Jamaica hosted the presentation of the CoralCarib project, which seeks to restore and conserve the reefs of the Caribbean island nation, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Haiti, which together account for 60% of the Caribbean’s coral reefs.
CoralCarib will be implemented through the Cayman Head Foundation and will be financed by the Nature Conservancy and Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI).
The Caribbean has 10% of the world’s coral reefs, and the goal is to safeguard and create healthier and more resilient ecosystems that will contribute significantly to increasing biodiversity, economic prosperity and food security in the area.
Jamaica’s Minister of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Matthew Samuda, expressed his support for the coral reef conservation project and emphasized that CoralCarib will reinforce the government’s ongoing efforts to protect the underwater ecosystem.
In this regard, he indicated that a National Ocean and Coastal Zone Management Policy for Jamaica is being developed, as well as an Action Plan for corals and reefs.
For his part, the German Ambassador to Jamaica, Jan Hendrik van Thiel, said that CoralCaribe is one of nine projects being carried out in Jamaica thanks to his government’s support.
“In the projects Jamaica has been involved in, we have invested a total of $109 million,” Van Thiel said.
CoralCaribe will introduce innovative and novel scientific approaches, including an assessment and implementation plan for threat reduction.
“What is new for Jamaica is that we will be getting into the sexual reproduction of coral, which is something that has never been done successfully (in Jamaica),” said Denise Henry, director of the Cayman Head Foundation’s Research Program.
Source: Ntelemicro.com
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