During the passage of two hurricanes in July 2005, followed by further flood rains and another hurricane later in the season, all 26 watersheds across Jamaica suffered severely from prolonged and heavy rainfall which caused widespread damage and destruction that affected livelihoods and exacerbated problems associated with development, i.e. highways, hotels, housing, and mining.

Because of their denuded and degraded condition, the catchment areas were particularly susceptible to excessive precipitation and runoff that resulted in massive erosion and landslides, downstream flooding and silting, damage to roads, water supplies and infrastructure, and loss of housing, crops, livestock, personal property and human lives.

Evidently, we have been experiencing a cycle of severe weather changes, locally and internationally, which seems likely to continue increasing in severity and frequency. Therefore, it is critical that we begin to focus on adaptation and mitigation measures, rather than just react to each event. Adaptation and mitigation measures require a firm understanding of the complex interactions and inter-linkages among various components within watersheds, as well as the involvement of the inhabitants and other users of the watersheds in designing appropriate programmes that are based on the use of both scientific and local knowledge.

Under EFJ funding, The Forest Conservancy (TFC) is currently collaborating with two local watershed groups (Reckford JAS, Clarendon and Yallahs Development Area, St Thomas) to provide them with technical support to carry out reforestation projects. What has emerged is that as we proceed with specific project activities, more and more we see other issues being identified and highlighted by the participants. All of which emphasizes the need to undertake such initiatives in holistic manner.

The overall goal of the project is to assist local communities in critical upper watershed areas to develop the requisite technical capacity to plan and undertake adaptation and mitigation activities towards natural disaster risk reduction.

The project will identify local community groups in selected critical watersheds and assist the residents with capacity building support to enable them to identify conservation needs. Ultimately, they will be able to attract donor financing for sustainable, integrated watershed management initiatives that will arrest degradation of lands and restore protective vegetation and forest cover.

The project will create a higher level of awareness and understanding of conservation issues within the communities that will enable residents to identify suitable sites for conservation, rehabilitation and protection and to plan for effective execution of appropriate measures. Such capacity development will enable attraction of donor funding to carry out specific related activities in these areas. It will also assist in creating a full awareness of the linkages between land use practices, natural disasters and their impact on the natural environment and is expected to help in changing perceptions, knowledge and attitudes with respect to the natural environment.

Expected outcomes of the project
The project expects to focus on institutional strengthening of local watershed management groups to plan reforestation and conservation actions in critical watersheds. The project is expected to impart knowledge on watersheds and the linkages between human practices and environmental degradation. It will also allow them to be able to determine the types and extent of the issues with the use of both scientific and local knowledge. Use of open participation methods will allow broad participation in whatever endeavours they intend to take on in the future. The project activities will also highlight areas related to group management.