IT MUST be a matter of national concern that the reported logging of trees from private lands adjacent to Fern Gully is doing environmental damage to this celebrated attraction enjoyed by Jamaicans and visitors alike. Because Fern Gully is part of a natural rainforest, it abounds in the lush growth of exotic ferns and other vegetation. If the trees that constitute the rainforest are cut down to make broom handles, as is apparently the case, this must surely be a classic case of 'not seeing the forest for the trees'.
It is also reported that persons are daily cutting ferns to serve as feathers for ersatz John Canoe costumes in the hope that passing tourists will make a monetary contribution for such dubious entertainment.
According to the Prime Minister in a recent speech, Jamaica is relying on tourism to save the country from its current economic crisis and for tourism to succeed, to compete with other destinations, it needs as many attractions as possible, natural as well as man-made.
Eco-tourism has become big business and Fern Gully falls in this category. We have urged in the past and do so again that there should be a cable car running from Gordon Town to Hardwar Gap to open up this lush area as a tourist attraction. Such cable car operations, proving as it does the excitement of this specialised form of transportation, are common all over Europe and appear to be profitable.
If there are not already laws on the books to ensure the preservation of Fern Gully then new laws need to be enacted. Rainforest should be a part of our national heritage and as such no logging should be allowed without a licence from the Forestry Department.
Tourism by its nature is already a fickle industry on which to pin hopes for an economic recovery; for us to be contributing to this fragility by destroying an important attraction like Fern Gully is stupidity indeed.
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