CCAM will work closely with partners and stakeholders to document each stage of the project though photographs, videos. Reports assessing progress towards forest restoration and how this will be applied in the PBPA and its relevance to the Caribbean Dry Forest restoration will be prepared.
Knowledge products will include short video stories, success, challenges and next steps.
Recovery of the forest from a fire that ravished over two-thirds of the Ridge in 2005 and the passage of Hurricane Ivan in 2014 has been slower that expected and active intervention is needed. Pilot work will be supported by building community support for fire management, community engagement, public education, awareness building and enforcement.
Gender Focus
Southern Clarendon is one of the most impoverished rural community in Jamaica and one of the most vulnerable to climate change. Sugar was once the mainstay of the economy. Fishing and farming are the predominant occupations in the community for men and women operate from spin off industries as fish-scalers, shop and bar operators and boat owners. The project will target person off all ages and gender for participation in stakeholder consolations, training and project implementation based on their skills, ability and interest. Special effort will be made to identify and involve special interest groups.
Planning non gef grant
The USFS project will allow C-CAM to continue activities implemented in this project.
Replication of project activities
The project could be replicated in other dry forests within Jamaica. The exclusion plots need more time for monitoring to
determine the lessons from that aspect of the project. The Conservation Garden programme has potential for build-out in PBPA as well as replication in other areas across Jamaica.
Policy Influence
The project provided the opportunity to solidify a partnership with key agencies (Forestry Department, National Environment
Planning Agency (NEPA), Jamaica Fire Bridged and the Clarendon Municipal Corporation through an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as well as through training and other engagement activities undertaken during project implementation in an effort to help realize Vision 2020 strategic goal 4: Sustainable Management and use of Environmental and Natural Resources.
Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods
The project seeks develop a restoration plan for the Portland Ridge that will establish the framework for other activities. These activities involves upgrade of the existing conservation nursery to include more species and facilities for additional plants. Trial plots will be established. An additional exhibition space will be established at the PBDC dedicated to forest conservation, community outreach, engagement and monitoring and enforcement of sustainable practices in the forests of Portland Ridge.
Participatory process will be used to establish a fire management plan, with the assistance of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, and develop a fire management training for community members and partners.
Notable Community Participation
There are very few opportunities for the youth in the community. Youth organizations will be targeted for participation in project activities especially in the planting, maintenance and development of economic activities (selling of seedlings for replanting). In carrying out project activities local employment will be provided to some youths in the conservation gardens project. The expectation is that youths will be employed as guides and entrepreneurs as part of the community based eco-tourism initiative.
Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment
There will be ongoing sharing of information related to project implementation with community members, CBOs and other key partners through the Community Development Officer (CDO). A forest user group will be established to regularly discuss issues related to forest management and community monitoring programme. The community will be engaged in the restoration efforts through the forest interpretation module and conservancy nursery.
Project sustainability
This project included a seed collection and germination component, which is designed to do the groundwork for a much larger, long-term effort to take restoration to a larger
scale, by working with the community and stakeholders to replant and promote natural regeneration of the dry forests of Portland Ridge, while protecting them from further damage from fire. The nursery and its staff, the conservation garden programme and the community monitoring programmes
are already part of C-CAM?s long term plans with support coming from various sources including revenue from visitors to the Portland Bight Discovery Centre (which we expect will increase as a result of the additional attraction of the permanent forest exhibition) and funding from the
Government of Jamaica and other donors. This will ensure on-going monitoring and assessment of trial plots, the continuation of testing of out-planting of various endangered plant species using varying methods which will continue in the long-term until the trees mature.
The fire management MOU we are signing with NEPA, Forestry Department, Clarendon Municipal Corporation and the Jamaica Fire Brigade, Clarendon Branch will support future training of
community firefighters (including costs of 2 training sessions) as well as response in the event of fires. The arrangement with the PWD Gun club allows for access to space to implement
monitoring plots which we will monitor with C-CAM staff and community volunteers going forward. It also says they will keep in a secure space and make available the forest fire fighting tools purchased under the project. It is our intention to formalize that arrangement. The seedlings in the shade house will be continuously planted out by the staff and community
volunteers (Conservation Gardeners). Once the Portland Bight Discovery Centre (including forest interpretation space and shade house) is opened to the public, we expect to continue to have persons viewing the forest display (at a cost) and buying seedlings which will bring income to CCAM as well as community tour guides.
The United States Forest Service (USFS) funded project entitled ?Supporting Environmental Education and Community-based Tourism in Jamaica?s Portland Bight Protected Area? will
continue to support the work done under the GEF SGP project and the overall C-CAM education and ecotourism programme. It will include upgrades to the Conservation Garden space including shade house and selling area for plants and additional interpretation material to continue the build-out in the forest interpretation display space. It will also include the installation of a ramp at the exit door and general works at the PBDC.
