THE National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) will on Thursday, hold the first of two national consultations to discuss final amendments to Green Paper 3/01 Towards a National Strategy and Action Plan on Biology Diversity in Jamaica at the Wexford Court Hotel in Montego Bay.

The Green Paper outlines strategies and projects to conserve Jamaica’s rich bio-diversity, recognised as one of the most outstanding in the world.

The second consultation will take place on Tuesday, November 27 at the Medallion Hall Hotel in Kingston.

The bio-diversity of an area refers to the variety of all plants, animals and micro-organisms, while biological resources are those components of bio-diversity that are either used by humans or have potential for use, in the production of food, medicines, manufactured goods and many other essential products.

Jamaicans have always depended on the island’s rich bio-diversity and biological resources for supporting families, communities and nation building. These resources support economic activities such as agriculture, tourism, fishing, craft manufacture and mining. The ecosystems are heavily relied on to produce the soil for planting, building, preventing or reducing soil erosion, absorbing and breaking down pollutants such as waste and pesticides, storing and recycling the nutrients necessary for life, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen and oxygen.

Ecosystems are defined as communities of living organisms, the region that they occupy with each other with flow of energy through the system.

Jamaica has suffered from loss of bio-diversity as a result of poverty, over consumption by sectors of the society, inappropriate farming methods and lack of awareness on the part of the population. The strategy and action plan is in response to these losses, as well as in response to international recognition of the need to conserve and sustainably use bio-diversity. This global thrust gave rise to the Convention Biological Diversity (CBD), which entered into force on December 29, 1993. Jamaica ratified the CBD on January 6, 1995.

NEPA is encouraging the public to come out to the national consultations and make their final contributions to this important document.