Earth Today | 30 years and counting
Blue and John Crow Mountains mark three decades as national park
Published:Thursday | February 23, 2023 | 12:28 AM
THE BLUE and John Crow Mountains, home to diverse, endemic plants and animals, and a local treasure as a place to unwind and reboot, is celebrating three decades as a national park – the only one in Jamaica.
To mark the occasion, park managers, the Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT), is reigniting efforts to promote interest in the park, while seeking to entice various stakeholders, including members of the public, to loosen their purse strings and invest in its management and improvement.
“The Blue and John Crow Mountains are one of the world’s most important places for biological diversity. The ecosystem services provided, including water supply and climate change mitigation and adaptation, are essential for Jamaica’s health, well-being and economy. Unfortunately, we do not have enough funding to secure and sustain conservation management of the site,” noted Dr Susan Otuokon, executive director of the JCDT.
“This is Jamaica’s only national park and the only World Heritage Site in the Caribbean listed for both cultural and natural heritage. We need more Jamaicans involved in taking care of this special place. So, for its 30th anniversary we will be making an all-out effort to get Jamaicans involved in supporting the national park through our Friends of the Blue Mountains Programme, guided tours, company recharge events, and other activities,” she added.
It begins with this weekend’s park event to launch the 30th anniversary celebrations at Holywell – and to which all members of the public are invited. The event, which begins at 1:30 p.m. and offers parking at Newcastle, with complimentary shuttle to and from Holywell, will feature a panel discussion on ‘Reimagining Nanny – Queen of the Mountains’ and the unveiling of a bust of Queen Nanny as matriarch, together with performances from the Jamaican Folk Singers and Charles Town Maroon drummers and dancers.
According to Otuokon, the basic annual budget for the national park – which spans 41,198 hectares (or 101,313 acres) and includes Jamaica’s highest point, the Blue Mountain Peak at 2,256 metres (or 7,401 feet) – was in 2010 independently assessed at US$600,000.
“We receive less than 30 per cent from the relevant government agencies and raise the remainder mainly through project funding and operation of Holywell and the Peak Trail. However, many project donors do not fund salaries or core operational costs, despite the high level of project and financial reporting required,” she explained.
“The JCDT estimates we need at least US$100,000 per year in unrestricted funds to secure the professional management to support our field and project staff and ensure high-quality, impactful conservation management,” she added.
While they work to grow support for the park, their routine operations continue with the implementation of their seven management programmes, including ‘Conservation of Natural Heritage’, notably, forest restoration with native species and control of invasive species; and ‘Preservation of Cultural Heritage’, through the work with Windward Maroon communities and relevant government agencies.
There is also the ‘Enforcement and Compliance’ management programme, with its focus on interpretive enforcement; ‘Public Education and Outreach’, which tackles local communities and their participation in agriculture and tourism; ‘Monitoring and Evaluation’, with a focus on increasing wildlife monitoring; and ‘Governance and Administration’, which is about improving management systems and encouraging greater citizen support for the site.
For Otuokon, who was also a member of staff at JCDT, when the national park was designated in 1993, it has been a labour of love and one she believes will continue to bear fruit.
“We have seen vast improvements in technology moving from the ‘fridge’ phone to using smartphones for data capture and production of national park ranger patrol reports. We are testing remote fire-detection and warning systems, and will be working with Birds Caribbean to install a Motus wildlife tracking system at Holywell to better monitor birds in the national park,’ she said on reflection.
“We could not do this without funding from the US government’s Neotropical Migratory Birds Conservation Act Fund. We still think that gaining UNESCO’s stamp of approval as a World Heritage Site is one of our biggest achievements,” Otuokon added.