Keith E. Nichols, Head of Unit, is a national of St. Lucia and pursued secondary education at St. Mary’s College. He received his first degree (BSc) in Natural Sciences from the University of the West Indies in 1981, followed by a Post Graduate Diploma in Marine Affairs in 1992,

Mr. Nichols worked as a Marine Biologist with the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from 1981 up until 1997 and played an integral role in projects such as the Seamoss project, Artificial Reefs, Aquaculture, Queen Conch and Coral reef surveys, and others. His training in Scuba Diving helped facilitate the many sea going programmes, including his pivotal role in establishing, among others, two of St. Lucia’s best known artificial reefs, the Lesleen M and the Daini Koyomaru. He took Leave of Absence from his post of Deputy Chief Fisheries Officer to join with the OECS Secretariat as a Programme Officer with specialization in Coastal Zone Management, a programme he helped design. He was instrumental in developing the now established philosophy of Island Systems Management.

Mr. Nichols has written extensively on many areas relating to natural resources management and has also played a very integral role as a life member of the St. Lucia Naturalists Society and the St. Lucia National Trust. Mr. Nichols has sat of many national committees over time and more recently served as a member of the Development Control Authority of the Ministry of Planning in St. Lucia. Mr. Nichols has recently attained professional certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI) in Pennsylvania, USA.