The National Council on Ocean and Coastal Zone Management (COCZM) in association with the National Environment & Planning Agency (NEPA) and the Coastal Water Quality Improvement Project (CWIP) will host Coastal Conference 2002 at the Jamaica Conference Centre from July 23 to 24.

Chairman of the COCZM and Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, KD Knight will be on hand to declare the conference open.

The conference will focus on addressing the importance of healthy water quality on the nation’s economy, and options for managing the island’s coastal waters.

Noting that this is the fourth annual Coastal Conference, NEPA’s CEO, Franklin McDonald, said that the agency “is pleased to be co-hosting the conference which will address crucial linkages between public and marine eco-system health, the survival of the tourist industry and coastal water quality. McDonald also stated that NEPA and the Ministry of Land and Environment have over the past year developed an Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Green Paper.

This development, he said, “can contribute to improved Coastal Zone management”. Furthermore, he noted that the implementation of EMS such as the Green Globe and Blue Flag by our tourist industry will greatly improve their ability to manage the impact of their activities, products and services on the environment.

CWIP Chief of Party, Dr Scott McCormick added that “while previous conferences had focused on promoting the development of an ocean and coastal zone policy, which is now before Cabinet to be considered as a White Paper, this year’s conference will focus on critical coastal issues identified by the Council”. These include ‘Water Scarcity and Quality’ – the topic of a keynote address to be presented by Richard Volk, manager, Coastal & Aquatic Programmes USAID/Washington.

CWIP is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Other pertinent topics to be covered span economics, introduction of a “Blue Flag” system for Jamaican beaches, public health, coastal ecology, improved watershed management, water quality monitoring and economic incentives.

Presenters will be drawn from the public and private sectors within Jamaica and the region including Ministry of Tourism & Sport and the Ministry of Health, the National Water Commission, the University of the West Indies, the Institute of Marine Affairs in Trinidad & Tobago, the Montego Bay Marine Park, Friends of the Sea, Environmental Foundation of Jamaica, NEPA and CWIP.