ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OF WATERSHED AND DEVELOPMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL CAPABILITY UNDP/GOJ-NRCA PROJECT

Transcription

1 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OF WATERSHED AND DEVELOPMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL CAPABILITY UNDP/GOJ-NRCA PROJECT NATIONAL WATERSHED POLICY FOR JANAICA - Consulting Report - Prepared by Ted C. Sheng Computer Assisted Development, Inc. Fort Collins, Colorado, USA March 10, 1998 TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 1. BACKGROUND Physical Settings Watershed Conditions and Problems History of Watershed Management International Trends Legislation and Institutions The Need for New Policy and Legislation 5 2. MAJOR CONSTRAINTS 5 3. POLICY Objectives Guiding Principles Strategies for Implementation of a national Programme Supporting Strategies Financing and Legislation INSTITUTION AND MANDATES Natural Resources Conservation Authority Forestry Department Rural Agriculture Development Authority Water Resources Authority and Water Commission Lands Department and Land Development and Utilization Commission Local Government and Works 14 REFERENCES 15

3 NATIONAL WATERSHED POLICY FOR JAMAICA -Consulting Report - 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 Physical Settings The Island of Jamaica is divided into twenty six (26) watershed management units consisting of approximately one hundred streams and covers all the land from the mountains to the sea (See Map). In reality, these are river basins within ten (10) hydrological regions demarcated mainly by the water resources agencies. The upper part of the watersheds, except the limestone areas, is characterized by steep slopes with half of the areas over 20 degrees. Limestone soils cover about 65% of the watersheds and the remaining are composed of soils derived from weathered shales, conglomerates, and tuffs. Alluvial soils are mostly along the coastal plains and interior valleys. Many upland watersheds, due to their strategic locations, are of utmost importance for providing water for urban, industrial, and agricultural development. In addition, they are the sites for many other resources: forest, energy, recreation, mineral, and domestic and export crops, and homes of subsistence farmers. 1.2 Watershed Conditions and Problems Because of steep slopes, thin or erosive soils, compounded with heavy and high intensity rains in the upper watershed areas, soil erosion, landslips and slope failures are very common in the non-lime stone watersheds. These natural conditions of instability are aggravated by mis-use of slopelands. These include cultivating without soil conservation, indiscriminative forest removal, improper construction and maintenance of roads, uncontrolled grazing, and unregulated quarrying and mining. For instance, the deforestation rate has been significantly increased since the last two decades. Though the actual figure has not yet been determined (O. Evelyn, 1997) it could be 2 % or more. Some have even estimated it from 3 % to 5.3% using different interpretations. Meanwhile, about 160,000 hectares of watershed slopes are presently under some form of cultivation causing severe erosion. Depending on crops and practices, the average soil loss reaches some 30 tons per ha per year according to some statistics (NRCA, 1997). All of the above factors result in heavy siltation to the rivers, reservoirs, irrigation canals, water intakes, as well as harbors. Surface runoff is greatly increased due to excavation of slopes, diminished vegetation cover, compacting of soils, and many other activities that reduce water intake to the soils. During heavy rains and hurricane seasons, floods become more frequent and 1

