International Union for the Conservation of Nature writes to the Jamaican Government re: Goat Islands

Please see below yesterday’s press release from the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET). The  International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has expressed deep concern over the proposed transshipment port. It notes that the Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA) has been recognized as a Key Biodiversity Area (by the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund), an Important Bird Area (by BirdLife International), an Alliance for Zero Extinction site, and a Wetlands of International Importance (identified by the Ramsar Convention) and points out that Jamaica is a Party to the Convention on Biodiversity. There have been other pleas, local and international, not to develop the PBPA near to Goat Islands. Will this two-page letter from such an important international institution (co-signed by the IUCN’s Director General and Species Survival Commission Chair) fall on deaf ears, too? 

IUCN Species Survival Commission.

The Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) has learned that the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has written to the Jamaican government expressing concern about the proposed port development in the Portland Bight Protected Area near to the Goat Islands.

The letter is dated 29^th January 2014 and is addressed to the Minister of Land Water Environment and Climate Change, Hon Robert Pickersgill.  Signed by the Director General [Julia Marton-Lefèvre], the letter outlines the valuable natural resources and ecosystem functions provided by the Portland Bight Protected Area.

The IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, founded in 1948.  It is a leading authority on biological diversity and sustainable development with more than 1,200 member organizations, including over 200 governments.  Conserving biodiversity is central to the IUCN’s mission, particularly as a means to address global challenges such as climate change and food security.  Jamaica is a member of the IUCN.

JET thanks the IUCN for their interest in Jamaica and hopes the Jamaican Government will take on board the many concerns outlined in the letter, specifically the need for a Strategic Environmental Assessment before any decision is taken about this controversial project.

For further details contact: Diana McCaulay, CEO, Tel: (876) 469-1315

For more on the IUCN, go to: http://www.iucn.org  There is a good page there explaining the importance of biodiversity: http://www.iucn.org/what/biodiversity/about/ and additional information on the Species Survival Commission: http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/species/who_we_are/about_the_species_survival_commission_/

A glimpse of the large, pristine mangrove forest that surrounds the Goat Islands. The vegetation, and in particular the mangroves, provide millions of dollars’ worth of carbon sequestration services annually – an important factor in the fight against climate change. (Photo: Max Earle)

 

Goat Islands, Portland Bight Protected Area, which is designated a Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, to which Jamaica is a signatory. (Photo: Max Earle)