Portland Bight Proteced Area

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Portland Bight Proteced Area"

Ralf Horn
5 years ago
Views:

Portland Bight Proteced Area Short Name Portland Bight Country Jamaica Description The Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA) was created by the Jamaican Government in 1999, and is the country's

The coastline includes the largest mangrove system in Jamaica, which together with extensive sea-grass beds and coral reefs, likely contains the largest nursery area for fish and shellfish on the

1 Portland Bight Proteced Area Short Name Portland Bight Country Jamaica Description The Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA) was created by the Jamaican Government in 1999, and is the country's largest protected area. The coastline includes the largest mangrove system in Jamaica, which together with extensive sea-grass beds and coral reefs, likely contains the largest nursery area for fish and shellfish on the island Ecoregion location SWCaribbean Boundaries Vere Plains Region. Beginning at the high water mark at a point where the road to Macarry Bay fishing beach (Beauchamps) meets the shoreline of Jamaica, then northwesterly and north-easterly along the road to the intersection at Beacham Cottage.Latitude, 17 44' 15" N, Longitude, 77 7' 17" W; Rivers, Rio Minho and many small rivers; Roads, A4. Portland Bight - Page 1/5

2 Map URL Total Surface area 1876 Land Surface area 520 Sea Surface area 1356 Shoreline area 1218 Site national category Protected Area Multiple Use Management Area Site international designation Ramsar site No since 2006 IUCN category IV Designation Legally Designated Date established 1999/04/22 Legal citation Section 5 of the National Resources Conservation (1991) Act. Citation reference URL Other legal designations Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act, 1996 Primary responsible institution Caribbean Coastal Area Management (C-CAM) Foundation Primary contact Peter A. Espeut, Executive Director, Caribbean Coastal Area Management (C-Cam) Foundation Address P.O. Box 33, Lionel Town, Clarendon Phone number ; 3344; 3573 Fax number pespeut@infochan.com Web site Climate Annual precipitation, around 3750mm/year; Geological features Portland Bight - Page 2/5

3 cliffs, terraces, beaches, rocky shores, keys, caves Hydrological features sheet flow, rivers drainage, streams drainage Other hydrological features Salt marches (Typha domingensis and Phragmites australis), open water, wetlands (floodplain of the Rio Minho), streams Terrestrial habitats Dry limestone forest (41%), dry shale forest, mesic alluvium forest, mesic shale forest, mesic shale forest, very wet alluvium forest, wooden berms, sedges (Cladium jamaicensis, Typha domingensis, Phragmites australis) Terrestrial flora and fauna species One of the most important faunal resources in the Portland Bight Protected Area are the resident, vagrant and migrant forest, wetland, sea and shore birds. At least thirteen (13) of Jamaicaâ s twenty-five (25) endemic species and eleven (11) of Jamaicaâ s twenty-one (21) endemic sub-species make their home in the tropical dry limestone forests and the extensive mangroves and salt marshes surrounding the Bight. These are: Endemic Species: Â Banana Quit (Coerba flaveola) Â Black-Billed Parrot (Amazona agilis) Â Jamaican Euphonia (Euphonia Jamaica) Â Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo (or Old Woman Bird or Rain Bird or May Bird) (Saurothera vetula) Â J Marine habitats Coral reefs, 14 small coral cays, coral islands, seagrass beds (Thalassia testudinium), wetlands (16%), mangrove stands (Fringe mangrove, Red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, Black mangrove, Avicennia germinans, White mangrove, Laguncularia racemosa, Buttonwood mangrove, Conocarpus erectus), mangrove islands Marine flora Aquatic plants (Isoetes jamaicensis), Endemic cactus (Opuntia jamaicensis), mangrove swamps Marine invertebrates and fishes Reef fihes and invertebrates Marine mammals, birds and sea turtles Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) were once common in Jamaica, but overhunting and habitat destruction have decimated their populations. Since 1993 CCAM and the Jamaican Sea Turtle Recovery Network (STRN) have been working together to protect a Endangered species The site constitutes a critical feeding and breeding location as well as a general habitat for internationally threatened species such as the cave frog (Eleutherodactylus cavernicola), the Jamaican boa (Epicrates subflavus), the endemic hutia or coney (Geocapromys brownii), and the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus). An endemic cactus (Opuntia jamaicensis) is also considered endangered under CITES. Sea turtles. endemic birds species and sub-species, Plain Pigeon (Columba inornata exigua), West Indian Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna arborea), Game birds, White-crowned pigeon (Columba leucocephala), White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica), Mourning Dove, (Zenaida macroura), waterfowl. Fish, endemic freshwater fish (Gambusia wragi and L Special aggregation sites Portland Bight has the largest remaining mangrove system in Jamaica (The Great Salt Pond, Portland Bight - Page 3/5

4 Galleon Harbour, West Harbour, the Goat Islands and almost all areas between), which, together with extensive sea-grass beds and coral reefs, provide probably the l Primary management institution By status, Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA); By designation, Caribbean Coastal Area Management (C-CAM) Foundation Other institutions that participate in management Ministry of Land and the Environment, Forestry Department, Fisheries Division, Clarendon Parish Council, St, Catherine Parish Council, UWI, Co-management councils (fisheries, tourism and communities) Personnel Board of Directors: Chaiman, Members (7); Staff: Executive Director, Community Coordinator, Science Officer/Fish Sanctuary Manager, Information Technology Trainer/Accountant/Librarian, Library Assistant/Clerical Assistant, Field Officers (2), Conservation Officers (4), Public Education Officers (2) Management objectives species protection, ecosystem protection, fisheries management Other management objectives Co-management, Botanical Garden, Biodiversity Conservation Centre Management framework Yes Date of establishment of management framework 1998 Last update of management framework "Management Plan for Portland Bight Protected Area Management programmes co management with private sector, education outreach program, fisheries regulations, institutional arrangements for management, monitoring program, natural resources damage assessment authority, research program, zoning scheme Other zone types Natural nature reserves, species management areas, habitat management areas, recreation areas Funding sources Seacology (new office, barracks, field station, enforcement equipment), government subvention, collection of user fees, income from a trust fund, profits from tourism activities and merchandising, grants to meet necessary capital expenditures Fisheries resources Finfish, mollusk, crustacean population, lobster, shrimp, oysters, conch. Most productive fishery in Jamaica. Monitoring programmes coral reef health, coral reef resilience, fish surveys, sea turtles Issues or threats for accomplishing management objectives Several industries which operate within and outside the protected area release effluent into streams and gullies which end up in the waters of Portland Bight. Of note is the dunder from the sugar factories and distilleries within the PBPA and in the buff Areas of special expertise for knowledge transfer Portland Bight - Page 4/5

5 Portland Bight - Page 5/5

The implementation of Ramsar Convention in Lebanon

The implementation of Ramsar Convention in Lebanon Nabil Assaf Ramsar Focal point Ministry of Environment Regional meeting, LAS Cairo 22-25 June 2009 Date of Ratification: 16 August, 1999 4 Ramsar sites