4 severe whereas in dry seasons, water shortage becomes a serious problem. The problem of water pollution has also drastically increased in recent decades due to crop expansion and use of more chemical fertilizers, agro-industry, and resettlement programmes in the watersheds. As a result, it not only degrades the water quality for domestic and industrial use, but also pollutes beaches, harbours, and coral reefs, and directly and indirectly effects the tourism industry. Nearly 200,000 small farmers are dependent on watersheds for making a living. Their resources are limited, incomes are low, environmental conditions are poor, lands are fragmented, and tenures are insecure. Due to lack of intensive extension, education, incentive and development and involvement, most small farmers do not consider protection and conservation of natural resources in a watershed as their priorities, let alone to act upon them. In the National Land Policy 1996, the Government recognizes two major issues in this respect. They are: 1) Severe watershed degradation and its effects including soil erosion, and 2) Lack of national plans and adequate coordination efforts to manage the watersheds. 1.3 History of Watershed Management Jamaica's awareness of the needs of soil conservation and watershed protection dates back to 1930s. Croucher and Swabey (1937), Wakefield (1941), and the first annual report of Soil Conservation Division (1944) all stressed these needs. An Economic Policy Committee Report in 1945 had the following passage related to soil erosion: " Steps must be taken to meet this grave and widespread menace before it is too late." In the early 1950s, two land authorities were established, i.e. Yallahs Valley and Christiana Area, created by the then new Land authority Act, The Authorities' major tasks were to rehabilitate land, check soil erosion and improve farming. The Yallahs Valley Land Authority was operated roughly within the watershed boundary. Both of them have had only some success. The major problems were not using the land properly to start with and low technical standard and poor maintenance (Division of Economics and Statistics 1961). In 1960s, several important developments were centered on watershed protection. The first was the promulgation of "The Watershed Protection Act, 1963" which created the Watershed Protection Commission and empowered the Minister to declare Watershed Areas. The main objective is to promote "the conservation of water resources". The Commission is also empowered to make regulations, prohibit and regulate land use and supervise and undertake improvement schemes. Six watersheds were first declared, demonstrations were setup and some improvement schemes initiated. And at one period, the World Food Programme was incorporated into its regular work programme at two watersheds to assist small farmers carrying out conservation work. However, later on during the early Seventies, the Commission's work became 2

5 static due to some policy changes and economical reasons. The Commission was closed. Its staff were transferred from Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Mining and Natural Resources and formed a section in the new department, Natural Resources Conservation Department. Meanwhile, from the late 1960s to mid-1980s, a series of watershed management and soil conservation projects from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) were implemented. They assisted the government in setting up several demonstrations, a training center, some experiments and research, and a national programme in soil conservation. Watershed investment proposals of a half a dozen watersheds were also produced resulting in multi-million dollar investments from USAID, IFAD and UNEP. During that period, about 380 extension officers were properly trained through various courses. In addition, at least twenty young professionals were trained locally and abroad with a view that they would be institutionalized as the future core of the new Forestry and Soil Conservation Department. Unfortunately, GOJ was not able to create positions for these persons due to various constraints and consequently all the trained professionals in watershed and soil conservation were left the Department. Based on the 1991 Natural Resources Conservation Act, the NRCA was created in the same year. A Watershed Protection and Management Branch (WPMB) has since been established and designated the responsibility for watershed work up to the present time. However, The WPMB is presently under staffed and many of them have not received proper training. Also, the merger funds allocated to the Branch at present are far from sufficient for actually managing the country's watersheds. The Branch can only concentrate on some regulatory and education work at present. Meanwhile, several agricultural and forestry development projects are being implemented in the watersheds of Morant, Yallahs, and Buff Bay by other agencies. 1.4 International Trends Early watershed programmes and projects in developing countries concentrated mostly on soil conservation and erosion control work. Since 1980s, the emphasis has been gradually put on an integrated approach, which combines soil conservation and rural development elements together with strategies to improve land as well as people at the same time. Since the World Environment and Development Conference in Brazil, 1992, the improvement of the rural environment and living standards, alleviation of poverty, involving people's participation, and the protection of tropical forest and other natural resources have been greatly emphasized in watershed conservation programmes. 1.5 Legislation and Institutions In addition to the Watershed Protection Act 1963, many other legislation are related to watershed management work: The major ones are listed as follows: 3

