solutions in the Caribbean area in partnership with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS); OSAIN – Identify and promote the medicinal plants of the Caribbean in partnership with Belize, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica and Puerto Rico; RECAVAC – Accompanying cocoa farmers in partnership with Haiti; PREST – Creation of a geophysical observatory Earth/Sea in partnership with Haiti, Cuba, and University of West Indies; CARIFORTS - Creation of a network of forts and fortifications of the Caribbean in partnership with Antigua, Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and St. Eustatius; CARI’MAM – Networking of marine protected areas dedicated to the conservation of marine mammals in the Greater Caribbean in partnership with Bonaire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Turks and Caicos; OSATOURC – Creation of an international network of popular and traditional music of the Caribbean in partnership with Cuba, Dominica, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago; and CAP 3D – 3D creative mobility project in partnership with the University of Trinidad and Tobago.   The INTERREG Caribbean programme is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and supports cooperative actions addressing common regional challenges in order to strengthen the territorial and sustainable economic development of the Caribbean region.   The Guadeloupe region is the managing authority for this fund. It is intended to support projects involving players from the French “Outermost regions” (RUP) of Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique and St. Martin, in partnership with organisations in the Caribbean area representing nearly 40 countries and overseas country territories (OCTs).


Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/66670-st-martin-st-maarten-interreg-projects-approved-for-eu-funding