Green Antilles

Jamaica’s new environment minister has declared that climate change adaptation will be a national priority for the country’s new government:

It costs Jamaica nearly $163 million for weather-related problems every year, according to new Environment Minister Robert Pickersgill, who said one of his main priorities would be to sensitise the country to the importance of climate change and its environmental impact.

“When calculated accumulatively, it is a whole lot of money,” he said. “If you do not do something to preserve the infrastructure, then you are just going around in circles.”

Pickersgill said a climate change unit was being set up in the offices of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, in order to make it “more manageable and accountable to the Ministry.”

After the People’s National Party’s win in the national election, new Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller’s government added Climate Change to the portfolio of the Environment Ministry, which now includes, Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change.

Source.

Richard Branson talks about his commitment to protecting the marine environment and introduces our exciting new fish sanctuary project in the Caribbean.

The Jamaica fish sanctuary project Sir Richard talks about was the subject of a few previous Green Antilles posts: Fish Conservation—Bluefields Bay, Jamaica, In Bluefields Bay, Jamaican fishers are key contributors to marine conservation, and No-fishing zones established for marine protection in Jamaica.

(Edited January 9, 2012 to add a link to the 2010 Jamaica State of the Environment Report , online at the website of the Jamaica National Environment and Planning Agency.)

Jamaica’s National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), recently published the 2010 Jamaica State of the Environment Report, which contains some encouraging news about environmental management in Jamaica:

A recently published study on the environment has found that over the last three years, there has been an increased focus on improving environmental management in Jamaica.

The report suggests that this has been achieved through activities such as creating new standards, policies and regulations (and enforcing existing ones); increased environmental monitoring; and raising greater awareness among citizens and stakeholders.

The State of the Environment Report (SoE) 2010, which was launched in collaboration with the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is the first such report published in Jamaica since 2001.

It posits that between 2008 and 2010, the overall status of Jamaica’s ecosystems and natural resources has remained fairly constant.

The report further highlights that during that time, key elements of biodiversity – species and ecosystems, including watersheds, forests, coral reefs and other marine areas – have remained at the same state in general.

The amount of protected land and marine areas has remained the same, 18 per cent and 75 per cent, respectively for the last three years, although there were new fish sanctuaries declared in 2009 and 2010, the report says.

There have also been changes in management activities; for example, the number of prosecutions under the Wild Life Protection Act has increased, moving from three in 2008 to eight in 2009 and 10 prosecutions in 2010. In fact, the study highlights that the number of enforcement actions increased in all areas.

The quality of air, coastal and riverine water quality remained relatively constant at 75 per cent over the assessed timeframe. The study, however, highlights an apparent increase in the percentage of river sites meeting nutrient standards to 72 per cent in 2010, a 13 per cent increase over the 59 per cent in 2009.

There were also reductions in the amount of solid waste generated from residential sources, from 845,896 tonnes in 2008, to 821,903 tonnes in 2009, and 762,623 tonnes in 2010. The country also exported 4,000 metric tonnes of hazardous waste in 2010, a decline from the 5,000 metric tonnes that was exported in 2009 and 8,000 metric tonnes in 2008.

The report suggests that this reduction could be attributed to increased focus on waste reduction efforts.

Turning to energy, the study shows that the portion of Jamaica’s energy mix that comes from renewable energy almost doubled from five per cent in 2008 to nine per cent in 2010, noting that this increase demonstrates a stronger focus on reducing the country’s use of imported petroleum and on developing alternative energy.

Acting Director, Planning, Policy, Evaluation and Research, NEPA, Anthony McKenzie, says the SoE is expected to be used as a tool to gauge the country’s progress with respect to sustainable management of the country’s natural and physical environment in support of achieving Goal III as set out in Vision 2030 – “Jamaica as a healthy and natural environment.”

Read more, including about some of the problems highlighted by the report, in the full article from the Jamaica Information Service.

If anyone knows whether and where the 2010 State of the Environment report can be found online, please leave a link in the comments. Previous reports are available at the NEPA website.

Jamaica’s famed Blue Lagoon is on its way to being declared a National Monument:

Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, has signed a Preservation Notice regarding the Blue Lagoon in Portland.

Miss Grange made a submission to Cabinet and received approval.

The Notice, which was signed by the Minister as a matter of urgency, went into effect on Monday for an initial period of six months.

It gives the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, which falls under the Ministry, the power to carry out the work that needs to be done for the Blue Lagoon site to be declared a National Monument.

The Notice, which will be posted at the site of the Blue Lagoon, bars a number of activities from being conducted in the general area.

They include certain construction activities.

The notice also forbids the use of power-driven craft at speeds in excess of three miles an hour, dredging, or interference with the foreshore or sea floor.

A statement from the Culture Ministry says the National Environment and Planning Agency and the Portland Parish Council will be working with the Jamaica National Heritage Trust.

Source.

Find out more about the Blue Lagoon and the Blue Lagoon Restoration Project at the project blog.

Previously on Green Antilles: Blue Lagoon Restoration Project.