6 * Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act * Forest Act * Rural Agricultural Development Act * Water Resources Act * Town and Country Planning Act * Land Development and Utilization Act * Roads Protection Act * Country Fires Act * The Mining Act * Wildlife Protection Act The above Acts have either created respective authorities to carry out their mandates, or pursued regulatory activities in watershed areas. For instance, Forest Department based on its new Forest Act 1996 will pursue its additional duties in the "protection and preservation of watersheds in forest reserves" and "developing programmes for proper soil conservation". The Rural Agricultural Land Authority is designated by the Rural Agricultural Development Act 1990 to "provide efficient agricultural extension service and participate in the formulation and implementation of appropriate rural development projects" and "secure the proper economic and efficient utilization of all lands in the rural areas". The Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act 1991 created the Natural Resources Conservation Authority. Its main functions are to "develop, implement, and monitor plans and programmes relating to the management of the environment and the conservation and protection of natural resources". However, there are some gaps and overlaps in terms of areas and responsibilities among a number of related Acts. For instance, both Forest Act and Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act have stipulations for managing "Protected Areas" but the clear distinctions between them and the jurisdictions of each are to be defined and agreed upon. The same is true of the lands in the declared watersheds and the rural areas under RADA's jurisdiction, with respect to the responsibility for soil conservation work in watersheds. At present, no agency is responsible or doing gully or upstream control work. A careful study of the respective legislation and a clear division of labours of each are therefore needed. Institutionally, at least half a dozen agencies work in a watershed: Agriculture, forestry, road, public works, mining, housing governed separately by different Ministries. Usually, an integrated approach and full collaboration is seldom practiced. Coordination, more often than not, remains on paper because there is no manpower, funds and workable plans to support it. As a recent report by the Ad Hoc Watershed Management Committee pointed out: "All the institutions with the de facto roles in watershed protection -- including NRCA itself -- are short of the human and financial resources needed to prosecute their desired interventions." ( Ad Hoc Watershed Management Committee, 1996). 4

7 1.6 The Need for New Policy and Legislation From the above description, it is apparent that in order to manage and protect the island's watershed fully and effectively, a clear policy is required which will emphasize a coordinated and integrated approach, local participation, manpower and resource building, among others. The Watershed Protection Act, 1963 is out of date in many respects. The Act relies much on prohibiting and regulating to protect the declared watersheds, and lacks encouragement, incentives, and public education and extension for the local communities. Though, with the Act, many watersheds were declared but there were not enough manpower and funding to do a good job. Furthermore, the Act and many related acts have areas of overlaps which remained locked and unclarified. Most importantly, over the last 35 years, the Act did not help to promote much the protection and conservation of the nation's watershed resources and its created Watershed Protection Commission was closed down 22 years ago. 2. MAJOR CONSTRAINTS Among many constraints which have hampered the progress of watershed management in this country, the following ones are considered major: (1) Lack of a Sound and Steady Policy. The result often shows a contradiction of government work-- one agency is doing conservation work while the others are using or encouraging improper land use or even creating erosion in the same watershed. (2) Lack of a National Programme and Continuity. Project-based approach rather than programme based terminates its activities in a fixed period of time. Once the project ends, activities were slow down or totally stops which greatly affects the government's accountability and maintenance work. Institutional instability, on the other hand, also creates many losses of trained staff and data/information which handicaps the progress of work. (3) Lack of Coordination. Watersheds in this country have seldom been planned and implemented jointly or integrally among related agencies and between government and local people. Coordination, though difficult, is necessary and the ways and means of good coordination in watershed management have never been fully studied, spelled out and practiced. (4) Lack of Effective Extension and Incentive schemes. Extension agents in watershed management and soil conservation are very limited and they are usually ill equipped and inexperienced in watershed conservation work. Yet, people's awareness of the importance of watershed protection is very low. Incentive schemes to assist small farmers to head start improvement work are almost non-exist. 5

