NAGOYA, Japan — Jamaica is nearing the completion of some three to four years of work on a master plan that is to inform how the island preserves its protected areas while at the same time deriving maximum socio-economic benefits from them.

“The protected areas system master plan aims to look at protected areas in a national, systematic way as opposed to individually, which is presently the case,” said Jerome Smith, the director of natural resources in the Environmental Management Division of the Office of the Prime Minister, in an interview with Environment Watch here on Sunday.

Jamaica’s 1997 policy for the national system of protected areas defines a protected area as an area of land or water that is managed for the protection and maintenance of its ecological systems, biodiversity (land and marine), and/or specific natural, cultural or aesthetic resources.

“With its extraordinary diversity of flora and fauna, land and water habitats, and wild and human landscapes, Jamaica needs a system of protected areas as a key part of its national development strategy,” the policy added.

Meanwhile, Smith said that the national plan, which should be completed before yearend, takes account of sustainable financing for protected areas, as well as monitoring and enforcement of laws and regulations that govern the way they should be managed. He noted, too, that the plan — which is being funded through the Global Environmental Facility — also addresses communication, education and public awareness requirements, all in line with the stipulations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to which Jamaica is a signatory.

“Two drafts (of the plan) have been prepared and what remains is to go through the public consultation process with a view to having it finalised before the end of 2010,” said Smith.

Jamaica has 11 protected areas, among them the contentious Palisadoes-Port Royal protected area. The others are: the Negril Marine Park and the Black River Morass; the Cockpit Country Reserve and the Dolphin Head Mountain; the Royal Palm Reserve and the Ocho Rios Marine Park; the Cockpit Country Reserve and the Port Antonio Marine Park; as well as the Blue and John Crow Mountains, and the Montego Bay Marine Park.

And as the 1997 policy notes, Smith attested to how crucial it is to maintain Jamaica’s protected areas. For one thing, he said that there was no question of the value of preserving the biodiversityrich areas to the fight against climate change, which threatens:

·rising sea levels — the effects of which are already being seen in Pacific Islands such as Tuvalu and Tokelau; warmer global temperatures; and more frequent extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and droughts.

Several protected areas are home, for example, to mangroves, which help to protect the coastlines of several islands whenever they are struck by tropical storms and hurricanes. But the benefits go beyond that.

“In Jamaica, as well as globally, the new thinking is that biodiversity is integrally linked to climate change. It is known that climate change affects biodiversity but global thought is coming to the fact that biodiversity can also have a great positive impact on climate change,” he told Environment Watch. “Take for example, geo-engineering (which) is where you introduce mechanisms to try and manipulate climate. One type of geo-engineering seeks to promote the planting of vegetation and in some case algae that will actively absorb carbon in the atmosphere. So the thinking has evolved and they are looking into these new technologies, very mindful though to apply the precautionary approach,” Smith added.

There is also the benefit of poverty alleviation, which can be derived from seeing to the preservation of protected areas that offer a range of ecosystem services, including clean drinking water, the decomposition of waste, in addition to spiritual and recreational services.

Smith also noted that there are currently two natural resources projects being undertaken, one of them by the Windsor Research Centre and the other by the National Environment and Planning Agency.

“(Those valuations) include three protected areas – Montego Bay Marine Park, the Dolphin Reserve and the Black River Lower Morass… If we can get adequate or appropriate valuations for natural resources, not just for them being there but for the ecosystem services they provide, then we can actually be in a better position to take better informed decisions about development and biodiversity,” he said.