Where the earth meets the sea

Jamaica coasts project will be the first to benefit from GEF funding

An innovative program to enlist the help of local people in preserving a coastal ecosystem and its unique species will be the first IDB project funded with the help of a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The Portland Bight, located west of Kingston, on Jamaica's southern coast is typical of Caribbean ecosystems that are facing mounting pressure from overfishing, pollution, runoff of agricultural chemicals, poor land use and introduced species.

The new project's preparatory phase will be carried out with the help of $330,000 in GEF funding along with financing from the IDB and other sources. The full investment project, which is expected to get underway in 2002, will have a total cost of $6.5 million, of which the GEF and the IDB are expected to provide the major share.

The objective of the project will be to both protect the area's biodiversity and demonstrate the effectiveness of delegating the management of protected areas to nongovernmental organizations.

Ecosystem under pressure. The Caribbean ranks as one of the world's biodiversity hotspots (see IDBAmérica May-June 2000), both for the number of endemic species that it harbors and the seriousness of threats to its environment. Many of Jamaica's unique plant and animal species have disappeared during the last two centuries. But it is not too late for the Portland Bight, according to Eduardo Figueroa, IDB project team leader. "The Portland Bight area is outstanding for having survived this widespread destruction of Caribbean biodiversity relatively intact," he says.

Today, the Portland Bight preserves much of the intimate interface between marine and land ecosystems. It is a place where sea turtles build their nests and lay their eggs, where the endangered crocodile lies in wait for its prey, where sea birds make their homes or stop to rest during migrations. The nearby hills are the last known habitat of the recently rediscovered Jamaican iguana, the island's largest land animal. Several other species of reptiles, birds, amphibians and mammals are restricted to remnant pieces of habitat.

A recent declaration increased the previously protected area in the Portland Bight to a total of 187,615 hectares, making it the largest of Jamaica's protected areas. Last year the IDB funded a $2.4 million study on sustainable growth along Jamaica's entire south coast, including the Portland Bight. The GEF funding for the bight will form a cornerstone of this larger program, which is scheduled for approval next year.

The project will be carried out by the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation, a nongovernmental organization that has been instrumental in obtaining legal protection for the Portland Bight area. The foundation has formed a fisheries management council, which is made up of a particularly diverse group of organizations, including commercial fishing associations, elite fishing and hunting clubs, government agencies, the coast guard, and the local police.