8 (5) Lack of Professional Staff and Training. As mentioned before, the number of professional staff now working in watershed management is only handful. At present, there is no permanent training center operated for conducting watershed and conservation training. The Smithfield Demonstration and Training Center which was actively used from the Seventies to Mid-Eighties was practically closed down. In view of technological progress in many aspects of watershed in recent decades, i.e. GIS, stream management, monitoring & evaluation, lack of continuous training curtails future expansion of such programmes even if funds are available. (6) Lack of Research. Very limited research has been done in soil erosion, erosion control methods, forest hydrology, and socio-economic aspects of watershed management. No convincing figures and facts on the cost and effectiveness of various watershed work can be presented to farmers, publics, policy makers, and international donor agencies for making investment decisions. (7) Lack of Database and Monitoring: The country lacks basic data on a watershed basis. Even the limited data the country has had is scattered or lost. Watershed database is crucial for planning, designing and monitoring, and the latter has never been seriously initiated. 3. POLICY 3.1 Objectives The main objective of watershed management in Jamaica is to promote integrated protection, conservation and development of land and water resources in watersheds for their sustainable use, and for benefiting both upstream and downstream communities and the nation as a whole. 3.2 Guiding Principles (1) Watershed management is a long term and permanent programme requiring continuous investments and consistent efforts to obtain desirable results. (2) The design, planning and implementing of such a programme is for the benefit of all people and communities concerned, upstream and downstream, and for all sectors including agriculture, forestry, industry, and tourism. (3) While the main objectives are for protection, conservation and development of land and water resources, the people in the watershed areas and their environment need special attention and support, especially the less privileged ones. (4) The programme considers integrally in both protection and production functions of the land 6

9 and water resources in a watershed. A balanced approach is always required and maintained. For areas populated with subsistence type of small farmers, on-site short-term returns and benefits need to be much emphasized. (5) Watershed management does not necessarily mean total preservation. Any construction and development work and use of natural resources, excepting some designated protected areas or reserves, are allowable but their impacts are to be closely accessed and monitored, and damages rehabilitated. (6) Conflict of interests in resource uses is inevitable. The lead agency in the watersheds needs to carefully study it and to resolve the issue. Compromise rather than confrontation and complimentary rather than contradictory approaches are some principles to observe. (7) Proper land use is the basis for managing any watersheds. In Jamaica, both over-use and under-use of land co-exist in watersheds. A proper adjustment is needed. To pursue this, practical criteria needs to be established for application to all watersheds. (8) The nature of watershed management is such that no single agency is capable of doing it alone. Close institutional coordination among government agencies and between public and private is a must. Coordination mechanisms need to be established both at the national and local levels. (9) Local participation and community involvement in watershed management is very essential. NGOs, environmental groups, youth and women have to be included in the planning processes as well as at the implementing stage. (10) In pursuing watershed work, encouragement, mutual understanding between government and local people, demonstration, and proper incentives are more convincing and appropriate than emphasizing on regulatory and prosecution measures. (11) Intensive technical support and follow-up activities are essential to the success of watershed programmes in order to ensure its lasting benefits. (12) Any watershed or conservation work carried out in the watershed needs proper maintenance which needs to be considered as an integral part of the programme. 3.3 Strategies for Implementation of a National Program (1) For policy coordination, an inter-ministerial committee will be set up with the Minister of Environment as chair, meeting at least twice a year to discuss policy, approaches, coordination strategies and budget matters, and to evaluate and report to the Cabinet. (2) For managing the nation's watershed programme, institutions will be properly strengthened. 7

