UWI Solutions for Developing Countries:
Restoring mangroves in Clarendon - A new approach.
UWI SODECO in collaboration with SCJ Holdings Limited recognized the need for management and restoration of the critical mangrove habitat in south Clarendon. Subsequently,national and international partners have been engaged and have contributed greatly to successfully commencing the project activities.
Major partners include:
• SCJ Holdings Limited (MOU partners)
• National Environment and Planning Agency (MOU partners)
• Government of Jamaica – Ministry of National Security and Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Planning Institute of Jamaica
• Inter-American Development Bank
• Government of the United Kingdom
Benefits of the Project:
• Healthier mangroves mean more fish and shellfish for local consumption- Improved ecosystem services
• Increased coastal protection against hurricanes and storm surges
• Flood regulation and mitigation
• Carbon sequestration, which is critical in combatting climate change
The Problem: We have lost almost half the mangroves along the coast of Clarendon. Their loss exposes the people who reside near the coast as well as all coastal infrastructure to the full force of storm surges during hurricanes with consequent loss of life, destruction of property, and lasting damage to agricultural lands. Dead mangroves also cannot support the important nursery function for juvenile fish leading to a reduced catch of fish for your tables. There are in fact a myriad other valuable services that the mangroves provide that are also lost when they die including, filtration of water that helps sustain the health and growth of sea grass beds and coral reefs where fish and other plants and animalsfeed and live; reducing impact of flood waters; carbon sequestration that mitigates climate change and maintaining biodiversity, to name a few.
There are >3500 hectares of mangroves stretching along the coast between Milk River and Salt River in Clarendon. Of these >1600 hectares are dead; they died from a combination of causes.
These include impacts from extreme weather events that:
i. changed the configurationof the shoreline along great stretches of the coast interfering with tidal flushing, the back and forth flow of sea water into the system; ii.blocked the flow of water by depositing sandalong the length of water channels, leading to the stagnation of water that can kill or severely degrade the health of the mangroves. iii.There has also been reduction in the flow of freshwater from the land side coming from the runoff of agricultural irrigation.
Impact of human activity on the mangroves has also contributed to some of the die-off. For example, construction of transportation infrastructure such as roads and railway lines across mangroves interfere with the flow of water through the mangroves and so damage or kill them. Lastly, there is direct destruction of mangroves from the cutting down of mangrove trees to produce charcoal or for use as building material etc.
Thus, mass die off of mangroves severely impairs the mangroves’ capacity to deliver ecosystems services such as marine nurseries that support fisheries, appropriate nutrient flows to sea grass beds and coral reefs that sustain healthy coasts, coastal protection from extreme weather events, plus carbon sequestration to reduce greenhouse gas impact climate change.