Official Launch of Project to Increase Climate Change Resilience and Reduce Poverty

A Jamaican Path from Hills to Ocean, a project designed to increase the country’s resilience to the impact of climate change and reduce poverty by protecting livelihoods, will be officially launched on Tuesday, July 19.

The project is jointly funded by a grant from the European Union (EU) Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) in the amount of €4.9 million ($859,506,060), and a contribution from the Government of Jamaica of €1.1 million ($192,950,340).

The Hills to Ocean project, which commenced in November 2020, is to be implemented over five years.

Project Manager for the project in the executing agency, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Camille Wildman, said the country is experiencing the negative impacts of climate change, “primarily in the scale and the impact of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts and increased intensity in hurricanes”.

“Coastal areas are experiencing the negative effects of storm surges and sea level rise. By extension, many communities are suffering the consequences of these events in terms of flooding, reduced water quality and quantity and having their livelihoods threatened as well,” she added.

Ms. Wildman noted that there are several identified results that the project is working towards.

“We’re hoping to do a considerable amount of capacity building for farmers, women and youth in the targeted communities in the areas of improved water management, agricultural techniques and sustainable livelihood options,” she told JIS News.

Ms. Wildman said that they are also hoping to do structural environmental protection intervention to prevent landslides.

“We are also hoping to do some work in terms of the restoration and preservation in our wetland areas by removing much of the accumulated solid waste and upgrading the island’s coastal early warning and monitoring system,” she noted.

Beneficiaries of the project include a combination of farmers, fisher folk, entrepreneurs, environmental groups, women and youth in three targeted Watershed Management Units (WMUs).

The targeted WMUs are Wagwater in St Mary, including Castleton Gardens; Rio Nuevo in St. Ann and Rio Bueno/White River in St. Ann and Trelawny.

Wetland ecosystems in Falmouth, Trelawny and the Mason River Protected Area in St. Ann and Clarendon, as well as sea grass beds in the Ocho Rios Marine Park Protected Area in St Ann; the Hellshire Bay and Half Moon Bay – Portland Bight Protected Area in

St. Catherine and Clarendon – are also targeted for integrated and sustainable coastal management interventions.

The project launch will be a communication, visibility and sensitisation event to highlight the contribution of the Government and the European Union in building Jamaica’s resilience to climate change and reducing poverty by protecting livelihoods.

“After the launch we will be having a workshop to share and discuss the preliminary findings from a Rapid Ecological Assessment that was done in all three WMUs targeted under the project,” Ms. Wildman pointed out.