The Government has given the Ministry of the Environment a budget of a little over a million dollars more than last year, according to the Finance Minister Eugene Cox's budget statement released yesterday.

Last year the budget called for an original amount of $18,326,000 to be set aside for the Ministry of the Environment, Government's eighth largest spender. By the end of the year that amount was revised to $18,632,000.

This year Government has proposed the Ministry of the Environment be given a total of $19,721,000. That is an increase of $1,395,000, or eight percent over last year's estimate.

"I'm really happy with it," said Environment Minister Dennis Lister yesterday. "It allows us to carry on what we are doing and to look forward to new initiatives in the new year."

In his budget statement made to the House of Assembly yesterday Mr. Cox highlighted increased funding for parks maintenance.

The Parks Department received the largest increase in funding of all the Environmental departments. Last year the estimated expenditure for the Parks Department was $7,404,000; this year that has been increased to $8,133,000.

A large chunk of that $729,000 increase will be spent on park maintenance; specifically maintenance and development, materials and supplies, and parks west. Administration and planning as well as $191,000 to be spent on the Agriculture Exhibition also contributed to this increase (the Agriculture Exhibition formerly fell under the Conservation Services department of the Ministry of the Environment). Parks director Candy Foggo was not available for comment last night.

Conservation Services has the second largest budget within the Ministry of the Environment. Last year expenditure for that department was originally estimated at $3,875,000, and later revised to $3,916,000. This year it has been expanded to $4,066,000, an increase of $191,000, even with the move of expenditure on the Agriculture Exhibition to the Parks Department.

Of that money, the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ) is seeing an increase of more than $100,000 in expenditure, mostly on financial administration.

The third largest department within the Ministry of the Environment, Environmental Protection, is seeing a significant increase in expenditure of $234,000, from $3,055,000 to $3,289,000. Most of that money is also going on financial administration, however an extra $130,000 is to be spent on Environmental Chemistry this year.

Mr. Cox also highlighted a $50,000 grant to the Bermuda Amphibian Research Project in his budget statement to the House of Assembly yesterday.