Community and Other Programmes
Other projects and programmes in Portland and Port Antonio support the overall destination certification. The Ridge to Reef Watershed Project, a five-year USAID programme representing a $5.8 million investment throughout Jamaica, encompasses a number of individual programmes including community cleanups, water quality monitoring, water supply management, agricultural production and marketing, and training for farmers. The Coastal Water Quality Improvement Project (CWIP) monitors and seeks to improve water quality and the marine environment through flood mitigation, sanitation, solid waste management, drain and gullies maintenance, and “greening” of schools.
http://www.nrca.org/projects/cwip.htm
http://www.nrca.org/projects/r2rw.htm

The Port Authority and its Port Antonio Marina are also championing the cause of sustainable development. The marina has achieved Blue Flag Certification, which designates marine and beach development as environmentally sound and specifies adherence to stringent conservation guidelines. With Portland striving for Green Globe 21 certification, the addition of the Blue Flag status gives holistic representation for the entire area – with sustainable development and tourism practices on land and sea.
http://www.blueflag.org/index.asp

The Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ) has also assisted the efforts through specific individual training programmes, such as adult literacy, preventive maintenance, and environmental awareness programmes, and through partial funding of a destination marketing and public relations campaign. The ultimate goal of the EFJ is to support the development of sustainable tourism – development that preserves both the environment and the social fabric and perpetuates the economic and social viability of the community.
http://www.efj.org.jm/

Portland Environmental Protection Association

Brief History
The Portland Environment Protection Association (PEPA) was founded in 1988 by citizens of Portland concerned about the increasing amount of environmental degradation around them. PEPA is a legally constituted non-profit, limited liability company; it is a non-political, Non-Government Organisation which serves as an umbrella organisation for over fifty (50) community-based organisations and groups across the parish of Portland. Membership includes community groups, youth groups, fishermen’s organisations, environmental protection associations as well as civic associations and individuals.

Mission
PEPA’s mission is “To promote public awareness and action to protect the environment: to ensure the wise use of natural resources for sustainable development”, and PEPA has been working with organisations of all types to establish a resource management ethos across Portland for both marine & terrestrial ecosystems of the parish.

Three Basic Programmes
PEPA has three (3) basic programme areas, which have been developed to have the greatest possible impact with the limited resources available. These initiatives are: Environmental Education, Environmental Advocacy, and Income Generation. The first two are designed to reach the greatest number of people in the areas where the largest impact can be attained and the third is designed to finance these activities and establish economic sustainability for the Association.

Each programme area is broken down into initiatives as described below:

- Environmental Education
Key stakeholder interventions
Community group strengthening & development
Primary, secondary & tertiary school initiatives

- Environmental Advocacy
Media releases & newsletter (periodically)
Community & membership meetings
Participation in local governance fora (i.e., PDC)

- Income Generation
Development and marketing of goods & services
Project proposal writing
Trust Fund - development and capitalisation

Nature’s Handmade Paper
Nature’s Handmade Paper is a community-based women’s group formed in the early 1990s. They recycle paper to produce handmade writing paper, notelets, cards and envelopes. If you would like to visit the ladies or you would like more information about the project, contact Hotel Mocking Bird Hill at 876-993-7267 or write to birdees@mail.infochan.com

Individual Contributions
The “greening” of Portland and Port Antonio has become a grass roots effort for the entire community. There is broad-based understanding that sustainability is critical to maintaining and preserving both nature and culture – keeping the parish a vibrant area that supports its citizens and ensures an improved quality of life.

Shireen Aga and Barbara Walker from Hotel Mocking Bird Hill are at the forefront of the movement. Their hotel was one of the first to be certified in the international Green Globe programme, and their consistent dedication to raising environmental awareness and consciousness has formed a critical foundation for the community programme. Through their concerted efforts, partial funding for the destination marketing programme was provided by the EFJ. They also solicited funding to produce environmentally friendly canvas market bags with the destination logo. It is anticipated that the use of these bags will reduce the number of plastic bags distributed by grocery and other stores.

Sista “P,” a well-known face and voice in Port Antonio, is also committed to sustainability. Customers of her Lioness Shop eatery are served carry-out food in neat little packages made from banana leaves and tied with raffia ribbons. Sista “P” grows some of her own produce and her waste is returned to the earth in her compost heap. She shows that each person can make his own contribution to the global consciousness.