JAMAICA IS now more prepared to handle and manage the protection of its native plants and animals as a result of extensive work of a recently concluded project implemented by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).
Over the last four and half years, NEPA, through the project Mitigating the Threat of Invasive Alien Species in the Insular Caribbean (MTIASIC), developed a number of strategies to lessen the threats being posed to the island’s terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems from invasive alien species (IAS). IAS are plants, animals or microorganisms introduced deliberately or unintentionally into areas where they do not occur naturally.
Nelsa English-Johnson, MTIASIC project coordinator at NEPA, said these strategies included developing a National Invasive Alien Species Strategy and Action Plan (2014-2020) to guide policies, legislation and regulations in the management of IAS over the next six years.
Read more: NEPA better equipped to protect plants (Jamaica Gleaner article)