CLIMATE change has been the focal point for local environmental interests, as Jamaica joins the world in marking Earth Day tomorrow.

“Climate change is the central concern with regard to a sound environment and environmental management. It has significant impact for business and for livelihoods and general well-being,” said Eleanor Jones, consulting principal and managing director for Environmental Solutions Limited (ESL).

She was explaining the reason behind ESL’s decision to examine climate change and its implications for business and development.

“Everything this year is climate change. All the international conferences are about climate change because all the reports that are coming out are indicating that change (in the earth’s temperature) is occurring at a much more rapid rate than was anticipated,” Jones added. “As a small island, we can’t do very much about climate change, but we can take steps to minimise the impact.”

Against this background, ESL on Thursday hosted a workshop, entitled: ‘Climate Solutions: The Business Advantage’, at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel. The workshop explored a range of topics, including ‘Energy Policy and the Bottom Line’, ‘Trading in Certified Emissions Reduction for Carbon Credits’, and ‘Business Continuity Planning and Adaptation Strategies’.

The Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) focussed on how climate change is impacting birds endemic to the island, through the staging of their annual bird festival yesterday.

“Our birds are faced with so much pressure already from deforestation, habitat loss, illegal hunting and poaching. Now they have to deal with the consequences of climate change, caused by us humans as well,” said Maureen Milbourne, JET’s public relations officer.

The festival featured an exhibition on Jamaica’s endemic birds, and a documentary film on the Cockpit Country in Trelawny. Various agencies, including the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Bird Life Jamaica, and the Windsor Research Centre participated.

“With climate change, there is increase in the temperature and if it gets too hot, they (birds) can’t sit on their nests to incubate their eggs. and they overheat,” said Milbourne. “There is also an increase in hurricanes and if it rains too often, birds will not be able to forage and they need to eat.”

The World African Re-Unification Association (WARSA), for its part, will be replanting mangroves along the Holland Bay/Morant Point Beach in St Thomas tomorrow – having regard to their importance as the climate changes, causing an increased number of severe hurricanes and other natural disasters.

“We will be doing a mangrove replanting and restructuring along the Holland Bay/Morant Point beach and we will try to make it over to Pamphert and to Yallahs Pond for that as well. In that process, we will be collecting the seeds/shoots from the mangrove trees to set them for future planting,” noted WARSA president, Barrington Nesbeth. “We have mangrove trees already, having collected the seeds from all over during the year from different mangrove forests.”

Nesbeth also noted their reason behind their Earth Day activity.

“The reason we decided to look at mangroves is that they seem to take rather more beating when it comes to storms, while they protect the frontal, coastal landscape,” he said. “It is mangroves that are going to be there to protect us in hurricanes, so we need mangroves.”

Earth Day, the brainchild of an US senator Gaylord Nelson, was born in 1970 as 20 million US citizens demonstrated for a healthy and sustainable environment, according to information from ESL.

In 1990, celebration of the day began to be celebrated worldwide, attracting the participation of more than 140 countries. By 2000, it was attracting the involvement of some 5,000 environmental lobby groups, while an additional number of countries also got involved.