THE management of Jamaica’s ocean and coastal zone can only be effective if the community groups, non-governmental organisations, farmers, artisans and small and large industries join hands to identify problems and seek common solutions, foreign trade minister, Anthony Hylton, has said.

“If we are to ensure that the country’s resources are not whittled for the lack of proper management,” said Hylton who was speaking at the recently-held National Coastal Conference at the Jamaica Conference Centre,

He noted that habitat studies showed that the majority of Jamaicans lived and worked within a few miles of the coastline and this increasing demand for human settlement and economic opportunities, set against the background of a need for sustainable development, provided one of the greatest challenges the country faced as a developing nation.

The minister said this challenge was one in which Government must share equally with the many stakeholders within the society.

In his remarks, Howard Batson, director, Office of the Environment at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), called on the Jamaica Manufacturers Association, the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, among others, to get involved in the policy review and development of the action plan for effective ocean and coastal resources management.

He commended the Government of Jamaica for demonstrating its commitment through the work of the Council on Ocean and Coastal Zone Management and through the efforts of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).

“I would like to commend the government on its approach to building a shared vision for sustainable coastal resource management in Jamaica through an extensive consultative process,” he said.