A series of environmental activities under the Coastal Water Quality Improvement Project (CWIP), was recently launched at the Neville Antonio Park in Port Antonio. The initiative will see the pooling of resources between Portlanders and the CWIP team towards improving the natural environment of the eastern Jamaica parish.

The programme was launched by land and environment minister, Horace Dalley.

CWIP is a bilateral initiative between the government of Jamaica’s National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the United States Agency for International Development. It is known for its interventions in Negril, Ocho Rios and lately, Montego Bay aimed at improving and protecting the island coastal areas. CWIP’s focus in Portland will be on solid waste management, environmental education, water quality monitoring and wastewater operations.

Dr Scott McCormick, chief of party, CWIP, explained that there is “quite a large amount of solid waste in the Portland environment which threatens the economic base, the quality of the tourism product and the coastal environment”.

The CWIP team through its partners, the Portland Environment Protection Association (PEPA), the Parish Development Committee (PDC), the College of Agriculture, Science & Education (CASE) and the National Water Commission (NWC) will be working with Portlanders and other agencies in the parish to establish a reliable and effective garbage collection system in Port Antonio and on strategies and programmes for better waste management.

The environmental education component of the project aims at increasing the awareness of the environmental factors which affect coastal water quality. It focuses heavily on impacts of poor solid waste management, and seeks to motivate citizens to take positive to enhance their environment.

CWIP, through CASE, also supports a monitoring programme which will provide Portland residents with information about the quality of their coastal waters. NWC is collaborating with CWIP in the development of a wastewater advisory committee, which will provide a regular forum for discussing and resolving wastewater issues affecting the Port Antonio area.

Referring to CWIP’s mandate with respect to the preservation of Jamaica’s coastal waters, Dr McCormick said, “the introduction of an effective waste management programme will help reduce the waste material entering the coastal gullies and waterways that are currently impacting adversely on water quality”.