CONTROVERSY in March surrounding land preparation for an all-night party at Fort Rocky near Port Royal, east Kingston, reminded us of widespread and high-level ignorance regarding protected environmental and heritage sites.

Back then, environmentalists were rightly angered by reports that important coastal vegetation, including sea grass and mangroves, had been removed at Fort Rocky.

They argued that any such action breached an international treaty to protect very important wetlands such as that extending from Palisadoes to Port Royal, embracing Fort Rocky. That treaty was signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971.

There were also reports that sections of the old fort, a National Heritage Site, may have been damaged during the land-preparation exercise.

As we said in this space two months ago, “the episode served as a warning to all of the need to consult widely whenever projects — no matter how well-intentioned — are being developed, and for everyone to be on their Ps and Qs in relation to protection of Jamaica’s natural environment and heritage.

“Crucially, too, it’s incumbent on all of us to do our part in proactively protecting same.”

Against that backdrop, we are pleased that today’s National Labour Day project is intended to enhance the Mason River Environmental and Research Park, on the border of Clarendon and St Ann in the highlands of central Jamaica.

The national project is in keeping with the theme for Labour Day, ‘Protect the Environment: Our Land, Our Duty, Our Future’.

Like the Palisadoes-Port Royal wetland, the Mason River Environmental and Research Park is a Ramsar-protected site.

Other Ramsar sites in Jamaica are the Black River Lower Morass in St Elizabeth and the Portland Bight Wetlands and Cays in Clarendon/St Catherine.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange reminded the Jamaican Parliament recently that the Mason River site is also protected under the Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act and is a Protected National Heritage Site under the Jamaica National Heritage Trust Act.

It was declared a game sanctuary in 1998 under the Wildlife Protection Act.

The Jamaica Information Service ( JIS) reported Ms Grange as saying, “The Mason River Protected Area plays an essential role in the lives and livelihoods of surrounding and wider communities, offering numerous ecosystem services including water regulation, carbon sequestration, nutrient recycling, biodiversity support, as well as providing recreational and cultural value…”

The more than 200-acre site which includes what’s described as Jamaica’s only inland bog is also a godsend for naturalists studying a wide range of flora and fauna — much of it rare.

According to JIS, planned work for today’s national project at Mason River will include renovation of two cottages, one to house a caretaker and the other to serve as a research facility.

An entertainment gazebo, lawn, and park space, sanitary and bathroom facilities, and a water tank should be among the improvements.

Ms Grange was reported as saying the national project will be led by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, and will include Opposition Leader Mark Golding.

If both political leaders turn up may we take that to mean they are truly at one when it comes to protecting the natural environment ahead of soon-coming parliamentary elections?

We hope so.