The project also supported the Integrated Watershed and Ecosystem Management (IWEco) regional project currently under implementation by NEPA.
Project Results
Dry Forest Restoration Plan developed; Nursery upgrades identified and upgrade work completed; Species identified, seeds collected, planted and maintained; Sites and types of restoration plots identified; Trial restoration plots established, maintained and monitored.
Community member?s capacity was increased through their participation in group sessions, on-site demonstration and hands-on experiences. Environmental awareness was also achieved through Social media postings on C-CAM?s Facebook page, tours to the PBDC to learn about forest management for community members and students? training sessions with community members to include: the collection of seeds and seedlings, germination of seeds, use of fire management tools and hands-on experience in fire management as well as the establishment of exclusion monitoring plots.
Consultation sessions were had with community members before and during the implementation of the project. These consultation sessions included both male and female from youth to senior citizens. Participants, both male and female were given the same access to training, information sharing, and any other support needed to carry out project activities. Group discussions were had with community members during activities to know how much they have garnered and to get feedback on the project.
16 males were engaged during the implementation of the project within the age range of 18- 70. They benefited from the following: Seven (7) Individuals are certified fire wardens and are a part of the Conservation Garden Programme. Increased capacity: individuals are more knowledgeable about environmental issues affecting the dry forest and other ecosystems. Additionally, they are more knowledgeable about some of the plants spices that exist in their environment. They are now equipped with basic fire management skill and equipment to enable them to be able to respond and mitigated against forest fire. Short-term employment: Nine (9) Individuals were employed to conduct small scale jobs during the implementation of the project (seed collection, plant out sessions, construction of fence for the exclusion plot).
Community networking: participants from communities such as Salt River, Mitchell Town and Portland
Cottage were engaged during the project promoting knowledge sharing and best practices among
participants. Persons spoke of fire incidents they had previously been involved in and how they
successfully dealt with them so others could learn from that experience. Participants were also able
to take information and skills back to their community and share with other members of their
community. An example, after the Forest Fire Warden training there was a fire in Portland Ridge
forest, adjacent to the Portland Cottage community. The participants who lived in that area used
the knowledge (e.g. using bush to beat the fire) received to respond to the fire and they were able
to call the Jamaica Fire Brigade quickly, while managing and extinguishing the fire mostly on their
own.
Nineteen (19) females were engaged in the following: Eight (8) individuals are certified fire wardens and are a part of the Conservation Garden Their capacity was increased; they are more knowledgeable about environmental issues affecting the dry forest and other ecological systems. Also, they are better able to identify some of the plants spices that exist in their environment as well as the process involved in plant management (seed collection to out planting). During the Fire Warden training, individuals learnt basic First Aid methods. Females who participated in the Fire Forest Warden training were involved in relinquishing the above fire (including smothering fire with bush). Short-term employment: 12 individuals were employed to conduct small scale jobs during the implementation of the project (seed collection, germination and management of seedlings, plant out sessions).
Through Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (C-CAMF) educational program, some 512 youths (10-25 years old) from across the island were engaged. They were engaged through educational tours at the Portland Bight Discovery Centre, school?s environment club visits, educational fairs and other public outreach activities. Five (5) individuals between the age of (18- 25) are now certified Forest Fire Wardens and are a part of the Conservation Garden Programme.
Increased capacity: They are more knowledgeable about dry forest conservation, importance of dry
forests and other ecological systems in their environment. Environmental science is a component of
the Primary, Secondary and tertiary curriculum. As such individual visited the facility the get hands
on experience about dry forest through presentations, excursions into the nearby dry forest of the
Braziletto Mountain and a visit to the dry forest interpretation facility funded by the is project
(including the Conservation Garden) at the Portland Bight Discovery Centre (PBDC). The information
gained from the engagement is then incorporated into their lesson. C-CAMF also engaged youth
through visits to schools where students were engaged through interactive sessions about forest
conservation. Short-term employment: Youths were employed to conduct small scale jobs during the
implementation of the project (seed collection, plant out session).
As part of the education component there were several poster boards created and installed in the forest interpretation space on the value and importance of the dry forest highlighting reptiles, mammals and invertebrates found there; plants and birds found in dry forests, location of dry forests in the PBPA as well as forest ecology.
A knowledge management video was developed as part of Caribbean Coastal Area Management
Foundation (C-CAMF) environmental education programme. This video will be shown on the screen in
the dry forest interpretation centre allowing visitors to have a visual experience while learning about
the dry forest. Additionally, this video will be replicated and use during outreach activities as a tool
to increase participants knowledge about dry forest. The video gives a brief overview of the types
dry forest, flora and fauna that exist within Portland Bight Protected Area. It highlights also how
individuals benefit from these forests. See link to view video.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1owaOYGlULpVNIGqU6WEvTTA6Umll-BTQ/view?usp=sharing
