by Tarnia Green
Government Information Service
 Hikers passing through a section of the
Waitukubuli National Trail
Segments one to four of the Waitukubuli National Trail have been officially declared open for business by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The Waitukubuli National Trail, which is one hundred and fifteen miles long, spans from the communities of Scotts Head in the south to the Cabrits National park in the north.
According to the Project Manager of the Project management Unit, Edison Henry, pilot operation of segments one to four will be led by the Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Division in collaboration with the Project Management Unit.
 Project Manager of the
Project Management Unit,
Edison Henry
“From this point forward, issues relating to the trail operations will be carefully documented in an effort to inform the permanent procedures and protocols which will guide the trail going forward. Along segments one to four, you will find four (4) entry signs, ten (10) interpreting signs, one hundred and twenty-five (125) directional signs, five (5) timber crossings, twenty-one (21) tables, forty-five (45) benches and thirteen (13) communities. A segment brochure is as well available for each segment and can be downloaded from http://www.waitukublinationaltrail.com”
Hon. Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, Matthew Walter, said that the trail gives travellers one more reason to visit Dominica.
 Hon. Minister for
Agriculture and
Forestry, Matthew
Walter
“The Project provided a concept which allowed our national landscape and our agricultural endowment to seamlessly merge into the emerging tourism concept, dubbed ‘eco-tourism’. Hence, Dominica now presents one more reason to visit a splendid eco-tourism destination in a part of the world which is known more for its sea and sun. The trail showcases Dominica’s natural, cultural and historical attributes which allows our long, nurtured, natural assets to be used in our quest for social and economic development.”
The Caribbean’s first and only long distance trail consists of fourteen segments and connects twenty-nine communities across Dominica.
Hon. Minister of Tourism, Ian Douglas, said that the trail holds tremendous potential and provides an opportunity for increased economic activity, vending, trail guiding and overnighting in communities along the trail.
 Hon. Minister of Tourism,
Ian Douglas
“This trail is quickly becoming one of Dominica’s signature tourism products. We are ready, willing and eagerly awaiting the chance to market this trail at the Discover Dominica Authority and the Ministry of Tourism as one of the signature products. This is a very special product, not only in Dominica, the Nature Isle of the World, but in the Caribbean as well. A lot of people do not recognise and do not know that the trail is the only trail of its type in the Caribbean and Central America…It holds so much possibilities for Dominica; so much socio economic possibilities for Dominica. Every segment of the trail is specifically constructed so that the communities that lie along the trail can really adopt the trail as their own.”
The European Commission has been a strong development partner in the realisation of this project.
The trail was constructed under the Special Framework of Assistance at a cost of fourteen million E.C dollars.
“A significant EU assistance rendered for this part of the project is part of our efforts to help Dominica diversify its economy in order to contribute to poverty alleviation and raise the standard of living of Dominicans. The European Union is happy to partner with the people of Dominica in this project which should serve to help reconnect Dominican people with their heritage and give them a well-deserved feeling of national pride.”
 H.E Valeriano Diaz,
head of the European
Commission delegation
in Barbados
Nationals have been called upon to embrace the Waitukubuli National Trail and take advantage of the many opportunities which it will present.
“It has advocated that this project is community oriented and thus will derive its life from the involvement of its people centred experiences of trail users. I invite all within the sound of my voice to do all we can to enhance the survival of this truly national treasure for it is the value placed on it by ourselves which will propel others to respect and treasure it.”
The Forestry Division made a special appeal to all to desist from littering the trial, vandalizing trail infrastructure or engaging in practices that will negatively affect the environment.
The entire trail should be complete at the end of this year.
Government announced that construction work on an official headquarters for the trail will begin this week.
The headquarters to be dubbed “The Waitukubuli National Trail Research and Interpretive Facility”, will include office space, an exposition room, a conference room, a restaurant, vendors arcade, a model camp site and living quarters.
The facility is to be constructed at the end of segment four. |
