National parks
Jamaica, has, among its protected areas, a national park. It is the Blue Mountains National Park. It protects the eponymous mountain range, which is among the highest peaks in the Caribbean. Classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site, the park is home to a remarkable biodiversity.
Anthropogenic pressures
The human activities from which the territory benefits (tourism, mining, intensive agriculture, overfishing) are based on natural resources. However, these activities contribute to the change in land use, the destruction and pollution of natural environments, the loss of biodiversity, and climate change. Faced with this observation, actions have been taken since the end of the 1980s. These include restoration programs for natural environments, such as reforestation or regeneration of coral reefs. These operations are also accompanied by awareness-raising actions. In 2018, a study, financed by the United Nations Environment Program, was launched to characterize mercury discharges that could contaminate the food chain, in order to implement preventive actions. In Jamaica, mercury pollution is mainly linked to bauxite mining. This mining activity generates significant environmental and health impacts. The takeover in 2017 of a former mining site by a Chinese multinational company has generated many reactions.
The prevalent issue of waste
Waste production on the island was estimated at 800,000 tons in 2019. The collection and treatment facilities remain insufficient (saturation of the Rae Town landfill). It is estimated that a quarter of waste production ends its life in nature (street, rivers, gully near the port of Kingston) with the final outlet being the ocean, with consequent environmental and health impacts. The prevalence of plastics in this waste feeds the plastic pollution of the oceans. Faced with this fact, measures have been taken on the island, such as the ban on single-use plastic, which has been implemented in several phases, from 2019 to 2021. It has been accompanied by awareness-raising actions among different audiences. Programs co-financed by international donors are also being implemented to set up waste reduction initiatives at the source, in particular through the circular economy. One example is an initiative created in Rae Town in 2019 around the "4R" approach (Refuse, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle). The aim was to facilitate plastic recycling, via the implementation of a complete chain, including the encouragement of selective sorting by residents, the selective collection of plastic, thanks to a dedicated truck, the design and manufacture of recycled plastic objects, then their sale for the benefit of the community. A partnership with a local company has made it possible to manufacture products, sometimes designed by the inhabitants, notably during idea contests. Public companies are encouraged to reduce plastic at the source and collection points have been set up in one of the country's supermarkets, rewarding residents for each kilo of plastic waste deposited. A project is also underway to set up a complete process: pre-collection, collection, treatment, recycling or disposal of waste similar to household waste.
The invasion of sargassum or the symbol of global pollution
The island is periodically confronted with the stranding of sargassum. The proliferation of these brown algae has direct economic repercussions on the territory (seaside activities and fishing), has environmental impacts (disruption of local biodiversity), and health risks for those exposed. This phenomenon is linked to intensive agriculture in the Amazon. Massive deforestation and intensive use of inputs - phosphates and nitrates - generate a leaching of soils, whose effluents end up in the river and then in the ocean, where they create favorable conditions for the development of Sargassum. The currents then carry the algae to the Caribbean Sea. The sand mists from the Sahara would also contribute to the movement of Sargassum. Global warming could induce the more frequent occurrence of these sand mists. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is currently collaborating with the Global Center for Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management (GTRCM), to study the best way to prevent Sargassum stranding. A monitoring system also exists: http: //sargassummonitoring.com/
Facing climate change
Jamaica is particularly vulnerable to climate change. This could result in a greater intensity and frequency of extreme events, in a country exposed to many natural hazards (cyclones, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis). It could also disrupt marine ecosystems and weaken fisheries resources, aggravate the rise in water levels, threatening coastal areas where the population is concentrated. The prevalence of vector-borne diseases (chikungunya, zika, dengue) could also increase, with conditions conducive to the development of aedes mosquitoes. Faced with the ecological emergency, the country is asserting itself as a spearhead for the climate. Jamaica is indeed committed to the Caribbean Regional Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (which proposes actions funded by the Green Climate Fund). But it also feeds paradoxes, as environmental activists, including Youth for Climate, point out. While the Prime Minister's speeches constantly celebrate the country's position as a climate leader, the facts sometimes contradict his words. For example, the government has given the green light for the construction of a vast luxury hotel complex, the first shovelful of which has destroyed mangroves, protective ecosystems and reservoirs of biodiversity.
