NCRPS takes over Negril Marine Park
The Natural Resources Conservation Authority recently signed over the management of the Negril Marine Park to the Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society (NRCPS).
The delegation instrument was signed by both parties on October 9 and the National Environmental and Planning Agency (NEPA) will monitor and review its implementation on behalf of the NRCA. That agency was one of four which merged to form NEPA in 2001.
In 1998, the Negril Marine Park became the second marine park to be declared a protected area. The Montego Bay Marine Park was declared in 1992, while the park in Ocho Rios was declared in 1999.
According to the terms of the delegation agreement, the NCRPS must “develop, implement and monitor plans and programmes” for the marine park that are in keeping with the Marine Park Management Plan. The plans include activities related to public awareness, research and training. The NCRPS will also revise the Management Plan as appropriate – in collaboration with NEPA – and act as an advisor to the Authority on policy issues concerning the park’s natural resources.
The practical execution of its duties under the agreement will require the NCRPS to construct facilities, monitor compliance with Marine Park regulations and investigate any potential or actual damage to the environment. NCRPS must also report all environmental incidents and breaches of the environmental laws.
NEPA will also assist the NCRPS with capacity building, including training, information and research assistance where necessary. The Agreement also provides a management fee for the NCRPS and provides for the establishment of a user fee system for the marine park — covering uses such as commercial photography on underwater species, scuba diving, snorkeling and scientific and commercial research on species.
The delegation agreement is in keeping with section 6 of the NRCA Act of 1991, under which the Authority may delegate any of its functions, other than the “power to make regulations, to any “member, officer or agent of the Authority”.
According to NEPA’s Rosemarie Chung, it also “realises one of the primary goals identified in the 1997 ‘Policy for Jamaica’s System of Protected Areas”, which is to confer responsibility for planning and managing of protected areas on qualified local groups through delegation of authority”.
“The delegation to NCRPS follows significant groundwork in the area including financial and technical assistance provided to the NCRPS by the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development and the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica,” she added.
Since its formation in 1990, the NCRPS has played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Negril Marine Park, through its advocacy, educational and conservation initiatives. The society currently conducts programmes in the park and surrounding communities in the Negril Environmental Protection Area, aimed at sustainable management of Negril’s natural resources. These include public awareness, training, research, monitoring, zoning, enforcement and fisheries management.