The Forestry Department has reported that it, on the behalf of the Government of Jamaica, has dedicated Dolphin Head Forest Reserve in western Jamaica as part of the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy (QCC) project.

The reserve, which covers approximately 1,167 hectares across six forest estates — Quasheba Mountain, Raglan Mountain, Geneva Mountain, Bath Mountain, Baulk Pen, and George’s Plain Mountain — is recorded to have a higher density of local endemic plant species and rare or threatened plants per unit area than anywhere else in Jamaica. It is managed by the Forestry Department with support from the Dolphin Head Local Forest Management Committee (LFMC) which was launched by then Minister of Agriculture Dr Christopher Tufton, in 2009.

Dolphin Head brings to 20 the number of forest reserves Commonwealth countries have committed to the initiative, which is designed to highlight the best examples of forest management throughout the Commonwealth. It was launched by Her Majesty The Queen at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta in 2015.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace on November 15, 2016 to acknowledge the various countries’ dedications. Jamaica was represented Angella Rose-Howell, Deputy High Commissioner at the Jamaican High Commission in the United Kingdom, and Marilyn Headley, CEO of the Forestry Department and Conservator of Forests.

Under the project, Jamaica is expected to benefit from the sharing of knowledge and best practices across the Commonwealth network, which will lead to better conservation measures to preserve the Dolphin Head Forest Reserve’s rich biodiversity.

Daryl Vaz, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, in a letter endorsing Dolphin Head’s nomination, said the Government was committed to the sustainable management of the island’s forest resources.

“The Government of Jamaica remains committed to managing all the country’s forest resources at the highest standards for the benefit of present and future generations and we are happy that the initiative is aimed at raising awareness within the Commonwealth of the value of indigenous forests and the need to preserve them for future generations,” he said.

Meanwhile, Headley says the Forestry Department noted that the effective mitigation of the threats and the effective conservation of the biodiversity at Dolphin Head, which she described as ecologically fragile, is a priority for the island.

“The Agency created the Dolphin Head LFMC to help establish and develop conservation-based activities to support sustainable forest management. This stemmed from the need to eliminate the threat of fragmentation and isolation of forest blocks as a result of forest clearance for agriculture, structural degradation of forests resulting from unregulated logging and extraction of timber products and other activities,” Headley said.

The Conservator of Forests reported that through the establishment of the Dolphin Head LFMC, 16 acres of denuded and degraded forest lands have been reforested and LFMC members have been able to secure other sustainable livelihood income streams.

“The LFMC has established an apiary in the area, which serves as a thriving honey business and they have also established an agroforestry plot on privately owned land in close proximity to the reserve. With the creation of the LFMC what we find is that communities surrounding the reserve and persons who were using the forest resources in an unsustainable manner, are now using organised approaches to access these resources which has mitigated some of the problems we were facing,” she said.

Chairperson of the Dolphin Head LFMC Collett Grant said: “We gladly welcome the opportunity to work with all stakeholders associated with the QCC as the partnership can help in building, protecting and preserving the forest and its environs.”

The Dolphin Head mountain range is recorded to have a higher density of local endemic plant species and rare or threatened plants per unit area than anywhere else in Jamaica. Therefore, the effective mitigation of the threats and ensuring the effective conservation of the biodiversity in this ecologically fragile ecosystem is a priority for the island.