Martin Henry
THE RAINS have come, at least in the Corporate Area. And green is breaking out everywhere. No floods or hurricanes yet, with damage aggravated by environmental degradation.
With the onset of a green spring with fresher, cooler days it's a great time to be hopeful, despite everything. Didn't new PM right up front in the inaugural tell us that "without the shadow of a doubt today ... it is the spirit of hope that is most dominant ... at King's House. All across Jamaica there is this hope, this positive expectancy, this hunger to believe that a new day is dawning. You can almost touch it."
A HOPEFUL PIECE
Years ago, soon after the start of another administration, I wrote a hopeful piece, 'Twinning job creation and environmental conservation'. One of the very positive spin-offs of that column was involvement with an Environmental Protection and Development Corps in south-east Clarendon which the MP at the time, Peter Bunting, created from his SESP allocation. Some recent discussions have brought up both the piece and the EPDC. The suggestions made years ago are as relevant as ever today, especially in light of Prime Minister Simpson Miller's commitment to rural development and job creation and hope.
The nation stands in dire need of a coherent, practical strategy to reduce unemployment. At the economic level, this is the foremost development need of the country. Unused labour which doesn't produce but must consume is a heavy drag on the resources of the country. The tax burden and weight of supporting non-working relatives are very heavy.
Air, water and soil are facing attacks from pollutants. Soil erosion, deforestation, urban waste disposal, flooding, coastal deterioration and several other environmental problems have been heavily documented. The point is to do something about them.
Agro-forestry, combining crop and tree production, will maximise the use of land and labour and yield quicker returns. Reforestation is a sound investment in manpower and the environment.
RURAL OPPORTUNITIES
Watershed management coupled with scientific hillside farming could create some big opportunities for rural youth. A lot of terracing, river training, tree planting, etc, needs to be done.
In some parts of the world, Japan for example, farmers have worked for thousands of years on the same carefully managed hillsides without losing or impoverishing their soil.
The country has work for several hundred pollution monitors. A bit of technical training can produce people who are able to look out for the presence of pollutants. There is even more work for clean-up squads to do, and costs can always be passed on to the polluters. Children as young as 10 years old are involved in stream conservation projects and other environmental projects in the United States.
Coastal management could use some people, even youth who can't read and write. There are possibilities for cleaning up marine agriculture, marine parks, beach maintenance and so on. In the urban environment dozens of materials can be collected and recycled. Metals, plastic and glass can be recycled, as well as paper, motor oil, various chemicals and rubber.
USE OLD TYRES
Old tyres can be used to make reefs which encourage fish, or in children's parks, many more of which are needed. Vast quantities of agricultural waste could be collected and turned into organic fertiliser or animal feed by youth under a bit of technical guidance.
In an increasingly urbanised society, nature parks are waiting to be built and maintained for the use of locals and tourists alike. What about mountain trails, rivers, caves, and the wild parts of the coast to be explored with tour guides who know something about the area? There is room for the small-scale processing of exotic stuff for export. Things like spices, herbs, aromatic oils and foods.
A modest outlay of funds can very well create several thousand productive jobs, and the initial input will be easily recovered with profits in tax revenue, reduced unemployment, expanded production, and a better environment.
Martin Henry is a communication specialist.
