THE White Sand Beach at Rocky Point and the Barmouth Beach, both in Clarendon, received a major boost to their coastlines with the planting of 2,000 mangroves on Friday.

The initiative was a joint venture between the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (CCAM) and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) with the aim to build, restore and protect the mangrove coastline of Portland Bight which has suffered severe damage over the past fifteen years.

ODPEM, Director General Ronald Jackson in welcoming the participants at the opening ceremony mentioned that this project was born out of the intervention and input of the community members of Rocky Point who recognised the importance of mangroves and the need to protect and preserve them.

Other participants at the day’s event included five Clarendon schools, partner agencies, members of the media and community who all volunteered their time in the planting of mangroves and was treated to a live concert which featured performances from voices for climate change education.

The beaches which form part of the mangrove coastline of Portland Bight, suffered severe damage from hurricanes Dean and Ivan, compounded by harvesting of mangroves for animal feed, sticks, lumber and charcoal. As a result this has reduced their capacity to store carbon, protect the shoreline, serve as fish nurseries and support biodiversity.