GREEN DREAMS

As our van wound its way along the island’s eastern, windward coast, I couldn’t help but let out a gasp. “This is what most of St Vincent is,” said local Natasha Anderson. “We just live on the edges of it.” I hadn’t expected the dramatic rocky plateaus that dominate the landscape – a hint that we were approaching the volcanic north. Below us, green hills rolled down to meet the shoreline. Goats and people scurried along the roadside. Sargassum lined the breezy black-sand beaches.

St Vincent & the Grenadines remains relatively little known to the majority of foreign tourists, but is beginning to pique international interest. Hairouna – ‘land of the blessed’ in Kalinago – may be a less-publicised Caribbean escape, but its lack of development is also giving it the edge as a sustainable tourism destination ahead of some of its more commercialised neighbours.

Realising its opportunity to grow smarter, St Vincent’s government adopted a progressive National Energy Action Plan in 2010, with the goal of reducing the archipelago’s heavy dependence on fossil fuels, and reaching 75% renewable energy use by 2022. Clean energy is at the crux of sustainability: tourism, _sheries and agricultural industries would become less vulnerable to hurricanes and floods,