PR – Gaea Conservation Network Incorporated (GCN) is launching Community-Anchored Monitoring for Priority Species in and Around Grenada’s Protected Areas, a twelve-month project building national baseline data for the Critically Endangered Grenada Dove, the Critically Endangered Grenada Frog, and key game species including Armadillo, Manicou, Mona Monkey, and Iguana.
The project trains community members to monitor their own natural heritage. Two public walks mark the start of this work:
- Grenada Dove Walk – 17–18 October, 6 AM, at Perseverance and Mount Hartman
- Grenada Frog Night Walk – Saturday, 24 October, 6 PM, at Grand Etang
Both walks are open to the public, and they are also a strong opportunity for tour guides interested in developing eco-tours. To register, contact Gaea Conservation Network at 405-8995.
Alongside the walks, GCN is working with the Forestry and National Parks Department and the hunting community on a parallel engagement effort, giving hunters’ knowledge of wildlife distribution formal standing in Forestry’s harvest management process.
Data gathered across all three components will be analysed by GCN and shared with the Forestry Division. For the Grenada Dove, the work updates what is known about the species and builds community involvement in ongoing monitoring. For the Grenada Frog, it builds on existing research by the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee by creating a pathway for community participation and sustained monitoring. For game species, the information gathered with hunters will give Forestry a clearer picture of harvest pressure. Together, this supports national efforts to protect priority species and manage them sustainably for the future.
This work builds on the Grenada Dove Conservation Action Planning process led by GCN in October 2025, which brought together government agencies, researchers, and community partners to develop a ten-year strategy for the species. That process was supported by the American Bird Conservancy, BirdsCaribbean, and Re:wild. A Conservation Action Planning workshop for the Grenada Frog will follow on 6–7 October 2026, supported through G-CREWS, and the baseline data gathered through this project will help inform it.
“Protecting Grenada’s priority species is a shared responsibility. Management is strongest when the communities who live alongside these landscapes are part of it. This project puts the tools of monitoring directly into the hands of community members and turns their participation into data that decision-makers can actually use,” said Dr. Jody Daniel, President of Gaea Conservation Network.
Acknowledgments
This activity is supported by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM) through the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) under the Caribbean Regional Architecture for Biodiversity (CRAB) Project.
The project is being implemented by Gaea Conservation Network Incorporated in collaboration with Grenada Sustainable Development Trust Fund with the financial support of Caribbean Biodiversity Fund.
The Grenada Frog work is also supported through the Climate-Resilient Water Sector in Grenada (G-CREWS) project. G-CREWS is jointly financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) under its International Climate Initiative (IKI), and the Government of Grenada. Over 7 years, the Government of Grenada, the Grenada Development Bank and the National Water and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) in partnership with the German Development Corporation (GIZ) implements the project’s five components.
