The Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA) is a large marine and terrestrial area on the island of
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
located southwest of
Kingston. Nearby cays such as
Little Goat Island are included. It is the largest protected area in Jamaica and comprises . Part of the task in forming the PBPA going forward is to find a balance between protecting the ecosystem from destruction by economic development and allowing the human inhabitants a means to live and work.
The Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (C-CAM) is charged with managing zones within the protected area.
Description
The PBPA includes of
wetlands
A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
,
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
coastlines and
seagrass
Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine (ocean), marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four Family (biology), families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and ...
beds that serve as a nursery for fish and shellfish breeding. On land there are of dry limestone forests, 60 known caves,
and it includes a human population of 50,000.
Although the first priority in forming the protected area was to protect the
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...
s,
it also serves to protect vulnerable and
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
species. The site has been designated an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
(IBA) by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...
because it supports significant populations of Jamaican birds.
History
The PBPA was established in 1999. In 2013 the PNP Government of Jamaica proposed to develop the Goat Islands, in the PBPA, as a transhipment hub in conjunction with the Chinese government. Environmentalists argued that it would have a severe impact on the entire protected area.
In 2016 the Prime Minister,
Andrew Holness of the JLP, stated that the Goat Islands were no longer being considered as a base for a transhipment hub.
See also
*
Hellshire Hills
References
External links
Portland Protected Area
Environment of Jamaica
Important Bird Areas of Jamaica
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