Government allocates funds to monitor mangrove rehabilitation

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Feb. 19, CMC – The Government of Jamaica has allocated J$3 million for the continued monitoring of the rehabilitation of mangroves along the Palisadoes Strip in Kingston.
Palisadoes is a strip of land between 14km to 16 km long that joins the town of Port Royal to the parish of Kingston and almost encloses the Kingston Harbour.
The allocation, which has been made in the 2017/18 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, will complete works on the Palisadoes shoreline and road project.
The overall objective of the project is to protect the integrity and viability of the investments made by the Government of Jamaica in the Palisadoes shoreline work and ensure that citizens have reliable access between home, school, healthcare facilities and work.
It also aims to have the corridor less susceptible to flooding, while also protecting the Kingston Harbour from storm surges.
The project, which had an original duration of July 2010 to June 2012, was further extended from July 2012 to March 2018.
All revetment works, road construction works, waterline replacement and environmental consultancy are complete.
A contract was awarded for the re-vegetation and rehabilitation of the mangroves under the environmental sub-project.
The project is funded by the China Exim Bank and the Government of Jamaica
In 2009, approximately 700 mangrove seedlings were planted along the Palisadoes Strip by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) in collaboration with the Port Royal Marine Laboratory of the University of the West Indies.
The activity was the second such event done as a part of the activities for International Year of the Reef (IYOR) 2008 in which a total of 1,400 mangrove seedlings and coastal plants were planted along Palisadoes .
Mangroves are important for the protection of coral reefs, as they filter out pollutants and trap sediments from land runoffs which could kill the reef.
They also act as a nursery for fish that live on the reef, and helps in stablilizing the shoreline and reduces erosion.