THE Caribbean Regional Initiative of the Ramsar Convention is calling for the region’s governments to give priority to wetlands, which serve crucial ecosystem functions while affording protection from, among other things, storm surges.

Director of the Applications Management Division at the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) Ainsley Henry, speaking on behalf of the Initiative, said they have been lobbying focal points in Caribbean countries to try to make it one of the things high on their agenda.

“The (Ramsar) Convention functions through its focal points network, so in each country there is someone whose responsibility it is to try and help to move the work of the Convention forward,” he told Career & Education. “Some of the governments have written to the secretariat and have indicated their support, so it means that there are other governments within the region that need to do that as well.”

In a presentation at a meeting of parties to the Ramsar Convention or the Convention on Wetlands at the Pegasus Hotel this past week, Henry identified this as one of the challenges the Caribbean Regional Initiative faces.

The Convention is an intergovernmental treaty which commits member countries to maintaining the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance and to plan for their sustainable use.

Only two years since being formally recognised by the Convention, Henry said the Initiative has been seeking to consolidate its structure and has been working towards increasing its membership.

“Thus far, we have had buy-in from several regional NGOs (non-governmental organisations) as well as, many of the contracting parties within the region,” he said.

Seven countries are already involved, with Jamaica and Cuba being co-sponsors.

The Convention, through regional initiatives, implement policies in different areas. The Caribbean Regional Initiative was born of the desire of Caribbean states that are parties to the Convention to have within the region one of these initiatives to foster the implementation and development of the Convention within the region.

Henry said the meeting of the Convention member countries — hosted in the island last Tuesday to Friday and which attracted the participation of 60 delegates from 32 different countries — is very relevant to Jamaica.

“It seeks to allow for proper understanding of the value and function of wetlands to humanity and in the context of a small island developing state, such as us, that is particularly important,” he said, noting that wetlands provide protection from storm surges.

“There is also the function of water security and water purification and that is another important function that our wetlands provide, particularly in the context of screening surface run-off before it gets to the sea and hence keeping our coastal waters clean to allow for some of the things which are very important to us like tourism and fishing,” Henry added.

At the same time, the NEPA officer pointed to development by the state or private sector organisations and investors as a major threat to wetlands on the island, which include mangrove, forests and herbaceous wetlands.

However, he said mechanisms, such as the designation of some of these areas as protected areas and as Ramsar sites and through the permits and licensing system which is administered by NEPA, these challenges are being alleviated.