Overview                                                    

With a population of around 5,000 people on a land area of just 39 square miles, Montserrat is the smallest state in the OECS. Like all small island developing states, Montserrat is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change – vulnerabilities which are exacerbated by the social and economic legacy of the devastating eruptions of the Soufriere Hills volcano in late 1990s.

Main Initiatives                                                         

Montserrat, like most countries in the region, is dependent on external partners to define and conduct comprehensive impact assessments. Therefore, using a “Training of Trainers” approach, UNDP has created a sustainable framework for further and continuous capacity development in PDNA, ultimately ensuring that there is sufficient capacity to independently conduct a PDNA as a basis for post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation. The partnership between UNDP, the World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and the EU Commission has already trained several government personnel.

UNDP is supporting the Government of Montserrat through technical assistance and capital investment to further advance the country’s plastic awareness campaign in contributing to the sustainable development of the blue economy. This includes activities such as the provision of reusable bags and the development of communications materials such as newspaper articles and animated videos.

Like many other countries in the region, the blue economy is becoming both a national and regional priority and an opportunity to achieve sustainable development therefore UNDP is developing a Blue Economy Scoping Study for Montserrat.

UNDP also assisted Montserrat’s COVID-19 emergency response through the provision of grant support to farmers and fisherfolk to contribute to their food security and assistance to MSMEs through eFUTURE.  

Additionally, UNDP is technically and financially supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) within ten countries and territories that are directly or indirectly linked to the tourism sector or have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, through the Future Tourism project.   With gender equality and empowerment of women at its core, the project seeks to promote economic diversification, job creation and resilience with the “Blue Economy for Green Islands” approach in the tourism sector thereby boosting recovery and supporting the digitally enabled transformation of the business processes and value chains of MSMEs.

In addition to Barbados, the British Virgin Islands and Dominica, UNDP has supported the development of a Blue Economy Scoping Study for Montserrat.

Did You Know?
Did you know that Monserrat is referred to as the ‘Emerald Isle of the Caribbean’