PERCHED 2,000 feet in the hills above Christiana, near central Jamaica’s coldest spot, Coleyville, is the Gourie Forest Management Area, one of 249 protected areas secured by law in Jamaica. It offers a recreational area, multiple trails through a biodiverse forest, a cave, and a history steeped in slavery.

Now, months after the UN World Tourism Organization’s Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism in Montego Bay, this protected area is ready to rejoin the local and global sustainable tourism market, thanks to grant funding awarded under the Strengthening the Operational and Financial Sustainability of the National Protected Area System (NPAS) project.

The project which ended in 2017, was supported by the Global Environment Facility, executed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and implemented by the Government of Jamaica through the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) in collaboration with the Forestry Department, Jamaica National Heritage Trust and the Fisheries Division.

Through the project, the Forestry Department, managers of the Gourie Forest Management Area have rehabilitated two of three log cabins, a gazebo and bathrooms, and installed new park benches, using green energy and other eco conscious methods — all within the recreational area.

According to project officer at the Forestry Department, Nastacia Brown, the two log cabins and the gazebo are dressed in non-toxic, environmentally friendly varnish which, along with other eco-friendly fixes, ensured no damage was done to Gourie’s pristine environment. “Additionally, solar panels have been placed on the log cabin roofs, capturing green energy while decreasing recurrent electricity consumption and spend and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Brown stated.

There are also five new recreational tables and benches made from recycled materials, said Annmarie Bromfield, forest manager.

Today, Gourie is prepared to earn income from log cabin rentals and guided tours through the forest reserve’s trails and its famous cave. This income will help maintain this protected area, and help sustain its public education programme.

“Sustaining Jamaica’s invaluable natural assets is important for the Forestry Department, but this requires financial resources. Therefore, putting protected areas in a position to co-fund recurrent and management expenditures is critical,” UNDP programmes specialist, Richard Kelly explained.

“The grant, which was one of 12 awarded in 2016, was designed to go towards income-generating initiatives that sought to enhance sustainable livelihoods while maintaining biodiversity-which was one of the reasons Forestry Department’s application for a grant to rehabilitate Gourie recreational areas was favourably considered,” Kelly said.

Another reason relates to Gourie’s invaluable natural assets and its contribution to biodiversity, water supply, oxygen generation, tree cover, and drought and flood mitigation.

Brown indicated that Gourie contributes to the water supply of the entire parish of Manchester. That water supply flows undisturbed through Gourie Cave, located a short distance from the recreational park. Then there are the birds which find refuge in Gourie’s undisturbed environment. These migratory and endemic birds and bats drop the seeds that constantly expand the tree cover, maintaining the cycle of life,

These important facts are passed on in public education talks as the Forestry Department seeks the public’s respectful interaction with Gourie’s assets, as well as understanding of their role in sustaining its biodiversity for future generations.

The public education programme has already received a fresh wind since the refurbishment, Bromfield reported. Students are now hosted under the gazebo for public education talks, where before their lessons were under the trees. “Now they are less distracted and ask more questions,” Bromfield observed. The refurbished facilities are also currently being enjoyed by the neighbouring community, pending official reopening in 2018.

Gourie first surfaced in historic accounts some 200 years ago when ‘Goory’, as it was then known, was owned by one George Young who had grown his slave holdings from 21 in 1817 to 48 by 1824; its nearby cave, which is said to be the longest known cave in Jamaica, served as refuge for runaway slaves. The Gourie cave, renowned among those who explore caves as a pastime, measures at 3,505 metres (Jamaica Caving Notes, 2007).

Two centuries after its life as a slave holder’s homestead, Gourie is likely to live out its potential of offering sustainable recreation that honours the environment, while earning its keep.

This was a vision highlighted by the Forestry Department in the 2014 Forest Management Plan, which calls for positioning Gourie as a highly visible recreational tourism destination while conserving its natural resources.

In 2013, one year prior to the publication of the Gourie Forest Management Plan, a feasibility study highlighted Gourie’s potential as a viable ecotourism destination for local and international visitors.