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Good practice Imported

Kingston Harbour & Palisadoes Mangrove Restoration — Blue-Carbon Flood Defence for Jamaica's Capital

Jamaica · Kingston · See the Jamaica profile · See the Kingston profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 58% 40/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

A World Bank/PROFOR study found Jamaica's mangroves prevent an estimated US$32.7m/year in flood damage; NEPA, UWI and partners have restored roughly 6,000 sq m of mangroves along Kingston's Palisadoes strip since 2018, a small fraction of the ~2,000 ha lost since 1989.

32.7 US$ million/year
Annual flood damage prevented by Jamaica's mangroves
1,300 tonnes
Harbour waste removed since 2021
6,000 m²
Mangrove area restored to date

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), UWI Centre for Marine Sciences, with Ocean Cleanup and GraceKennedy Foundation
Period
2018-present
Keywords
coastal protection, blue carbon, mangrove restoration

Context

Since 2018, Jamaica's National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the University of the West Indies have been replanting mangroves along the 16km Palisadoes strip protecting Kingston Harbour.

Results

A 2019 World Bank PROFOR study estimated Jamaica's remaining mangroves prevent US$32.7 million a year in flood damage, but the Kingston restoration itself covers only about 6,000 m² to date — well under 1 hectare — against a national mangrove loss of over 2,000 hectares between 1989 and 2010, and 578 tonnes a year of plastic pollution entering the harbour continues to constrain seedling survival.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
NEPA and UWI Centre for Marine Sciences replanting teams

Conditions for success

  • Harbour clean-up (Ocean Cleanup partnership) to reduce plastic loads smothering seedlings
  • Philanthropic co-funding (GraceKennedy Foundation, about US$32,000/year)

Common failure modes

  • Restored area remains minuscule relative to historic mangrove loss and identified restoration potential

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Data sources

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