Earth Today | Forestry project gives vulnerable groups livelihoods boost

MORE THAN 200 people, including members of the deaf community, small farmers, rural women, and elderly artisans, are to benefit under the Improved Forest Management and Livelihoods for a better Jamaica (IFMAL) project.

IFMAL, funded by the European Union (EU), is being implemented by RISE Life Management Services in collaboration with the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf with support from the Forestry Department.

Launched on International Day of Forests (March 21, 2022), the project is being funded to the tune of J$50 million (300,000 euros) and will see the roll-out of several activities to boost livelihoods, improve sustainable forest management and help to address climate impacts.

Speaking at the launch, Aniceto Rodriguez Ruiz, head of cooperation, Delegation of the EU to Jamaica, indicated that the project is a part of the EU’s wider budget support programme towards sustainable forest management in Jamaica and emphasises inclusiveness, especially for the disabled community.

“Last December, as a part of the wider project, four contracts were signed with organisations, including RISE. Under this contract, inclusivity is important for us, hence this project takes on an added significance following the activation of Jamaica’s disabilities act last month, which aims to protect the rights of persons living with disabilities,” he said in a release issued by the Forestry Department.

“The EU is hopeful that through this project, persons living with disabilities, small farmers and artisans will be empowered to make a way for themselves economically and help to span the forest coverage in Manchester,” he added.

The project, which will be rolled out over an 18-month period, will see outputs including:

• The establishment of a 10-acre arboretum and climate change and resilient agriculture training of 150 persons living with disabilities in collaboration with the Manchester-based Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf;

• Simulated forest planted by 65 small farmers planting a trifecta of trees, cocoa, Jamaican mahogany, and May pan coconut to mimic an actual forest and deliver the same benefits as an actual forest would in collaboration with the Forestry Department; and

• The creation of meaningful employment for new and existing artisans and small farmers to grow and harvest Jippi Jappa and Khus Khus grass in collaboration with Beenybud Jamaica.

An initial 65 small farmers will also be able to dry and export cocoa to international standards in collaboration with Tulloch Estates. IFMAL will also facilitate a study of the DNA of Jamaican Mahogany which is listed as an endangered species. The findings will be shared with the Forestry Department to complement efforts to restore pure Jamaican Mahogany.

Nadine Chambers Goss, executive director from RISE Life, welcomed the initiative for the impact it is anticipated to make.

“IFMAL is poised to make a significant contribution to the restoration and preservation of one of Jamaica’s key resources, our forests. What it also seeks to do is curtail deforestation and restoration of natural habitats to reduce the threat to livelihoods,” she said.

The project is one of four recently signed EU forestry-linked contracts. The other three projects will focus on conserving the forests in the Blue and John Crow Mountains; enhancing the capacity of dry forests in the Portland Bight Protected Area, and on building civil society awareness and capacity to engage in participatory budgeting and financial management for the forestry sector.