NAGOYA, Japan — Jamaica could well take a leaf from the page of this city’s book when it comes to its efforts at “greening” the community.

Jerome Smith, one of two delegates the island has here negotiating in the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10 CBD), seems to think so.

In particular, he said that Jamaica could, in approving large developments, have developers agree to invest in the preservation of ecosystems that are under stress.

“Maybe if you are going to do, for example, an eco-tourism development in the Blue and John Crow Mountains, we could agree for the (developers to also pump money into) the regeneration of a badly depleted wetland such as Portland Byte,” said the man, who is also director of natural resources in the Environmental Management Division of the Office of the Prime Minister.

Nagoya has implemented a system of tradable development rights whereby developers wishing to exceed existing limits on high-rise buildings can offset their impacts by buying and conserving areas of Japan’s traditional agricultural landscape. There are also discounts on bank loans for buildings that receive a higher ‘star rating’ based on a green certification system designed by city authorities, which provides incentives for additional green spaces within city projects.

Smith noted that Jamaica has at least one example of a developer who has had to compensate for the scope of their development, in the interest of biodiversity and the local community.

“A prime beach area traditionally used by local persons was basically assumed as part of (a hotel) development. What the Government had done was insist that before approval could be given for that development, the developers had to provide an adjacent area of beach in the same or better condition as the one that was being lost,” he told Environment Watch.

“So it could be something that we could explore, particularly if it is done in areas that can manage the development pressure. And then now we could ask that the area that they are going to compensate with be a critically endangered or highly pressured or stressed environmental area,” he added.

Nagoya also makes it obligatory for new buildings to set aside space for greenery while providing subsidies to promote the creation of such spaces. The city of some 2.2 million people has also set a goal of increasing the rate of greenery areas in it from the current 25 per cent to 40 per cent by 2050.

Jamaica, according to Smith, is also doing some of this.

“Currently under the permit and licence regulations, as well as the local planning laws, it is mandatory for developers to provide green areas within developments as a prerequisite for approval,” Smith noted.

Meanwhile, there was at one time consideration given to convert the Nagoya’s Fujimae tidal flat — the only one remaining in Nagoya and which attracts large numbers of migratory birds each year — into a landfill for the city’s garbage.

“This plan was revisited from an environmental perspective and a decision was made to protect it. The people of Nagoya recognised the importance of this tidal flat and aggressively took on the task of reducing the amount of garbage destined for the proposed landfill,” said a release from the Aichi-Nagoya COP 10 CBD promotions committee.

“Their efforts resulted in a more than 60 per cent reduction in the amount of landfill garbage (through recycling). Later, the Fujimae tidal flat was registered under the Ramsar Convention and became a symbol to the people of Nagoya of the importance of our environment. Today citizens are continuing environmental protection activities in co-operation with the government,” it added.

Beyond that, the city has embarked on certain eco-life activities to conserve the global environment for future generations. In 2005 under the slogan “From Awareness to Action”, for example, Nagoya began an initiative to recognise citizens who practised eco-life activities. Two years later, some 390,000 citizens had declared their commitment and started taking action. They are also now working on a campaign, which has as its objectives encouraging citizens to reduce their carbon footprint.

Whether such initiatives would be good for Jamaica, Smith said, is something that the island would have to consider.

“I think this is something that we could consider after careful research and thought has been put into looking at the pros and cons for Jamaica as well as looking to its application and success in other jurisdictions,” he said.