BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is to expand its monitoring of the Black River under its Jamaica Coastal Area and River-based Management Programme Unit come September.

Director, environmental management and conservation at NEPA Anthony McKenzie said the “living treasure” of the Black River, with its hundreds of plant and earth species, is to see more NEPA staff and a marine vessel being deployed to safeguard its ecosystem.

McKenzie compared the Black River to the Rio Cobre in St Catherine, which has been under scrutiny for NEPA’s handling of environmental permits and its response to breaches.

“Last year the most Honourable Prime Minister [Dr Andrew Holness], in his budget presentation, announced a no-direct discharge of treated industrial effluent into rivers policy. I know it is a policy that is directed at ensuring that industries no longer discharge directly treated effluent into rivers. To effect this policy a Jamaica Coastal Area and River-based Management Programme Unit for high-risk industrial facilities was established within NEPA,” said McKenzie last Friday at the media launch of Black River Day slated for July 25.

“In this regard, and in the case of the Rio Cobre, all facilities along the banks have been engaged by NEPA. Whether we are talking about the bauxite and alumina facility, the agro-processing facility, the hatcheries, or the piggeries, these have been directed to redirect the treated effluent to other uses,” added McKenzie as he announced the expansion of the programme to include the Black River.

He said by September Miss Ramsar, one of NEPA’s small monitoring enforcement vessels, will be deployed along the Black River on assignment.

The ecosystem in the Black River Lower Morass has been protected under the Ramsar Convention since 1998.

Signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971 the Ramsar International Convention provides for the conservation and sustainable use of important wetlands.

Protected under that convention since 1998, the Black River Lower Morass, said to be 6,075 hectares (15,000 acres) in size, is described by environmental experts as a “natural sponge” crucial to soaking up excess water and mitigating flooding on the St Elizabeth plains.

Environmentalists say the Black River Upper Morass (1,762 hectares) has already been largely undermined by human habitation and economic activity, especially over the last 50 years.

The lower morass is of direct economic importance, partly because of its plentiful fish, crabs and shrimp, but increasingly for its attractiveness to tourists.

On a daily basis boatloads of tourists travel the lower reaches of the Black River to experience what is said to be the largest freshwater wetland in Jamaica and the islands of the English-speaking Caribbean.

McKenzie pointed to the Black River Protected area, which he said is NEPA’s focus.

“NEPA has long worked in partnership with local and international stakeholders to sustainably use this area designated as a Ramsar site [and] recognised internationally but let us be clear: The long-term health of the Black River ecosystem cannot be left to anyone or just a few entities, it depends on each and everyone of us — from the fisherman to the tour operator, from the farmer to the student, from the policymaker to the visitor,” McKenzie told his audience.

“NEPA envisions the Black River Protected area as a beacon of eco-development where responsible tourism, scientific research and community-driven enterprises flourish hand in hand with conservation. Together we will monitor water quality, curb pollution at its source, enforce protected zones, and support agricultural practices,” he added.

According to McKenzie, NEPA has collaborated with the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation and has created a development order for the parish.

“This order sets out the framework, the guidelines, and policies for planning and development within the parish; and it enables the municipality, the local planning authority, and of course the town and country planning authority to regulate land development within the area,” said McKenzie.

He also pointed to the Pedro Plains Irrigations System, which is expected to take water from Black River to boost agricultural production in St Elizabeth.

“Today [Friday], there was the launch of the Pedro Plains Irrigation System, which depends of course on the Black River. The reality though is that this jewel faces a number of pressures: agricultural run-off, habitat destruction, urban encroachment, and of course unregulated development,” he said at the media launch.

McKenzie said NEPA has approved the Government’s irrigation project.

“We reviewed it and have issued permits so there were various assessments done and there are permits from NEPA and the Natural Resources Conservation Authority,” McKenzie said via telephone on Monday.