THE Forest Conservancy has been awarded a grant of US$130,169 from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) to implement a teak farming project as a sustainable option for idle and underutilised land, the agency has reported.

Titled ‘Sustainable Farm Forestry for Reduced Land Degradation and Optimum Climate Change Adaptation in Jamaica Watersheds’, the project will seek to create wealth, arrest land degradation and minimise the impact of future weather events due to climate change.

It is co-funded to the tune of US$155,000.

“The project will focus on creating new forests of teak (Tectona grandis) and other high value trees by encouraging an agroforestry approach that allows inter-planting of cash crops to generate interim returns and maintain the trees up to maturity in 15 to 20 years,” the conservancy said in a news release.

“In promoting the planning of new teak forests, emphasis is being placed on involving rural communities that may have access to suitable lands, and also on attracting the participation of interested individuals, farmers and landowners who may be looking for alternative land use options,” it continued.

The key outcomes of the project, the agency said, are:

* Involving two community groups to plant and tend 15 acres of teak with the facility for cultivating inter-crops,

* Maintaining an existing 25-acre teak forest to demonstrate forest management practices,

* Imparting skills and building capacity in agroforestry techniques, and

* Attracting new teak growers, while providing technical assistance to existing ones.

The main site will be the Agualta Vale estate, St Mary, on lands made availbale by the Jamaica Producers Group, but the project will involve teak growers in six parishes.

The project is linked to national policy regarding the promotion of and support for reforestation and afforestation as per the National Forest Management and Conservation Plan, 2001 which purports that a forest production strategy is critical to reducing the pressure on natural forests and meeting national demand for wood and non-wood products.

“Based on recent FAO reports, there is current international acceptance that planted teak forests represent a globally emerging forest resource in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Also, reforestation and sustainable forest management are considered to be the most effective means of fixing atmospheric carbon dioxide and therefore can play a critical role in global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts,” the conservancy said in the release.

The GEF is a grouping of 182 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society groups and the private sector which seek to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. It is an independently operating financial organisation which provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants. Today the GEF is the largest public funder of projects to improve the global environment. Through its SGP, the GEF has made more than 13,000 small grants directly to civil society and community-based organisations, totalling $634 million since 1991. In Jamaica, it has committed grants amounting to over US$1.8 million since 2004.