10 They must be supported with sufficient manpower and funds to carry on the coordination, implementation or monitoring work. Institution can only grow as fast as qualified and trained personnel are recruited. (3) The nation quickly conducts a reconnaissance survey, using remote sensing techniques, of its watershed conditions, problems, and management needs to rank their priorities for providing orderly management or treatment. This is very important because institutional build-up takes time and government budget has its limit. (4) Individual local watershed committee will be organized in a progressive manner. The committees need to involve representatives of related agencies and local people. The size of the committee should be lean and effective. Their chief functions are collaboration and supervision. (5) Before initiating any work in a single watershed, a joint survey of physiographical and socio-economical conditions, major watershed problems, and management needs is needed. During the processes, an identification of critical areas is utmost important for priority treatment. A critical area could be a severely disturbed area, an environmentally sensible area, or others depending the watersheds and the needs. Planning will then be carried out in tackling these major areas. (6) After the joint survey and planning, the lead agency needs to seek proper budgeting and funding for the mutual watershed plan. The fund can be pooled together, or kept separately by respective agencies but are to be used only for the designated watershed work. (7) Each agency involved will implement the work according to the mutually plan on their own land, and under their own jurisdiction. For instance, forest protection and development is the mandate of the Forest Department; soil conservation, land husbandry, and agricultural development is the duty of RADA; and road slope stabilization and small erosion control structures are the responsibility of Ministry of Works, local Parish Councils or Forestry Department. A clear understanding of coordinating mechanism and responsibility among participating agencies is essential.. Overlapping and over-stepping of duties must be avoided. Monitoring will be carried out by NRCA. (8) During operation, a field office in the targeted watershed needs to be established to liaise and coordinate various activities. This is the center of daily work and a place for farmers and local people to make contacts. 3.4 Supporting Strategies (1) Proper Land Use: Proper land use is the foundation of watershed conservation work. Without it both the government and the farmers will remain in dark. Technical criteria for land 8

11 capability classification needs to be quickly established and used. A simple and practical classification recommended by a former FAO watershed project in Jamaica could be tested and refined, and put in ready use. Watershed zoning criteria could be jointly worked out with the Town Planning Department and Rural Physical Planning Unit. (2) Cost effective Work: A quick study is to be done to find out cost effectiveness of several major conservation treatments. Cheaper treatments, if not effective in erosion control, is still a waste. Under certain conditions, structures need to be used though they may be relatively expensive. Jamaica has used an array of conservation treatments in the last 40 years, a collection of data supplemented with an examination in the field and research results will give a useful picture. (3) Incentives and Technical Assistance: To assist small farmers in carrying out conservation work, incentives need to be given. The justifications are that they need to invest extra labours, land and/or capital from their meager resources yet the benefits may accrue to downstream. The public may need to compensate their actions. Among many types of incentive, direct or indirect, a proper choice will be made taking into consideration government affordability and actual needs. An investigation has to be carried out in the target watershed to find out the framers preferences. Meanwhile, technical assistance needs to be greatly intensified. (4) Training: Training in watershed management is lacking presently at all levels. A permanent training center needs to be established, or restored the old one in Smithfield, Hanover. Training modules for professional staff, extension officers, and field assistant are still available, need only to be updated. Training is a continuous undertaking and any setup should be a permanent one. There are many qualified professionals who can be contacted in the Island as trainers of respective subject matter. In addition, the Agricultural College, vocational schools and mangy others need intensive courses in watershed management and soil conservation. This will be achieved through collaboration with educational departments, institutions, and international donor agencies. (5) Public Education: The subject of public education is of utmost importance to any watershed programme. Farmers will be specially exposed to the knowledge of the importance of soil and water resources, their protection and conservation needs, and environment impacts between upstream and downstream areas. Publics need to be properly informed of the importance and the limit of watershed work and their relationship to the community. In order to do this, extension service needs to be urgently strengthened, mobilized and equipped with proper tools and knowledge. Outdoor classrooms need to be established at several strategic locations of the Island to show the causes and effects on mis-used watersheds. Volunteers will be recruited and field days conducted to enforce the ideas of resource conservation and watershed management. Many grassroots extension organizations and schools need to be actively involved. (6) People's Participation: Stakeholders, NGOs, farmers, and concerned groups and individuals will be encouraged to participate through local watershed committees for strategy formulation, 9

