JAMAICA, Portland Bight Protected Area - January 2010
Establishing a field office and barracks, and equipment for the enforcement of the 460,000-acre Portland Bight Protected Area.
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The Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA) was created by the Jamaican Government in 1999, and is the country's largest protected area. The coastline includes the largest mangrove system in Jamaica, which together with extensive sea-grass beds and coral reefs, likely contains the largest nursery area for fish and shellfish on the island. The land area includes 81 square miles of dry limestone forests and 32 square miles of wetlands. These areas are of high conservation value due to the numbers of vulnerable and endemic species that live there. Overlooking Portland Bight are three tropical dry forests including the largest remaining area of intact dry limestone forest in Jamiaca, where 271 plant species have been identified, including 53 that are endemic and found nowhere else on Earth. The PBPA is also home to 44 communities with a total of 50,000 inhabitants. The area also contains the highest concentration of fishers in Jamaica. The government Fisheries Division is in the process of creating no-take Fish Sanctuaries, and has charged the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (C-CAM) with managing the areas within the PBPA. Newly-hired and specially trained professional rangers will monitor and enforce the new Fish Sanctuaries. Seacology is providing funding for a new office, barracks, field station and enforcement equipment for to assist C-CAM and the new rangers in their efforts.
UPDATE May 2011 - Construction of the field office and barracks is under way. To save resources, the buildings are being built using recycled shipping containers.
UPDATE June 2011 - The agreement for the hosting of the field office between the Yacht & Gun club and the C-CAM board has been executed. The site for the field office has been prepared and the foundation laid. The shipping containers have been modified to include the cut outs for the windows, doors and passages between the containers, and were placed on the foundation in May 2011. Construction materials have been procured using the grant and a number of significant contributions of materials have been received and discounts for services obtained in connection with the project. The project is expected to be on budget and completed as scheduled in June 2011.
