Our Philosophy
C-CAM’s philosophy is that we cannot manage the area alone.Therefore we have established several co-management councils, including Portland Bight Fisheries Management Council (PBFMC), Portland Bight Tourism Council (PBTC), Portland Bight Industrial Council (PBIC) and Portland Bight Citizens Council (PBCC).
The Councils are designed to allow us to collaborate and partner with community groups, NGOs, business people, government departments and agencies to manage the area. This has greatly enhanced C-CAM’s effectiveness in the area.
Our Goals
The overall goals for the CCAM are to provide:
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Clean land, water & air
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Sustainable use of natural resources
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Improved quality of life of residents
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Conserve threatened species, ecosystems
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Community involvement
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Community environmental education
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Providing the best available information
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Financial sustainability
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Efficient and effective institutional capacity
Our Projects
Climate Change Adaptation
2010 –2011: on-going UNDP – Climate Change Adaptation - Full project – US$48,000
As a result of the proposal submitted using the planning grant we have been successful in receiving confirmation that we will be signing the MOA for this project in January 2010. This will allow us to conduct public education sessions in CCA, monitoring (some with assistance of community members), workshops on alternate livelihoods, demonstration projects, CCA Expo, prepare manuals for teachers and students on CCA matters in communities surrounding the fish sanctuaries.
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2010 – 2012: on-going Forest Conservation Fund – Prepare management plan for the Portland Bight Protected Area J$9.5m
This will be used to prepare a participatory management plan for the terrestrial parts of the PBPA & to integrate the marine plan into this. This will also allow for the creation of the Portland Bight Biosphere Reserve.
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2010 – 2011: on-going – Seacology – US$30,000
To establish field station in Salt River from where the field staff who will be managing the newly created Fish Sanctuaries in the PBPA will be operating. This includes purchase of steel containers to be retrofitted and established as offices and dormitories.
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C-CAM and Portland Bight
C-CAM’s work is currently focused in the Portland Bight Protected Area, which includes coastal lands from Great Salt Pond almost to Milk River and the coastal shelf out to the edge of the coastal shelf. In particular we are working in the Salt Harbour, Galleon Harbour and Three Bays Fish Sanctuaries.
EXTRACTS FROM THE PORTLAND BIGHT PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN 2008
OVERALL GOALS
The overall goals for the PBPA are to provide:
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Clean land, water and air
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Sustainable use of natural resources contributing to improved quality of life of residents
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Conservation of species and ecosystems
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Support for participation of informed residents, resource users and other stakeholders in decision-making and implementation, based on the best available information.
A Bight Without A Boat
Having signed an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries in December 2010 to manage three fish sanctuaries within Portland Bight, Jamaica's largest environmental conservation area, the Caribbean Coastal Area Management (C-CAM) Foundation is still not equipped to carry out its mandate effectively.
Bee Farmer Weighs In On Climate Change
A BEE farmer for some 15 years, Florizel Thompson is well aware of the potentially devastating impact of climate change on his profession. "With the large-scale cutting down of trees for charcoal, you have less flowering. Then, because of the less flowering, you have less pollination for people who plant pumpkin and other stuff who depend heavily on pollination. So less bees, less pollination. Less trees, less bees," he said in summing up the issue.
Group Pushes Rainwater Harvesting Project
Rainwater harvesting, a strategy used by Jamaicans over many decades, especially in rural Jamaica, to ensure adequate supply of water for domestic and agricultural purposes, is being promoted on a wider scale by the Caribbean Coastal Area Management (C-CAM) Foundation, as it seeks to educate Jamaicans about adaptable and alternative livelihoods in the face of climate change.
No-Fishing Zones Established Under Marine-Protection MOU
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and seven state and non-governmental bodies signed an agreement last Thursday for the management and protection of the country's marine resources. The agreement institutes a ban on fishing in some coastal communities. Under the new partnership, the ministry will invest $23 million in the sanctuaries up to the end of this fiscal year.
Environmental Context
Portland Bight is the largest embayment on the island of Jamaica, and its complex ecosystems provide habitat for a wide range of Jamaican wildlife. On the coastline is the largest remaining mangrove system in Jamaica (Galleon Harbour, West Harbour, the Goat Islands and almost all areas between), which, together with extensive sea-grass beds, sandy and muddy areas and coral reefs, provide the largest nursery area for fish, crustaceans and molluscs on the island.
