Public input for coastal confab

Anthony Hylton

THE JAMAICAN public will be able to make an input in the development of a policy to maintain and protect the island's coast through participation in Coastal Conference 2000, June 7-8, 2000 at the Jamaican Conference Centre, Kingston.

The Conference is being hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade through the Council on Ocean & Coastal Zone Management, a cabinet-appointed Council chaired by the Minister of Foreign Trade, Anthony Hylton and mandated to improve the co-ordination and overall management of the island's ocean and coastal resources.

Coastal Conference 2000 is being co-ordinated by the Natural Resources Conservation Authority with support from the Coastal Water Quality Improve-ment Project (CWIP) - a six year bilateral initiative between the Government of Jamaica's Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) and USAID aimed at improving coastal water quality in Jamaica.

Under the theme, "Challenge For Sustainable Ocean & Coastal Resources Management - Formulating Policy and Promoting Institutional Capacity Development", the conference will address and inform a rationalised ocean and coastal zone policy and corresponding institutional capacity development requirements. In addition, critical topics and climate changes and coastal vulnerability, land based sources of pollution and managing living resources in Jamaica's territorial sea will be discussed.

Public participation and that of a range of government agencies is being encouraged to ensure broad stakeholder input in the dialogue, policy formulation and planning exercises of the conference.

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