Biodiversity to guide development Wednesday, October 22, 2014 GOVERNMENTS environment and planning agency has begun the process of updating the countrys National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), which is expected to inform the islands development decisions and poverty-reduction strategies. The revised plan will serve as a strong basis for the country to achieve more of its sustainable development goals post-2015, according to the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA). Director of the Environmental Management and Conservation Division at NEPA, Anthony McKenzie said it will produce measurable targets to safeguard or restore key ecosystem services, especially for water, health and livelihoods as well as make recommendations that could help the islands natural resources to adapt and become more resilient to climate change impacts. He warned, however, that a balance must be struck between environmental conservation and development demands. In updating the national biodiversity strategy, biodiversity conservation issues will be integrated into several national planning frameworks. Emphasis will be placed on incorporating biodiversity values and services into local and national development plans, which will then feed into the poverty-reduction strategies of the Government, he said. Similarly, deputy director general of the Planning Institute of Jamaica Claire Bernard cautioned stakeholders at an inception workshop to launch the project last Thursday, that neither area of interest can be pursued to the exclusion of the other. When setting the targets, be mindful of the Jamaican situation and socio-economic needs, she said. There is heavy dependence on the natural environment, and there is also an abundance of natural resources, so we cant just declare an area protected with no consideration for economic needs, Bernard added. Her comments appeared to have been an indirect reference to the vexed Goat Islands development project in which Chinese investors are proposing to construct a trans-shipment port in the middle of the Portland Bight Protected Area. Bernard, however, declined to comment directly on the matter, as did NEPAs Director of the Planning Projects, Evaluation and Research division, Novelette Douglas, who also gave brief remarks at Thursdays event. McKenzie, meanwhile, told the Jamaica Observer that the agency issued licences for geo-technical investigation in the area about three months ago. The area is protected because of the important resources in that location. Having said that, there are development activities in that area already; there are sections of the Portland Bight Protected Area that are industrialised, so to speak. As to whether we can accommodate another facility without it having undue and significant impact on the resources, that evaluation would have to take place, he said. That evaluation, he said, would only happen after an independent environmental impact assessment is carried out. The NBSAP project is financed by the Global Environment Facility through the United Nations Development Programme and the Government of Jamaica at a cost of US$250,000. It is expected to last for one year. It aims to support the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 2011-2020 Strategic Plan in Jamaica and forms part of the islands obligations under the CBD, to which Jamaica became party in 1995. The targets set will be in line with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets outlined in the Strategic Plan Biodiversity 2011-2020. The project will also prepare the Fifth National Report on Biodiversity Conservation for submission to the CBD, NEPA said. NEPAs Project Manager Dione Chambers said the updated NBSAP will build on the framework set by a 2003 version of the plan. A working committee will be formed to undertake the work of updating the plan, develop national targets, and anchor the implementation of the new plan into the national development framework for sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism, mining, water, housing, town planning, transport, heritage, and disaster management. Source: jamaicaobserver/environment/Biodiversity_17782893
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 05:32:35 +0000
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