SALT MARSH, Trelawny – An impressive 100 mangrove seedlings were planted in Salt Marsh to mark International Day for Natural Disaster Risk Reduction. The Trelawny community is the inspiration behind a five-year mangrove conservation project being embarked upon by The University of the West Indies’ Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, in collaboration with Sandals Resorts International and Sandals Foundation.

Environmental projects coordinator at Sandals Foundation, Georgia Scarlett weighed in on the importance of the partnership.

“Over the last three years Sandals Foundation has planted over 5,000 mangroves across the Caribbean…[Mangroves] serve as excellent risk reducers to coastal erosion, either through storm surges or tsunamis. In the Caribbean, where our populations are concentrated on the coast, mangroves are very important both for this and their excellent carbon sequestration powers, which exceed their inland forest counterparts,” she said.

Outreach officer at The University of the West Indies’ Centre for Marine Sciences, Trudy-Ann Campbell spoke about the significance of two signs erected during the day’s activities.

“The community signs are an indicator to Jamaica and the people of Salt Marsh that these agencies are serious and excited about mangrove conservation. This initiative is the first of its kind in Jamaica, where private lands are being transferred to government ownership and management, primarily to keep the mangrove forests as they are,” she said.

Project partners include Sandals Resorts International, Forestry Department, National Land Agency, National Environment and Planning Agency, National Solid Waste Management Authority, Recycling Partners of Jamaica, Trelawny Municipal Corporation, and residents of the Salt Marsh community.