Jamaicans being encouraged to become stewards of the environment

Jamaicans are being encouraged to become stewards of the environment by ensuring that the well-being of plants and animals are safeguarded.
Chief Plant Quarantine Officer of the Plant Quarantine and Produce Inspection Branch of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Sanniel Wilson-Graham, informed that this is possible by aiding in the recovery of certain species and preventing other species from becoming at risk.
“Each of us can and should play a part in protecting plants, which ensures protection of life,” she emphasised.
Mrs. Wilson-Graham was speaking at the second staging of the Botanical and Horticultural Seminar hosted by the Public Gardens Division of the Ministry, at Hope Gardens in Kingston on January 31.
She also urged Jamaicans to assist in the preservation of the country’s rich biodiversity especially in light of the impact of climate change.
The country’s biodiversity is characterised by over 3,304 vascular plant species, approximately 600 species of ferns; 136 species of butterflies and 106 known bird species that are found nowhere else in the world but are increasingly under threat by climate change.
Mrs. Wilson-Graham is encouraging young people, especially students, to plant a fruit tree at home and to protect animal habitats. She wants the wider population to “help prevent the spread of pests and diseases, which threaten our biodiversity”.
The seminar, which was held under the theme ‘Threats to Biodiversity: Protecting Plants, Protecting Life’ was aimed at identifying, describing and discussing biodiversity and discussing and reflecting on the strategies developed and used to protect biodiversity.
It also aimed to collaborate with horticultural companies to promote and showcase the variety of products used in gardening.
The staging of the event was a collaborative effort between the Public Gardens Division and the PQPI in observance of 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH).
The IYPH is focused on raising awareness of how protecting plant health provides a multitude of benefits to us as humans and to our environment, biodiversity and economy.
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