[Photo: Pieter Bas Elskamp]

Earlier this year, customs officials in Austria apprehended two men who were attempting to smuggle parrot eggs into the country from Jamaica:

The star attraction at the Vienna Zoo these days are a flock of rare Jamaican parrots smuggled out of the island as eggs by two Slovak nationals who were intercepted at the airport in this Austrian capital.

The interception of the men, who were posing as tourists returning from a Jamaican vacation in April this year, made big headlines in Vienna and authorities here said it marked the smashing of a lucrative illegal trade in endemic species.

On the international black-market the price for the parrots range from 4,000 to 15,000 euros each. One of the bird eggs costs 500 euros in Jamaica.

“The protection of endangered animals species is of utmost importance… Our colleagues at the Customs Department play a key role in the daily fight against unconscionable smugglers,” said Austrian finance minister, Dr Maria Fekter, who commented on the incident.

“This case shows that they are having tremendous success in cracking an international smuggling ring. I heartily congratulate our Customs Officers on this great success for the protection of animals,” he was quoted as saying.

The egg find was made when customs officers searched the two Slovak nationals — identified only as Marian P, 45 and Roland P, 39 — on arrival at the Eisenstadt Airport here. They claimed that they had been on vacation in Montego Bay, St James on the island’s scenic north coast.

Hofrat Erich Fleckl, fraud control coordinator at the Eisenstadt Airport Vienna Customs Department, described how the Jamaican parrots were discovered.

The flight from Duesseldorf, Germany landed in Vienna and customs officers noted that the Slovaks had suitcases with white labels on them. That meant that they had travelled from a non-EU country via Duesseldorf. The two were escorted to the customs control area.

Both insisted that they had bought nothing in Jamaica except for a few cake packages as souvenirs. But following his instinct, one of the customs officers decided to scrutinise the men’s luggage more closely and found packages containing chocolate cookies in Roland P’s luggage. Marian P’s luggage also had cake packages along with a coconut carved in the form of a monkey.

X-Ray pictures suggested, however, that there was content other than cookies.

A further search of Marian P’s luggage turned up two cookie boxes and in the coconut, the controllers found 74 bird eggs. The customs criminal investigation department was immediately contacted.

The bird eggs were confiscated and the Slovaks interrogated. Roland P denied any knowledge about the eggs, but Marian P claimed that he really liked the ‘green birds’ in Jamaica and he accepted the eggs as gifts, without knowing what types of eggs they were. Both men were released and allowed to continue their journey.

Still, the customs officers suspected that this was a case of illegal smuggling of protected species. They had to act quickly. On the very same day, the eggs were taken to the Vienna Schoenbrunn Zoo which staff speedily adapted to facilitate its new future residents. An appropriate living area was created, and incubators and special bird feed had to be procured.

After an incubation period, 45 parrots — 22 Black-billed and 23 Yellow-billed Amazons — were successfully hatched from the 74 eggs spirited out of Jamaica.

As the hatchlings became fully-feathered birds, the initial suspicions that the birds were from endangered species endemic to Jamaica were confirmed.

A specialist team of 10 animal-care staff cared for the birds round-the-clock, losing only five of the initial 50 hatchlings.

The Jamaican government is now seeking to have the parrots repatriated:

Jamaica’s environmental authorities are moving to have the endemic parrots being being housed at the Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria returned to the island.

“NRCA (Natural Resources Conservation Authority)/NEPA (National Environment and Planning Agency) received information in September that endemic Jamaican parrot eggs were confiscated in Austria by customs officials. The authority and the agency took immediate steps to verify the information with the view to seek the return of the parrots,” NEPA said in a recent release to the media.

“The parrots are being reclaimed under Article VIII, paragraph 1 and paragraph 4 (b) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which is an international treaty governing the import, export, re-export and introduction from the sea of species covered by the Convention,” the agency added.

Their statement came days after the Sunday Observer broke the news that the rare Jamaican parrots, smuggled out of the island as eggs by two Slovakians, were a big hit at the Vienna zoo where they were taken after being confiscated by the Slovak authorities earlier this year.

Now the Jamaican authorities are pulling out the stops to have the parrots returned to their rightful home on the island.

The links above lead to the original articles from the Jamaica Observer.

Previous related posts on Green Antilles: Concern in Jamaica over illegal animal trade, In Jamaica, responsible citizen turns in Yellow-billed parrot and Jamaica’s parrots.

[Photo: via repeatingislands.com]

Further to the post earlier today about some of Jamaica’s protected areas, here’s a feature about conservation of the Portland Bight, where one of Jamaica’s four internationally recognised wetlands is located.

On Earth Day (April 22) 1999 the Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA) was created by the Jamaican government; the Caribbean Coastal Area Management (C-CAM) Foundation, an NGO whose staff have been collaborating with the NRCA and working in the area since 1993, assisted with technical advice and organizing community support.

More information is available online about the Portland Bight protected area and the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (also on Facebook).

