KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – The Government is undertaking measures aimed at improving the management of protected areas, which are home to more than 8,000 species of plants and animals.

The measures involve updating of the Protected Areas Policy, 1997 in order to strengthen the protected areas management and biodiversity conservation framework. The process, which is under way, is expected to be finalised during the 2017/18 fiscal year.

Additionally, a review is to be undertaken of the National Programme of Action for the protection of the island’s coastal and marine environment from potentially harmful land-based activities.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Audrey Sewell, said the measures are consistent with Jamaica’s Protected Areas System Master Plan (PASMP), tabled in Parliament in 2015, which specifies how the country will regulate its network of protected areas, comprising fish sanctuaries, forest reserves, marine and terrestrial areas and cultural and heritage sites.

She was speaking at a Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) stakeholders consultation at the Alhambra Inn in Kingston yesterday, where she represented Minister without Portfolio with responsibility for Climate Change and the Environment, Daryl Vaz.

The PASMP is deemed pivotal in identifying key actions to manage these resources and strengthen the island’s protected areas network, which entails the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, Montego Bay Marine Park, Morant and Pedro Cays, Bull Head Forest Reserves, Cockpit Country Forest Reserve, Portland Bight Protected Area, and Palisadoes – Port Royal Protected Areas. The overall engagements encompass mainstreaming of climate-change considerations in policies, programmes, plans, projects and legislation; ecosystems-based adaptation in some communities; climate-smart agriculture; and pesticides management.

Sewell said consequent on the PASMP’s provisions, drafting instructions for protected areas legislation have been prepared and are expected to be finalised during the 2018/19 fiscal year. Additionally, she informed that the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) will be declaring the Pedro Banks and Black River as new marine protected areas.

These activities, the Permanent Secretary pointed out, are in support of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, specifically target 11, to which Jamaica is a party.

“The target speaks to the conservation of at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services through well-connected systems of protected areas, and other effective area-based conservation measures by 2020,” she outlined.

The Permanent Secretary further said the activities also support the Caribbean Challenge Initiative “which calls for us to increase our percentage of areas under protection up to 25 per cent by the year 2020”.

Meanwhile, Sewell said the ministry would be collaborating with relevant stakeholders to review Jamaica’s Cay Management Policy, which will guide the management of the island’s cays, particularly those deemed ecologically sensitive, with some being designated for conservation and others for preservation.

Sewell also advised that in an effort to conserve Jamaica’s endemic and endangered plants, NEPA would be looking to utilise artificial propagation for the reintroduction of species into the wild.

Additionally, she said public consultations will be held towards a draft Action Plan for Corals and Reefs.

“The integrity of Jamaica’s biodiversity is critical for maintaining environmental, social and economic well-being. We cannot allow the quest for social and economic development to lead to any further loss of biodiversity, and so, while we work to protect the environment, we must also spread the message of preservation and protection across all levels of society,” Sewell said.

The two-day consultation sought to identify how the CEPF can best support national efforts to protect and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems for human well-being.