Lack of will, not expertise, stalling mangrove replanting

Mona Webber, Guest Columnist

I wish to respond to the article of Friday, February 28, 2014 captioned 'Contracts commission questions UWI's expertise on mangroves'.

The University of the West Indies (UWI) has been conducting research out of its Port Royal Marine Laboratory (PRML) since 1955, much of this focused on the mangrove forests and lagoons. From the days of Professor Ivan Goodbody, Drs Barry Wade, Elaine Fisher, George Warner and others, we have published numerous popular articles about mangrove forests, their biodiversity, their habitat requirements, their threats and, unfortunately, practices that lead to their destruction.

Anyone who would question the UWI's knowledge or expertise on mangroves has not been reading or listening very well over the last almost 60 years. The headline itself is slightly misleading. What we are told is being questioned is our expertise to "successfully replant mangroves".

The Port Royal Marine Laboratory formally established a coastal forest nursery with capacity for 10,000 mangrove and sand-dune plants in 2009, through a grant from the Forest Conservation Fund (FCF). Since that time we have produced and distributed hundreds of viable, healthy mangrove seedlings and saplings to organisations across the island. We have not only distributed the plants developed in the nursery but we have reviewed planting sites and recommended mitigation for successful mangrove restoration.

It is logical that if mangroves have died and are not recolonising, there is some environmental condition that is preventing natural regeneration. We, therefore, recommend alteration to drainage, addition of sediment/substrate, how to mitigate wave action that will uproot the new trees, etc. A mangrove nursery and restoration manual was produced as part of our FCF project report.

The statement, "There were previous efforts of replanting mangroves and they died" could mean anything! However, I believe the comment relates to the mangroves that previously existed along the Palisadoes that had to be removed prior to the roadway reconstruction. These mangroves were planted in 2009, through a collaborative effort between the UWI and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) using seedlings produced by the FCF project.

The roadway had more than 650 successfully planted mangrove saplings, many of which were too old to be easily relocated as they already had prop roots and other extensive rooting systems. The UWI was able to take back some of the younger plants into the nursery at PRML, but could not accommodate all 650.

Trees relocated

The remaining trees were relocated to other areas of the harbour unaffected by the roadway construction. The UWI did not conduct the relocation of the mangroves; however, we recommended mitigation like the construction of a "solid waste barrier" to keep plastics and other garbage away from the plants. This was not done, so of course, they died! Furthermore, the present condition of Kingston Harbour is hostile to mangrove regeneration; the sediment slope and extent is incorrect and solid waste brought onshore by wind and wave action can easily break or smother the young trees.

In January 2013, the National Works Agency (NWA) approached the UWI to assist with the development of a plan to revegetate the Palisadoes shoreline. A memorandum of agreement with detailed project description was drafted by May 2013. The UWI's input was always the replanting of mangrove and sand-dune vegetation along the roadway.

The UWI's agreement with the NWA had to be put on hold until the NWA could ensure that the appropriate sediment was in place for successful re-establishment of the coastal plants since the road construction left large boulders on both the mangrove (harbour side) and sand-dune side of the roadway. The UWI was never expected to replace mud/sand for mangrove and sand-dune replanting. This was always the job of the NWA.

In October 2013, the NWA secured the services of a consulting firm charged with the primary task of restoring appropriate sediment to the areas of the Palisadoes roadway so that replanting could take place. The NWA's consultant is a civil, environmental and coastal engineering firm with experience in coastal design.

We have had numerous meetings, and based on our research and experience, have recommended substrate type and slope for mangroves, as well as ways to mitigate damage to the plants by solid waste. We continue to provide recommendations to the NWA and its consultant.

Our draft agreement with the NWA for revegetation remains unsigned because the National Contracts Commission (NCC) questioned whether the UWI's proposal offered "value for money". The NWA consultant subsequently indicated that the UWI's proposal was reasonable: "We conclude that the proposal presented by UWI for the revegetation of the mangrove and dunes is in line with local prices and with engineer's estimate." The NCC now has questions about the UWI's "expertise".

That the UWI remains the only institution in Jamaica that produces seedlings and successfully restores mangroves is unquestionable. I have concluded that this stalling has little to do with expense (the UWI's portion of the $1.3-billion project is now J$50,433,510, over five years) or questionable expertise, but reflects a general lack of will to restore habitats that are damaged or destroyed by development.

Worthy project

Most developers only conduct or pay for habitat restoration when mandated by NEPA. Replanting, of especially mangroves, along the shores of the harbour will restore vital ecosystem functions and provide breeding sites for fish and other wildlife. This is a worthy project which has the following among its objectives:

1. To recreate/re-establish the ecology previously disturbed on mangrove and sand dune areas by the execution of the Palisadoes Protection and Rehabilitation Project.

2. To reduce the visual impact of the hard solutions that have been implemented.

3. To improve the vegetative cover of the entrance to Kingston from the Norman Manley International Airport, contributing to the overall aesthetics of the area.

4. To conduct the mangrove rehabilitation plan under the stipulations of the National Environment and Planning Agency.

The UWI remains committed to assist with this project as we continue to serve the nation as one of the premier research and teaching institutions in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Mona Webber is a marine ecologist and lecturer in Department of Life Sciences, UWI, Mona. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and mona.webber@uwimona.edu.jm.