Earth Today | Restoring Jamaica, one tree at a time

THE FORESTRY Department partnered with several entities to plant more than 11,000 trees islandwide on National Tree Planting Day (NTPD), celebrated earlier this month.

The entities included Jamaica Energy Partners, which planted approximately 300 seedlings on 1.13 hectares of land in the Blue Mountain 2 Forest Reserve in St Thomas; the Spring Field Community Development Committee, which planted more than 700 trees in Bournemouth Gardens, Manley Meadows, Springfield, and Rockfort; together with several educational institutions, among others.

“We have already committed to the globe that we are going to decrease our rate of carbon production. To both satisfy our international responsibilities and moral obligations and to manage our microclimate, we must increase our tree cover,” said Senator Matthew Samuda, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

He was speaking at the National Tree Planting Day ceremony and project at the Ebony Park Agro Park in Clarendon.

CEO and Conservator of Forests Ainsley Henry noted that there is a close link between the well-being of a society and the quality of its environment; and that environmental degradation has, and continues to have, far-reaching impacts nationally and across the region and the world.

“We can do our part by restoring Jamaica, by building its defences against climate change, and managing our generation and disposal of solid waste. We can take charge from today, and we can start by planting trees. The National Tree Planting Initiative has this as one of its key objectives. If you join the effort by planting at least one tree … you will be contributing to securing a more climate-resilient future for us and the next generation,” he said.

According to Owen Scarlett, acting chief executive officer for Agro-Investment Corporation, managers of the Ebony Park Agro Park, the planned incorporation of the trees into the crop and animal farming systems on the Agro-Parks and Production Zones will create environmental, economic, and social benefits for those in the local environs and Jamaica as a whole.

“These 50-plus trees, which will include fruit, ornamental and timber trees, will increase the resilience of our environments, help minimise climate change effects, and improve national food security,” he said.

‘The objective is to have Jamaicans make a voluntary contribution towards global climate resilience. The goal, using the nation’s population as a guideline, is for at least one tree to be planted for each Jamaican, on both private and public lands, and Agro-Invest has joined in to play a significant part,” Scarlett added.

NTPD aimed to promote the value of trees and, by extension, forests while providing an opportunity for everyone to contribute to increasing the island’s tree cover and beautifying the surroundings by planting trees. This year, the agency partnered with the Agro-Investment Corporation to plant trees in the Ebony Park Agro Park in Clarendon. All the trees planted for NTPD will count towards the ‘Three Million Trees in Three Years’ National Tree Planting Initiative.