Northern Jamaica Conservation Association - NJCA -is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Runaway Bay, Jamaica. Founded in 1989, its main objective is the conservation of natural and cultural resources in Jamaica through education, advocacy and environmental conservation action.
NJCA is registered under the Companies Act of Jamaica as a Limited Liability Company without share capital, governed by a Board of Directors elected by the members - over 200 individuals and organisations.
HOW CAN I JOIN OR MAKE A DONATION TO NJCA?
We welcome new members and are always grateful for donations, which can be made by cheque or direct deposit. We hope to have an online payment facility in place soon. Download the membership form below:
NJCA works with schools, community groups, special interest groups, the business community, government agencies, and individuals to facilitate community involvement in environmental monitoring and reporting, wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, environmental education, advocacy, and conservation action. We are a member of the Jamaica Environmental Advocacy Network (JEAN) and the Cockpit Country Stakeholders Group (CCSG).
The Seven Oaks Sanctuary for Wildlife (SOS-Wildlife) is a focal point for NJCA’s efforts to protect rare and endangered species and their habitats. The sanctuary is a volunteer-operated facility that rescues, receives and cares for threatened, endemic Jamaican parrots and other species.
Projects implemented in recent years include Public Art for Nature and the Environment (a biodiversity education programme combined with the painting of three large murals of Jamaican wildlife by schoolchildren in Ocho Rios) and Community Outreach, Education and Advocacy for Biodiversity Conservation in Northern Jamaica, both funded by the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ) with contributions from other partners.
We are currently facilitating a discussion process aimed at preserving one of the last relatively undisturbed areas of dry limestone forest along the northern coast of Jamaica, with a small grant from the National Forest Programme Facility, a partnership between FAO and the Forestry Department of Jamaica. This forest, located just west of Discovery Bay, is the habitat for many rare and endangered species, among them the Jamaican boa or ‘yellow snake’ and numerous endemic plants, insects and birds. The area presents a unique landscape of ancient wave-cut terraces, fossil reefs, and dramatic limestone cliffs.
NJCA has been an active participant in Jamaica’s national environmental movement since 1989, and regularly contributes to national and international dialogue on environmental and sustainable development issues through its membership on various civic committees such as the St. Ann Parish Development Committee, the National Environmental Education Committee and the Tourism Task Force of the Planning Institute of Jamaica.
In 2006, NJCA along with the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) and four individuals won a much-publicised Judicial Review case in the Supreme Court against two Government environmental agencies, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA), thus revoking an environmental permit for the Gran Bahia Principe hotel at Pear Tree Bottom, St. Ann.
Although the permit for the first phase of the proposed 1,900-room hotel was eventually reinstated on appeal from the developers because of their large expenditure, the court ruling may lead to a more stringent application of the regulations designed to safeguard Jamaica’s environment in the development process. We need to remember that there are some things money can't buy - or replace.
Click here to go to our Pear Tree Bottom page, which includes links to relevant documents, news items and updates.
