A 3 year project to help Jamaica adapt to climate change and contribute to sustainable development has been lauded a success.

Jamaica Observer reports that the ‘Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction’ project has replanted more than 400 hectares of degraded forest, 20 acres of seagrass beds and 7 hectares of mangrove forests as well as installed 150 artificial reef structures.

Among the project’s achievements are the development of an agroforestry programme, establishment of local forest management committees, the formulation of policies for integrated coastal zone management policy and climate change, capacity building, the development of eco-tourism and sustainable livelihood projects and the planting of 450 seedlings in nurseries.

"A seedling is a potential tree, which is potential food, which is potential timber," said Claire Bernard, deputy director general with the Planning Institute of Jamaica.

The project involved multiple agencies of the Government of Jamaica and was supported by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Environment Programme.

“Development and environmental protection go hand-in-hand,” said Paola Amadei, head of the EU Delegation in Jamaica.

“If a hurricane were to hit Jamaica today, the island would fare much better than it would have three years ago,” says the article.

Read the full story: GOJ, EU, UN hail success of climate change project