These pipes have been deployed along two kilometres of coastline of the obviously polluted harbour.
Teino Evans, Staff Reporter
THERE MIGHT just be hope for the seventh largest natural harbour in the world, the Kingston Harbour, which has been in a state of decline for more than a decade.
The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has developed a project to rehabilitate the mangroves along the Kingston Harbour, to improve coastal ecosystem health.
Sources at NEPA say the rehabilitation of mangroves is important at this time, as there are many benefits to be reaped. Some of these include the creation of a nursery or feeding ground for commercially important fish like the bottle-nose dolphin and the recycling of nutrients that assures continued productivity of coastal waters, ecotourism (bird watching) and water quality improvements.
Chairman for the Kingston Harbour Mangrove Replanting Pilot Project's Steering Committee, Ainsley Henry, said "The objective is to plant two kilometres of mangroves along the coastline of the Kingston Harbour and to develop, implement and document an approach and methodology for sustainable mangrove replanting in Jamaica."
VITAL SUPPORT
The project, which will also seek to gain the vital support of local fishermen to ensure sustainability, has targeted Rae Town, one of the island's largest fishing villages, in Kingston, to implement the pilot project.
Mr. Henry said the mangrove rehabilitation project is currently in its implementation phase and pipes have been deployed along two kilometres of coastline on either side of Rae Town.
"The planting is in three phases based on the methodology being employed (Riley Encasement Methodology), phase one is the deployment of pipes, phase 2 is the addition of substrate and Phase 3 is the planting of propogules (mangrove seeds/seedlings). The mangrove species being used is Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove)."
Residents in Rae Town and surrounding communities are hopeful that after all of this, Kingston Harbour will be restored to a site of flourishing fishery.
"We hope to even restore this beach to compete with Port Royal and Port Henderson," said Vincent 'Bones' Gordon, a representative for the Rae Town fishing village. "The mangrove replanting project will not only be beneficial to the fisher folks, but for all of Jamaica."
The Sunday Gleaner was unable to ascertain the cost of rehabilitating the mangroves along the Kingston Harbour. Mr. Henry was only able to give an estimated cost of "thousands of Canadian dollars". He, however, told The Sunday Gleaner, "the sponsors of the project were willing to fund a second phase based on the success of this pilot project."
MANGROVES
The rehabilitation of the mangroves is being sponsored by the International Development and Research Centre from Canada, through the community-based Coastal Resource Management Project, which is a regional project out of Costa Rica. The Kingston Harbour, which encompasses approximately 25.87 kilometre square, has been tarnished by varied pollutions, from inadequately treated sewage to pollution by industrial waste products and domestic solid wastes. This, according to NEPA, has resulted in major environmental problems like habitat destruction.
Mr. Henry says the mangrove replanting pilot project will produce an effective approach to mangrove rehabilitation that will engender conservation of mangroves in the Kingston Harbour and across Jamaica and the Caribbean.
"Small-scale conservation efforts involving traditional local stakeholders should lead to wide-scale, long-term solutions for the island. With the multidisciplinary integrated approach, there will be a greater understanding of the structure and function of mangrove ecosystems for sustainable use and management," he said.
