Jamaica Benefits from Regional Seminar on Ecosystem Restoration
By: , March 23, 2024
Photo: JIS File
Minister of Planning and Development in Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Pennelope Beckles-Robinson (centre), shares a photo opportunity with (from left), Executive Director, Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT), David Walters; Natural Infrastructure for Caribbean Resilience (NICaR) Programme Manager, Shelly-Ann Lawson Francis; United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Candace Bond; and Executive Director, Central Jamaica Social Development Initiative, Damion Young. Occasion was an ecosystem restoration training held recently in Trinidad and Tobago.The Full Story
The Jamaican delegation to the recent regional forum on ecosystem restoration benefitted from exchanges on preserving biodiversity and strengthening climate change resilience.
Held in Trinidad and Tobago from March 13 to 17, the seminar was facilitated by the United States Forest Service (USFS) through its Natural Infrastructure for Caribbean Resilience (NICaR) programme.
The Jamaican delegation included representatives from the Forestry Department along with two NICaR grantee organisations – the Jamaica Conservation Development Trust (JCDT) and the Central Jamaica Social Development Initiative.
The five-day session sought to promote best practices and practical solutions implemented by the grantee organisations, to foster resilience to climate change impacts in the Caribbean region.
Other participating countries included Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago as well as partner institutions in the United States.
Participants engaged in discussions, knowledge-sharing sessions, and explored innovative solutions to enhance upland forest restoration, conservation, disaster risk reduction and urban resilience.
Senior Director of Zonal Operations-Western at the Forestry Department, Tamara Nicholson, told JIS News that the transfer of technical knowledge was valuable.
“Being there and learning how to do [things like] fire breaks, for us, this was something we would have normally done with our contractors. But now we can try to incorporate it at a community level. I think in having that thrust for community development, we know, at the end of the day, we are working together for an inclusive approach to forest fire management,” she said.
Executive Director of the JCDT, David Walters, also lauded the seminar as useful and timely.
“It was really a learning experience. What we were able to see was that there are common issues across the Caribbean among the grantees. At the end of the day, we are stronger together so it’s all about solidarity and helping each other, “he pointed out.
Locally, NICaR has supported JCDT through restoration of degraded sections of the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park.
This was achieved through the planting of over 5000 trees, maintenance of 25 acres of trees and the promotion of fire prevention through education, outreach and resource provisions to local communities in the park buffer zones.