The Bogue Forest Estate, which is a part of the watersheds of both the Dunn?s River and Cave River, has been reforested through funds provided by the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica for a Dunn?s River Watershed Management Project implemented by Friends of the Sea. This project involved the planting of 120, 000 trees over a 230 hectare area, and a community outreach and education component. The community mobilisation and environmental education programmes have increased the awareness of the member communities of the Hills United Development Organisation (HUDO) to the importance of the watershed, its role in coastal zone protection and their role as stewards of the environment.

However, these communities, Snow Hill, Parry Town and Pimento Walk, have high levels of unemployment. If the Bogue forest Estate is not utilised to provide livelihoods for residents HUDO fears that the unsustainable use of the resources that existed before the intervention will resume, and the investment in the reforestation exercise will be lost. These activities involved rearing of animals in the watershed and the resultant pollution of water sources, cutting of trees and removal of topsoil.

They impacted on the water quality of both rivers, degraded the Bogue Forest Estate and consequently that section of the watershed area. The nature trail development will also provide employment for approximately 30 persons and provide environmentally friendly alternative livelihoods for community members. This will help to protect the natural resource base of the Bogue Forest estate and complement the reforestation programme.

The consequences of no development could be a resumption of environmentally unfriendly activities resulting in pollution of the Dunn?s River, our premier tourist attraction, and the Cave River which is the source of water for parts of St. Ann and St. Mary. The gains made by HUDO and Friends of the Sea in instilling environmental stewardship into the communities could also be eroded as the communities are unable to identify tangible benefits to their members.

Global oil prices have significantly increased the costs of producing electricity in Jamaica and the use of electricity generated by the Jamaica Public Service Company would be a major cost for HUDO and reduce their competitiveness. The integration of the use of solar energy into the development of the planned nature trail will allow HUDO to utilise a renewable form of energy and reduce the attraction?s operational costs. The burning of fossil fuels pollutes the environment through the release of gases high in carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), which contribute to global warming and therefore climate change.

The integration of the use of solar energy into the operation of the nature trail will ensure that this development will not contribute directly to the release gases which impact adversely on climate change.

The main goals of the project are (a) the development of an ecotourism attraction which will generate alternative livelihoods for the communities of Parry Town, Pimento Walk and Snow Hill, protect (b) Application of renewable energy to the attraction and (c) To continue the reforestation of the Bogue Forest Estate.