The Jamaica Observer reports that the Mason River Protected Area is newest wetland of international significance under the RAMSAR convention:

The Mason River Protected Area (MRPA) in Clarendon has been designated as a wetland of international significance, bringing to four the number of sites so defined under a international treaty to which Jamaica is a signatory.

This was revealed at a meeting of parties to the Ramsar Convention which is currently underway in Kingston.The Convention on Wetlands or Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty which commits member countries to maintaining the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance and to plan for their “wise use”, or sustainable use.

Wetlands are of great value in that they maintain healthy river basins and facilitate water purification; support fisheries grazing and agriculture, are and habitat for endangered plants and animals; and provide opportunities for ecotourism and education.

More than 60 delegates from 32 countries are attending the fifth meeting on the Pan American Region of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, which opened yesterday and runs until Friday.

Speaking at the opening, Minister of Housing, Environment, Water and Local Government Dr Horace Chang underscored the importance of the environment to the Government.

“The four policy pillars that this Government revolves around are economy, energy, education and environment,” Dr Chang said.

The minister reminded the gathering of Jamaica’s other three Ramsar sites namely the Black River Lower Morass in St Elizabeth; the Palisadoes/Port Royal protected area in Kingston; and the Portland Bight wetland and cays protected area off the coast of Clarendon.

Meanwhile, environmental lobbyists are using the Ramsar Convention meeting to draw attention to the damage being done to the Palisadoes/Port Royal wetlands, as shown in the video below:

The Palisadoes Tombolo and the surrounding waters, cays and reefs constitute one of Jamaica’s most valuable ecosystems. Its mangrove forests shelter boats during hurricanes, provide a natural water filtration system and function as nesting sites for seabirds, and nurseries for marine life. The cays, reefs and beaches are important for recreation and scientific research, and are home to several rare and endemic plant species.

In recognition of this valuable resource, the Minister of Environment and Housing in 1988 declared the Palisadoes-Port Royal Protected Area under under Section 5(1b) of the Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act. The boundaries of the protected area extend from Harbour Head in the east to Port Royal in the West and include the biologically sensitive areas of the Port Royal Mangroves and the Port Royal Cays as well as the archaeological area around and adjacent to the town of Port Royal. The strip is a marine biodiversity hot spot, and also a RAMSAR Wetland of International Importance.
…
On April 22, 2010 a project funded by Chinese Ex-Im Bank was launched by the GOJ to raise the flood-prone Palisadoes road six to eight feet above its current level and the construct a four-lane highway.

The construction of this highway raises concerns with regards to the conservation of the Palisadoes-Port Royal Protected Area and its complex and delicate ecosystem.

In 2011 a judicial review brought against the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) by JET, the Supreme Court ruled that NEPA breached the legal standard for the holding of public consultation for the development.

To date, work continues on the Palisadoes roadway, further resulting in the destruction of this coastal ecosystem.

Follow the links above for more information.

Previously on Green Antilles: Jamaican court finds that national environment agency has not adhered to its own rules.

Worldwatch Institute‘s Alexander Ochs, Director of the Climate & Energy Program, interviewed Roger Chang from the Jamaican Solar Energy Association in Kingston, Jamaica.

The Caribbean Journal recently published another interview with Mr. Chang. Here’s an excerpt:

How would you describe the progress of solar power in Jamaica?

We are on the cusp — we’re on the verge. The legislation for net billing is just about here; it has been released by the government.…in the grand scheme of things, it’s not too bad. With all of that in place, or just about in place, it should increase take-up of renewable energy, and solar panels in particular.

…

What are some of the solar projects underway in Jamaica right now?

For large commercial projects, there are none that I can think of right now, because the ability to connect to the grid with net billing is not yet fully implemented. We’re just waiting on the technical aspects to be worked out. However, we do have a number of residential and small commercial [projects] being installed, on a very limited basis. For the most part, they are battery systems, which are very expensive and have a long payback period. I envision that by next year, the take-up for renewable energy should be much greater.

How would you describe the government’s stance on solar power?

Well, we do have our energy policy, which speaks to all the good things that we want to hear, including net metering. And they do have a renewable energy policy, they do have a green energy policy, so that is in the right direction. But the momentum of things getting done through the government is pretty slow. The first mandate of the Jamaica Solar Energy Association is to promote the use of solar energy in Jamaica, and we have a number of projects in a number of institutions we will be implementing very shortly. For example, we recognize that most of what is occurring is geared towards the commercial sector, meaning the DBJ [Development Bank of Jamaica] and the PetroCaribe funds, and not much towards residential.

So, having recognized the deficiency for householders, we are embarking on what we call an energy awareness/education campaign. We will collaborate with the IEEE’s [Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers] Jamaica chapter, using both University of the West Indies and University of Technology students to assign energy watt meters and do — we can’t call it an energy audit, because they’re not qualified as auditors — but basically, to go into householders and create awareness and do energy tests. They’ll explain to householders about their consumption, how much energy their appliances use, and give them a report. Out of that, hopefully by presenting them with technical options we will be able to achieve our first objective — promoting solar energy, whether it’s PV [photovoltaic] systems or water heaters.

Read the complete interview at the Journal website.