Sibun River Watershed Association meets on Sunday

On Sunday the Sibun Watershed Association will be officially launching a project to promote the protection and sustainable development of the land and communities around the Sibun River. Armed with a U.N.D.P. grant of eighty thousand dollars, the group will look to strengthen its ability to manage the watershed, enhance bio-diversity and reverse those activities which they believe are currently harming the area’s environment. One issue of concern to the association is the practice of mining gravel from the river which, according to some residents, is causing large amounts of silt to run downstream, polluting the water supply. On Wednesday News Five was taken on a flight courtesy of Lighthawk and Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary to see firsthand the effect of mining operations on the Sibun. The gravel quarries are licensed by the government’s Department of Geology and Petroleum which is supposed to monitor their activities for compliance with environmental regulations. The Sibun Watershed Association invites all residents of the area, including the villages of St. Margaret’s, Ringtail, Cave’s Branch, Armenia, Springfield, Frank’s Eddy, La Democracia, Gracie Rock, Butcher Burns and Hattieville, to attend the meeting which will be held on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 in the community center at Freetown Sibun.