{"id":17322,"date":"2026-04-14T21:03:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T21:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/?p=17322"},"modified":"2026-04-14T21:03:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T21:03:26","slug":"gardcs-stakeholders-engage-in-consultation-on-gender-integration-in-antigua-and-barbudas-national-biodiversity-strategy-and-action-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/2026\/04\/14\/gardcs-stakeholders-engage-in-consultation-on-gender-integration-in-antigua-and-barbudas-national-biodiversity-strategy-and-action-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"GARDC’s Stakeholders Engage in Consultation on Gender Integration in Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
St. John\u2019s, Antigua and Barbuda \u2013 11 April 2026 \u2013 A stakeholder consultation was<\/div>\n
convened on Friday, 10 April 2026, to support the integration of gender considerations<\/div>\n
into Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).<\/div>\n
The consultation formed part of an initiative supported by the United Nations<\/div>\n
Development Programme (UNDP) through the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, with<\/div>\n
funding from the government of Canada. The project is being implemented by the<\/div>\n
Gilbert Agricultural and Rural Development Center (GARDC).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The session brought together more than 30 participants representing government<\/div>\n
agencies, civil society organizations, community groups, and biodiversity practitioners<\/div>\n
to examine how gender perspectives can be more effectively reflected in biodiversity<\/div>\n
planning and implementation across key sectors.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The consultation was facilitated by national consultant Mellissa Johnson, with<\/div>\n
technical support from Refica Attwood, who assisted in stakeholder engagement,<\/div>\n
coordination of consultation inputs, and documentation of perspectives shared during<\/div>\n
the session. Together, the consultants guided discussions aimed at identifying gender<\/div>\n
related challenges affecting participation in biodiversity initiatives, validating<\/div>\n
stakeholder groups engaged in biodiversity management, and highlighting<\/div>\n
underrepresented actors whose contributions are important to achieving national<\/div>\n
biodiversity objectives.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Participants engaged in structured discussions exploring gender roles within<\/div>\n
biodiversity sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, natural resource management, and<\/div>\n
community-based conservation. The consultation also provided an opportunity to<\/div>\n
identify barriers to participation, highlight opportunities for more inclusive engagement,<\/div>\n
and strengthen stakeholder input into the ongoing gender analysis supporting the<\/div>\n
NBSAP update process.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Several stakeholder groups were identified as requiring stronger representation in<\/div>\n
biodiversity planning and implementation processes, including small-scale farmers,<\/div>\n
fishers, artisans, backyard gardeners, beekeepers, persons with disabilities, older<\/div>\n
community members, landowners, and development stakeholders. Participants also<\/div>\n
emphasized the importance of strengthening enforcement of existing environmental<\/div>\n
legislation to support improved biodiversity management outcomes.<\/div>\n
Feedback gathered during the consultation will inform the identification of priority entry<\/div>\n
points for gender integration within the updated NBSAP framework and support the<\/div>\n
development of practical recommendations to strengthen inclusive biodiversity<\/div>\n
governance in Antigua and Barbuda.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
GARD continues to invite input from stakeholders across sectors through the<\/div>\n
Institutional Mapping Survey being conducted as part of the gender analysis<\/div>\n
supporting integration into the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.<\/div>\n
Stakeholders are encouraged to share their perspectives by completing the survey<\/div>\n
using the QR code below.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The organizers expressed appreciation to all participants for their valuable<\/div>\n
contributions to advancing inclusive and sustainable biodiversity planning in Antigua<\/div>\n
and Barbuda.\u00a0 For additional support and information gathering, GARD asks for assistance in<\/div>\n
completing the survey on Instructional Mapping by scanning the QR code below.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St. John\u2019s, Antigua and Barbuda \u2013 11 April 2026 \u2013 A stakeholder consultation was convened on Friday, 10 April 2026, to support the integration of gender considerations into Antigua and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gardc","category-news-notices"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17322"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17328,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17322\/revisions\/17328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriculture.gov.ag\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}