THE Forestry Department is reporting that it has planted 4,000 trees since the start of this year, in a push to revive the island’s greenery four months after Hurricane Melissa battered sections of the island leaving thousands of trees scorched and lifeless, particularly in south-western Jamaica.

“We have developed a programme called the The RE-LEAF Initiative that is designed to mobilise Jamaicans and mobilise efforts towards replanting, especially those areas with significant impact,” Forestry Department CEO and Conservator of Forests Ainsley Henry told this week’s Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange.

Launched by the Forestry Department in January, the The RE-LEAF Initiative is a national project to restore damaged forests, enhance ecological resilience, and rebuild greener landscapes. Phase one (January-June 2026) aims to plant 300,000 seedlings, including 30,000 fruit trees for food security.

The Forestry Department’s early assessment, following the Category 5 storm last October, was that the weather system impacted 51 per cent of Jamaica’s forests, resulting in more than 270,000 hectares of the island’s 523,000 hectares of forest cover damaged.

Furthermore, the agency reported that this significantly reversed progress made before the storm, where the 2024 Land Use and Land Cover Change Classification showed that the island’s forest cover had risen to 47 per cent, up from 40 per cent in 2013.

On Monday Henry told Observer editors and reporters that despite the heavy blow dealt to the country’s trees by Melissa, the sector was making a rebound with funds being poured into replanting.

“We’ve already secured some US$50,000 in support from Trees that Feed [Foundation] and that is helping us to provide more than 12,000 fruit tree seedlings to those most heavily impacted areas,” said Henry.

He added that with favourable investments from the Ministry of Water, Environment, and Climate Change, the rebound of Jamaica’s vegetation would not be stalled.

“The reason why we are able to accomplish that is because we have the necessary budgetary support. We were able to plant three million trees… under the first national tree-planting initiative and the Minister [of Water, Environment and Climate Change Matthew Samuda] has given us a second such mandate to plant three million in five years. I think at this point, post-Melissa, he is hoping we’ll do it faster and we certainly are trying to do just that,” said Henry.

He pointed out that the Forestry Department has also been in talks with private organisations which have been ready and willing to provide funding and support in replanting efforts.

According to Henry, this will significantly bolster recovery of the nation’s forested areas.

“We also have significant interest from several other organisations which have come to us and have asked us about doing replanting and we have been actively working with several over the last few years.

“You would have also seen at the Sagicor SIGMA run recently, there was significant leaning towards the environment, particularly in the context of the trees and the damage that has been done there. We partnered with them in that event and there are five schools in the west that are being targeted for replanting as well,” he said, pointing to Salt Marsh Primary and Infant, Mayfield Primary and Infant, Hopewell High, Green Pond High, and Little London High, which were the beneficiaries of the 2026 Sagicor SIGMA run.

Henry noted that though primary focus is being placed on the recovery of western Jamaica, tree-planting projects are still ongoing in sections of the island which were not hard-hit by Melissa.

“While it is true and understandable that we are targeting a significant amount of effort in the west, we have not abandoned the east. It is our intent — as it always has been — to facilitate the additional greening of urban spaces. Urban tree planting is a significant part of what we intend to do… If you’ve been looking at some of the tree planting that we’ve been doing, you will see that along the major corridors we have done a lot of planting along those,” said the conservator of forests.

Henry added that the island’s forests have also shown great resilience, noting that some were recovering naturally, sprouting new leaves, and returning to their lush green state.

“We are fortunate in that where it is primary forest, there has been significant regeneration. If you drive around now [four months after Melissa]… you will see a lot of what was brown and very stark now has elements of green, and that resilience is a key part of the entire thing. This is also a big part of why all of our efforts thus far to protect forests [are] a significant part of the climate resilience infrastructure,” said Henry.

Chief executive officer and conservator of forests at the Forestry Department Ainsley Henry speaking at this week’s Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange at the newspaper’s headquarters in St Andrew. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)