Earth Today | Barry Lewis sets sail

SEVENTEEN YEARS is a long time to spend in any place of work, but for Barrington Lewis, it was time well spent at the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ), which he served as financial manager and then chief executive officer (CEO).

Six months into his new role, Lewis reflects on the time served at the EFJ and how it shaped his move to the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF), where he is keen to make his mark as chief financial officer.

“A part of the challenge when I took over as CEO of the EFJ was to handle the transition of an organisation designed as a sinking fund and originally set to wind up in 2012. Being able to navigate the foundation through that period to where it now has a future – based off of the endowment created – was a positive. That was one of the legacies I was proud to be a part of,” he told The Gleaner.

“We also started to transition into other funding sources. One of the key partners we had before I left was Global Affairs Canada for the Jamaica Urban Solutions for the Environment (J-USE) project; and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund [for] work with the local forest management committees across Jamaica,” he added.

The J-USE project, launched last October, is a five-year initiative to transform Jamaica’s urban spaces by adopting and developing nature-based solutions to overcome challenges, including flooding and biodiversity loss.

“I also saw the EFJ starting to impact the Caribbean when we were doing a project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development, looking at developing conservation trust funds across the region by sharing with them EFJ lessons and best practice,” he noted.

RANGE OF EXPERIENCES

Lewis’ sense of pride about his time at the EFJ also extends to the team of long-serving, loyal EFJ workers and board members, without whose support and guidance, he said, he would not have been able to achieve all that he did.

Over the course of two decades, the EFJ has awarded more than 1,300 projects, amounting to some $300 billion in financial support. Lewis himself saw support provided to between 500 and 600 projects and led on efforts to safeguard the built-in sustainability of later efforts. And all the while, Lewis said, they never failed to fulfil their financial reporting obligations.

“We have always maintained our reporting relationships, and our external audits have always been very good. That is highly commendable for our organisation,” he noted.

Now as he wades deeper into new waters at the CBF, he is excited at the prospect of what is to be achieved.

“The Caribbean has one of the largest biodiversity in the world, and it is very important for us to preserve that. I am excited for the potential of the region to do more to preserve its biodiversity. It is also exciting because I have a larger team that I am working with, and I am not only going to be focused on financial matters,” Lewis said.

“I was quite fortunate from a long list of people to be selected. I think I would credit it a lot to the EFJ from the perspective that when I was at the EFJ, I had to learn to do almost every facet of the EFJ – communications, fundraising, public relations, human resources. It gave me a wide range of experiences, and that helped to bring me into the role at the CBF,” he added.

Lewis has wished the team at the EFJ the very best.

“Partners must know that the EFJ has systems in place that work. The EFJ also has a good support staff. The organisation is in good hands,” he said.

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