The improper disposal of waste and chemicals used in farming has been cited as a major cause of pollution within the Great River watershed area of St. James.

According to Barrington Taylor, conservation officer with the Coastal Zone Management branch of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), this is an area of concern which needs to be tackled urgently.

He made his comments against the background of NEPA starting a series of workshops in watershed areas in western Jamaica, aimed at raising citizens' awareness of the importance of watersheds and the need to protect them.

The first event was held last Thursday at Cambridge in St. James, where the Great River Watershed is located. Great River is one of the main sources of potable water for towns and villages in western Jamaica, stretching from Montego Bay to Lucea in Hanover.

In addition to the workshops, several training sessions have been held with farmers in the region, with a view to educating them about proper environmental and farming practices.

Mr. Taylor said the Great River workshop served to reinforce lessons from the United States Agency for International Development-spon-sored Ridge to Reef Watershed project, which ended a few months ago.

"Since Ridge to Reef, the people within the watershed, their knowledge on environmental protection has increased, but I see where we still have to keep pushing, and we have to keep trying to educate people," he stated.

The Government's information agency, the Jamaica Information Service quotes Mr. Taylor as saying several other organisations, which have an interest in protecting the island's watersheds are working in tandem with NEPA, to educate the targeted communities on the need to protect these areas.

"On this (Green Pond) workshop, we have the Social Development Commission, we have the Forestry Department, we have the Montego Bay Marine Park, we have RADA (Rural Agricultural Development Authority) and also the community organisations," he said.