12 problem solving, and for assisting overall implementation of the programme. (7) Monitoring: It is recognized that the lack of monitoring and evaluation in the past has hampered further investment in watershed work. The public and the government have the right to know the cost effectiveness of such work. The watershed lead agency needs to setup a monitoring unit which requires the support of all other technical divisions to be effective and useful. The design of monitoring systems together with data collection and management needs to be as simple and practical as possible. It should never collect more data than necessary. (8) Research: The Government recognizes the research needs in the subject of natural resources conservation, watershed management, and soil conservation. Since there is a general lack of highly trained personnel and budget resources, research is required to concentrate on "Applied Research", such as finding erosion rates and control measures, study farmers acceptance, incentive needs, etc. A joint venture with other organizations and institutions such as CARDI, UWI, and commodity boards will be appropriate and cost effective. 3.5 Financing and Legislation (1) Financing. The Government realizes that a substantial investment is needed to protect the country's vast watershed areas. In addition to increase regular budget for watershed protection, various channels are sought for sufficient funding; the major ones are as follows: * Allocate a small percentage of major construction projects in watersheds such as highways, reservoirs, diversion dams, housing development, etc. for slope stabilization and watershed protection purposes. The justification is that whenever and wherever the natural balance is upset recovery action is necessary. * A small cess will be collected from export crops which are grown on watershed slopes for erosion control and soil conservation purposes. The funds will be used solely for this purpose and under the consensus of the agricultural commodity boards. * A fee will be added to the utility bills of the downstream areas for protecting watersheds where the domestic water, irrigation water, industrial water or hydro-power comes from. * Environmental and non-government agencies will be assisted in securing funds from the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica, and international or regional sources for watershed related activities. (2) Legislation. A new act is urgently needed for incorporating new thinking and approaches in watershed management, for creating a new institution and/or strengthening the exist one, and for providing a solid legal basis for the conservation and development of Jamaica's watershed 10

13 resources into the next Century. 4. INSTITUTION AND MANDATES The following sections indicate the functions and responsibilities of main agencies in watershed management with a centre theme of coordination and collaboration. Law enforcement agencies will also be involved in special events and watershed protection work in general. The assistance of the NGO's, local Parish Councils, and Environmental Wardens, and Volunteers are very much needed in the overall watershed programme. 4.1 Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA): Lead and Monitoring Agency NRCA has an overall responsibility of conservation, protection and proper use of land, water and other resources in the nation's watersheds. NRCA is a lead agency among others in national policy formulation, national planning, and inter-agency coordination but it is not a field implementing agency. Its mandates are concentrate on the following: (1) Formulate national policy and strategies for watershed management. (2) Study national issues in watershed management and options and solutions about major watershed problems. (3) Classify and rank nation's watersheds and produce national plans for orderly management according to their priorities. (4) Seek resources and budget funds for watershed management programmes. (5) Coordinate and collaborate various activities performed by different agencies. (6) Maintain databases and information systems for monitoring nation's watersheds. (7) Develop criteria for land capability, critical area, and zoning for better land management. (8) Promote national awareness of watershed conservation and regulating environmental qualities Forestry Department (FD): Executing Agency 11

14 The FD has the overall responsibility for watershed implementation. Not only directly manages government owned forest lands but also assists private land owners on the management of their private forest lands. In addition to its normal mandate in protecting forest resources, its duty for watershed management are: (1) Conduct joint survey and coordinated planning for the targeted watersheds identified by a national priority classification. (2) Develop mutual and integrated plans for protecting, rehabilitating or developing the targeted watersheds. (3) Administer watershed programmes in the targeted watersheds, coordinating with government agencies and NGOS in implementation, and setup field offices for liaise and coordination. (4) Provide extension services to farmers and rural women so as to increase the number of trees grown on farms for production and watershed protection purposes. (5) Implement gully and stream erosion control work and landslide and road slope stabilization with the support of public agencies or land owners. (6) Conduct personnel training in watershed management and awareness and education campaigns in watersheds. (7) Conduct applied research and experiment in watershed management and forest hydrology. 4.3 Rural Agriculture Development Authority (RADA): Coordinating Agency RADA is an extension and rural development agency. It promotes rural development and sound farming practices which are environmentally friendly. RADA will implement its work in targeted watersheds in close coordination with FD: (1) Provide technical assistance and incentives to encourage farmers to adopt soil conservation, land husbandry, and agroforestry practices on their farms.. (2) Promote farming practices and cropping systems that will increase production and reduce soil erosion and pollution. 12

