KINGSTON, Jamaica — The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is reminding Jamaicans that all life on earth is interconnected and as such, everyone has a responsibility to help safeguard the environment.

The reminder comes as NEPA concludes activities to mark National Environmental Awareness Week 2022 from June 1 to 8, which included World Environment Day on June 5, under the theme ‘Only One Earth’.

The theme places emphasis on the need for personal and collective action to protect and restore planet earth.

Manager of the Ecosystems Management Branch, NEPA, Monique Curtis, in noting the interconnectedness of life on earth, said that “as much as we take it for granted, what you throw in a gully in your terrestrial environment can actually end up on the coastline in Jamaica or in another country. That shows you the level of connectivity and why your actions can contribute to this ‘one world’ concept”.

Jamaica has joined countries across the globe in taking action against activities that have a negative impact on health and the environment, including signing conventions to reduce the impact of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.

Campaigns and programmes have been undertaken to make people more aware of how their daily actions can contribute to maintaining a healthy environment. Some of these target waste management and plastic minimisation, including the ban on single-use plastics, where Jamaica has made marked progress.

Additionally, the designation of the Blue and John Crow Mountains as a Protected National Heritage site in 2014, ahead of the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation in 2015, is a key achievement on a national level.

There are almost 300 protected areas across Jamaica, with the newest additions being the Cockpit Country Protected Area and the Black River Protected Area.

The protected areas are managed by NEPA, the Forestry Department, the Fisheries Division in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) in partnership with non-governmental organisations.

On a more granular level, the Environmental Management and Conservation Division of NEPA has the responsibility for environment conservation and protection and environmental management, which looks at air quality, pollution prevention, water quality tracking and monitoring, and so on.

The Ecosystems Management Branch in the Division conducts activities related to beaches management and monitoring, coastal and marine resources monitoring, species conservation and watershed management.

This branch is responsible for many flora and fauna conservation projects.

“Most might be familiar with the Jamaican Iguana Recovery Project, and we do that type of project for other threatened species, including American crocodile, and for plant species as well.

“So, we have management activities relating to even orchids, because we know that they are used in the commercial sector and it is one of those issues that we have to safeguard from international trade,” Curtis said.

Similar to the Iguana Recovery Project, the American Crocodile head-start programme seeks to foster the development of juvenile species to a point where they can survive when reintroduced to the wild.

The American crocodile is categorised as a vulnerable species and the Jamaican Iguana is critically endangered.

The work of monitoring and reporting on flora and fauna species and the management of their ecosystems is carried out by field or environmental officers with technical expertise in environmental management, monitoring, and ecology.

Using standardised methods of data collection, these officers spend most of their time in the field collecting information about various species and their habitats. Populations and the status of habitats are tracked through technical reports.

“For example, officers within the Marine and Coastal Unit are trained divers and they do coral reef assessment. We usually do over 20 sites for a financial year where we collect data on the status of the corals and the species in that area and report it in an annual status report,” Curtis stated.

“We also do tracking of species like assessments of bird population, especially those that are targeted within the game bird management space, in order to inform our game bird season. We also report on the population of American crocodiles islandwide. We just completed a two-year project, which was funded by American partners as well as the Natural Resources Conservation Authority,” she added.

The findings of the assessments inform NEPA on the progress of measures implemented to conserve coral reefs, protect bird and crocodile populations and limit human interactions with potentially dangerous species. These assessments are carried out for plant species as well.

Curtis said that with several endemic animal species doubling as natural seed dispersers and pollinators, which in turn, positively impacts food and canopy coverage, they become a vital part of the ecosystem.

Since human activities can affect the balance or instability of plant and animal life it is, therefore, important for each person to recognise that there is ‘Only one Earth’.

NEPA also marked National Solid Waste Day on June 6.