WATER, Land and Climate Change Minister Robert ‘Bobby’ Pickersgill says the country will hear more in coming days about developments regarding the export of container loads of charcoal from the island.

“I am thankful [that this] whole business of the export of container loads of charcoal [has been] put a stop to and the country will hear more about that,” Pickersgill told the House of Representatives on Tuesday while making a statement about the drought conditions now affecting the island.

In the meantime, Pickersgill said the dry season is expected to impact the country’s forest reserves and forest estates islandwide with increased chances of forest fires. He said forests, particularly those located in St Thomas, St Andrew, Clarendon and Manchester are especially prone to forest fires.

“The Forestry Department which falls within my ministry will be stepping up compliance and enforcement activities to ensure the integrity of our forests during the period,” Pickersgill said. He told the House that there will be increased presence of Forest Officers to ensure that forest fires related to breaches of the Forest Act are minimised.

A breach of the Act or its regulations can attract fines of up to $200,000 and $50,000, respectively.

Just last Friday, Opposition Senator Tom Tavares-Finson voiced alarm over the rapid destruction of the dry tropical forest of the Hellshire Hills in St Catherine by chain saw users and charcoal burners whom he said have “descended on the area in unprecedented numbers”.

He said the area of protected forest of some 114 square kilometres is one of the few remaining dry tropical forests in the world and is home to a host of some of the world’s most endangered species of flora and fauna. He said researchers from the University of the West Indies who are working in the area are at their tipping point due to threats from the coal burners. He said that a number of researchers now fear for their personal safety and the safety of their students and are now scaling down their activities in the reserve.

Earlier this month, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the Forestry Department joined forces to stop the trade stating the implications for the island’s forests, wildlife and water resources.

The move came in the wake of reports that containers of charcoal were being prepared in Clarendon for export. The Forestry Department said it was first made aware of the emerging export trade last December when they received reports from Customs about a 40-foot container loaded with charcoal and destined for Lebanon.