Management and Rehabilitation of Coastal Resources in the Third World: Jamaican Model for Seagrass Restoration

Abstract The Global Conservation Strategy launched by the United Nations Environmental Program emphasized the importance of wise resource use and management of coastal resources. The Caribbean Action Plan signed in 1982 pointed out the importance of coastal resources to environmental health of the Caribbean. Some developing nations such as Jamaica already had realized the importance of their coastal resources. Jamaica has approximately 200 miles of coastline which is fringed by mangrove forests and beaches, has large seagrass meadows and offshore corals. In the process of development of urban centers, infrastructure, and industries, tens of thousands of acres of seagrasses have been decimated. An important step in making seagrass resources and their fisheries nursery function sustainable was to transfer the technology of seagrass rehabilitation to Jamaica. It had never before been attempted in the tropics or the Third World. A set of 20 test locations for seagrass rehabilitation was jointly decided upon, including various portions of the coastline, various major types of pollution impacts and different environments (open ocean, coastline and estuary). At each site, the major types of seagrasses found in the area were planted. The results of this project show that the technology of seagrass rehabilitation can be transferred to the tropics. Test plots grew well on a variety of impacts. In some cases, seagrass beds coalesced in four months.