The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas National Trust (BNT) is refining its fund raising strategy its executive director said yesterday, telling Tribune Business that the fourth quarter of the year is “going to be rough” unless it is able to obtain significant funding.

Eric Carey said: “We’re still refining our strategy. We keep trying to engage corporate Bahamas. The fourth quarter of this year is going to be rough unless we are able to get significant funding in.”

He added that the non-profit conservation agency, which manages 27 national parks, was going to be cutting back on expenditure in preparation for the fourth quarter. “The BNT, in preparation for the third quarter we are obviously going to be cutting back on expenditure. Core programmes will continue but we won’t likely do a lot of new things or a lot of new infrastructure. We will just try to stay afloat.

“Also what’s taking place during this quarter is we are putting in place and refining our fund raising strategy for corporate Bahamas, wealthy individuals and Bahamians in general. We are confident that we can do it but it’s going to take time and effort,” said Mr Carey.

Mr Carey further noted that a curriculum for bird guides in the Bahamas was being formulated so that over the next three years the nation could tap into the multi-billion dollar bird-based tourism industry. “The curriculum and programme for the actual training ... we have to develop the curriculum for what the guides are going to learn.

“It’s a three-year project and that curriculum is now going to be used as the curriculum that people will learn and they are going to learning about all sorts of things that will equip them with skills so that they can be good nature guides. We are going to organise specific training sessions in Andros and Inagua and start equipping people with skills.

“They won’t really be ready to start receiving guests until the second year of this project. The first year is really going to be used to train them and build the skills. Basic training for 80 people but over the three years we are really looking to have eight to ten advanced trained guides.”

Mr Carey added: “We believe that there is a lot of interest in this type of tourism but we are really not going to know until we start advertising and asking people to sign up for the training. We have had preliminary discussions. There is going to be a lot of spin-off economic activity.”

US-based bird conservation society, The National Audubon Society (NAS), has partnered with the BNT in the bird-based tourism initiative. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has granted $2.6m from its Multilateral Investment Fund to NAS to be split between four countries pursuing the initiative.