PHILIPSBURG:--- The National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) has made further progress in supporting the lives of the resettled Pond Island community that previously lived adjacent to St. Maarten’s Municipal Solid Waste Disposal Site, the landfill. Several former residents of Pond Island have completed a course under the Livelihood Restoration Plan (LRP), which supports those who were relocated to ensure their livelihoods would not be negatively impacted by the Emergency Debris Management Project (EDMP); the project tasked with making critical interventions into the management of the landfill. Vocational courses, including a baking class, were offered to these individuals to equip them with practical skills for employment or entrepreneurship, aiming to compensate for the loss of any supplementary income and restore their livelihoods to pre-project levels.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in 2017, the Government of Sint Maarten initiated a large-scale recovery effort to build a more resilient island. Funded by the Dutch Government and managed by the World Bank, the Trust Fund was established to support this recovery, with the NRPB overseeing projects aimed at rebuilding Sint Maarten. One of these projects, the EDMP, required the resettlement of communities near the landfill, leading to the creation of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) and its Livelihood Restoration Program (LRP) of which the latter was launched in May 2023.
The baking class, carried out by The Cake Box, started on July 9th and provided instruction on cake decorating and the science of baking. Students joined with various goals, from creating a supplemental source of income to starting their own businesses in the food industry. Other courses under the LRP include a three-week financial literacy program, a basic IT/computer operational skills course, the Readiness for Job Program, and a food handler’s certification. The course subjects were selected based on consultations with the relocated people, considering their professional skills, knowledge, and education levels.
As part of the EDMP, activities are underway to further enhance waste management at the dump site. In the coming months, a weighbridge is set to be installed. This will enable the measurement and recording of incoming waste, providing a more accurate analysis for better waste management at the landfill. Additionally, the demolition of the now vacated Resettlement Area of Impact on Pond Island is in the contracting phase. This is the area where relocated people live. The demolition will create a buffer zone between the landfill and inhabited areas, further enhancing the concept of safe waste management.
As the NRPB continues to support this community through ongoing monitoring and evaluation, the impact of the LRP will be closely monitored. Participation in training programs will be tracked, along with changes in income levels, and overall improvements in livelihoods. This ongoing monitoring will be conducted quarterly in the first year of relocation, continuing annually until the end of the Resettlement Action Plan and the last LRP training.
Based on World Bank guidelines, the NRPB is committed to ensuring that the resettled residents of Pond Island are better off, or at least not worse off, following their relocation. As the implementation organization executing this task on behalf of the Government of St. Maarten, the NRPB will continue to provide the community with updates as additional courses are completed and as more insights from the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the project’s impacts are gathered. This continuous assessment will enable adaptations and improvements to efforts that support the well-being of the resettled residents whilst the RAP is in place.