15 (3) Assist in maintaining a vegetative cover on hillslopes by monitoring and discouraging the incidence of burning, (4) Jointly with FD to provide extension education to farmers regarding land husbandry and agroforestry. (5) Jointly with FD and NRCA to promoting public awareness with respect to conservation of natural resources. (6) Promote agro-industry / cottage industry development. (7) Design and implement rural development type of work for benefiting people living in the watersheds. 4.4 Water Resources Authority/ Water Commission: Coordinating Agencies The Water Resources Authority has responsibility for monitoring and regulating the use of surface and ground water resources of the country. The Water Commission is in charge of municipal watersheds. Their mandates are: (1) Monitor of streamflow, sediments and surface and ground water quality. (2) Interpret of streamflow and water quality data and use of the information to inform public regarding necessary policy and action needs. (3) Provide information on flood plains, stream boundaries, wet lands for planning better land use. (4) Identify Water Quality Control Area and stream buffer strips for protection purposes. (5) Conducting of public education from a water resources management perspective. 4.5 Lands Department/ Land Development and Utilization Commission: Coordinating Agencies The Commissioner of Lands nominally owns the land of Jamaica in trust of the people. It has a very powerful role to play in the implementation of watershed work especially on crown lands. The Land Development and Utilization Commission also has a power of regulating land use particularly for idle lands in watersheds. These two land management administrations should be 13

16 equipped with the necessary resources and be mandated to: (1) Coordinate in leasing of forest lands with FD and NRCA. (2) Minimize illegal cultivation on Crown Lands. (3) Conduct land use adjustment and intensify land use on idle lands. (4) Advise on land administration, title, and other legal matters. (5) Exercise land settlement in accordance with land capabilities and soil conservation principle. 4.6 Local Government and Works: Coordinating agency Ministry of Local Government and Works has the responsibility for managing infrastructure development and maintenance. Its mandate in the upper watersheds are to: (1) Proper plan, design, construction and maintain public roads in watersheds and provide sound drainage systems along the roads. (2) Coordinate with FD in pursuing road slope stabilization work. (3) Undertake river training work along major streams. (4) Assist in rural development work. 14

17 REFERENCES Ad Hoc Watershed Management Committee Report on the work of the Ad Hoc Committee and Fuelwood Production Committee. Kngston, Jamaica. Croucher, H. H.& Swabey, C Soil erosion and soil conservation in Jamaica. IN Department of Science and Agriculture, Jamaica, Bulletin No. 17 (New Series). Kingston, Jamaica. Division of Economics and Statistics Report on an evaluation study of the Yallahs Land Authority, Kingston, Jamaica. Economic Policy Committee Report of the Economic Policy Committee. The Government Printer, Kingston, Jamaica. Evelyn, O. B Deforestation in Jamaica: An analysis of the Data. Forestry Department, Kingston, Jamaica. Government of Jamaica National Land Policy. Ministry of Agriculture and Mining Forestry land use policy. NRCA Draft Watershed Policy. Kingston, Jamaica. NRCA Policy for the national systems of protected areas. Sheng, T. C Watershed management and soil conservation activities in Jamaica: An evaluation report. UNDP/FAO JAM 5, Technical Report 9. Kingston, Jamaica. Sheng, T. C A national soil conservation programme for Jamaica. UNDP/FAO JAM/82/006 Working Document: WP- 1/84, Kingston Jamaica. Soil Conservation Division First annual report. Department of Agriculture. Kingston, Jamaica. The Forest Act The Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act

18 the Rural Agricultural Development Act The Water Resources Act The watershed Protection Act Wakefield, A. J Memorandum of agricultural development in Jamaica. The Government Printer, Kingston, Jamaica. 16