Environmentalists sound SOS for Clarendon mangroves

With almost half of the more than 3,500 hectares of mangroves along the coast between Milk River and Salt River in Clarendon dead, the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (CCAM) is hoping to restore the wetland forest in the Portland Bight Protected Area.

Some 1,600 hectares of the mangroves have died from a combination of causes.

Troy Franklin, CCAM tours and events coordinator, explained that when Hurricane Ivan hit Jamaica in 2004, it trimmed the top of the mangrove trees.

“Red mangroves, which is most of what was in here, require running water,” Franklin said as he led a tour of the area on Earth Day, which was observed on Saturday, under the theme ‘Invest in Our Planet’.

“When the train line was re-established, they blocked off the circulation from the opposite side where seawater used to run through a channel. The rest of the place didn’t die instantly. It was still being fed by the sugar company through a canal. But when the sugar company closed down and they shut off the canals, the last source of water that used to feed the place was gone. There was no flowing water for the entire property and a lot of the trees just suffocated and died,” he explained.

Franklin shared that restoration of the mangroves requires dredging of the damaged area, restoration of the water flow, and, most importantly, adequate funding to support the effort.

REPLANTING NOT NECESSARY

He further explained that replanting of mangrove trees is not necessary as once water is flowing through a healthy area, it will bring about propagules and give rise to young mangrove trees.

Portland Bight was declared a protected area 24 years ago. It is the largest protected area in Jamaica and the region.

In addition to facilitating the growth in the fish and shellfish population for local consumption, a healthy mangrove forest also increases coastal protection against hurricanes and storm surges, and regulates and mitigates flooding. It also captures and stores atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon sequestration is critical in combating climate change.

Donovan Brandon Hay, CCAM sanctuary manager and scientific officer, said a pre-feasibility study of the wetlands in the area was conducted.

“This site and another one just up near Cockpit (another area along the Clarendon coastline) were identified as high-priority areas for restoration. We have been seeking funding to effect some of that restoration. We need to put in channels to restore water flows into the area,” Hay told The Gleaner.

He referenced a project being undertaken by Solutions for Developing Countries (SODECO), an agency of The University of the West Indies, to reverse the damage that has been done to the system.

“We don’t know exactly how far they are going to go with their plans, but they have done some studies, which could, at the very least, provide background information that would help to determine what needs to be done to restore the mangroves,” Hay said.

judana.murphy@gleanerjm.com

Did you know?

At 187,615 hectares, the Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA) covers 51,975 hectares on land (roughly 4.7 per cent of the island of Jamaica), and 135,640 hectares of its marine area.

The land area of the PBPA is a bit larger than the area of the Blue Mountain/John Crow Mountain National Park (48,835 hectares), and larger than each of the independent nation states of Barbados, Grenada (and its outer islands), Antigua & Barbuda, and St Vincent & the Grenadines.