Staff writer Eunice Nisbett
Bridgetown, BARBADOS, January 9, 2012 – Three Caribbean islands will get a new year?s gift from CIBC FirstCaribbean in the form of support for endangered
environmental projects in their different island communities.
Through a partnership with Seacology, the only Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) in the world whose sole focus is on preserving island ecosystems, CIBC FirstCaribbean will assist the islands of Grenada, St. Kitts and San Salvador in the
Bahamas in preserving their ecosystems and wildlife by protecting critical mangrove forests, nesting beaches of sea turtles and endangered iguanas in these three countries respectively.
The first cheque was handed over by the Executive Chairman of CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank and Chairman of the Bank?s charitable foundation, Mr. Michael Mansoor to the Executive Director of Seacology, Mr. Duane Silverstein at a short ceremony at the Bank, when the California based Seacology Director visited Barbados. The total grant of US,000 over a 3 year period will be disbursed in three tranches and will fully fund the environmental programmes and extend some much needed protection to the Caribbean?s wildlife and people as the projects will be self sustaining and will involve members of the various island communities.
“CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank is concerned about our customers as well as the
Michael Mansoor (right), Chairman CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank handing over cheque to Mr. Duane Silverstein, Executive Director of Seacology.
sustainability of the island environment in which we live. These projects have the potential of not only sustaining the environment but also the livelihoods of many Caribbean people and we are happy to be a part of it” stated Mr. Mansoor
In explaining the choice of projects, Mr. Silverstein pointed out that his 20 year old organisation worked with local field representatives in the communities and those reps are the ones who chose the projects along with local community leaders.
He further elaborated that “they are the eyes and ears of Seacology? and are the ones who know the local culture, language, environment and needs. In this case, the reps were the ones who worked with the community leaders in developing the project proposals and will ensure the now approved projects are properly executed.
In Grenada, the mangrove area between Woburn and Calivigny Bays contains the largest intact mangrove ecosystem in the country. It is a nesting, roosting and feeding area for many species and was damaged during Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The project will seek to assist the groups who were already working to restore the mangroves, clean up manmade litter and promote awareness of the importance of the mangrove to both local and visiting audiences.
Michael Mansoor (right), Chairman, CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank and Duane Silverstein, Executive Director, Seacology signing MOU while Debra P. King, Director Corporate Communications, CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank looks on.
The project in St. Kitts will work with the St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network to protect the Sea turtles and their habitats including the nesting beaches, focusing on the Leatherback, Hawksbill and Green turtles, while the project in San Salvador Bahamas will fund an iguana head starting facility to protect the endemic San Salvador iguana of which only 500 remain in the wild.
Mr. Silverstein explained “Seacology seeks projects that respond to the clear and pressing needs of island communities while protecting vulnerable ecosystems containing healthy habitat, often for rare, endemic or endangered species of plants and animals.”
He went on to note that the NGO has 222 projects in 140 islands around the world including in the South Pacific and South East Asia but these are the first projects which they will be undertaking in the Caribbean. To date, the organisation has worked on preserving coral reefs, rainforest and other imperiled habitats as well as saving turtles and their nesting sites, crocodiles and other endangered animal species.
“We are very thankful to CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank for this generous donation and I look forward to working with the Bank closely on these projects.” Mr. Silverstein added.
About CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank
CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank is the largest, regionally-listed bank in the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, serving over 500,000 accounts in 17 markets through 3,400 staff across 100 branches and offices. The bank offers a full range of market-leading financial services in Corporate Banking, Investment Banking, Treasury Sales and Trading, Retail Banking, Wealth Management, and Credit Cards.
CIBC FirstCaribbean is a member of the CIBC Group. CIBC (TSX, NYSE: CM) is a leading North American financial institution serving clients in Canada and around the world. CIBC provides a full range of products and services to almost 11 million individual, small business and commercial banking clients and meets the financial needs of corporate and institutional clients. CIBC is rated A+/Stable/A-1 by Standard & Poor’s. For more information about FirstCaribbean, visit www.cibcfcib.com
Media contact:
Debra King, Director of Corporate Communications, CIBC FirstCaribbean, Barbados Head Office; telephone: 246 367 2248; fax: 246 421 7148 and email: [email protected].
Media contact:
G Peter Edmunds, Head of Corporate Banking and Country Manager, CIBC FirstCaribbean, Basseterre, St Kitts; telephone: 869 465 5363; fax: 869 466 9899 and email: [email protected]
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