Gov’t partners with EU on climate change adaptation project

The Government of Jamaica and the European Union have partnered on a climate change adaptation project. The project, titled”A Jamaican Path from Hills to Ocean”, is funded in part by a grant from the European Global Climate Change Alliance Plus in the amount of euro 4.9 million (J$859,506,060), as well as a contribution from the Government of Jamaica of euro 1.9 million (J$192,950,340)

The project, which was originally set to begin in November 2020, was affected by COVID-19. It will now be implemented in four watershed management units (WMUs) in Jamaica. These units are the Wag Water and Rio Nuevo in St Mary, the Rio Bueno/White River in St. Ann and Trelawny.

In Trelawny, five extension areas will be affected. They are Lowe River, Albert Town, Warsop in south Trelawny, and Jackson Town and Falmouth in northern Trelawny.

Courtney Taylor is manager of Rural Agriculture Development Area (RADA) in Trelawny from which the extension officers assigned to the project will be drawn.

He explained: “The overall objective of the project is to increase resilience to climate change and reduce poverty by protecting livelihoods. A rapid ecological assessment was done by the University of The West Indies (UWI) in all the extension areas to ascertain the types of intervention that are required and to match resources to identified needs.” Taylor said that extension teams are now scheduled to visit sites in the Rio Bueno watershed area.

“These visits will seek to identify vulnerable areas and to make recommendations for possible interventions with respect to integrated and sustainable landscape management climate change adaptation. As soon as that is completed, subsequently, a team from the head office will visit the parish to do further assessment.” He said 150 farmers in the parish stand to benefit once the project is completed.

Custos of the parish, Hugh Gentles, who is also a farmer in the Lowe River area, welcomed the project, saying, “It will have a positive effect on our approach to farming, especially in the cultivation of Irish potato.”