Preserving Wetlands Could Build Resilience in the Drought-Stricken Caribbean

The Caribbean is in the throes of a sinister drought that is ravaging islands like Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica and a slew of others. These moderate and sometimes localized droughts are sowing the seed for what is blooming into a region-wide water crisis. In places like Saint Lucia and Jamaica, water rationing measures are already in place. Sections of Jamaica like the Kingston, Saint Andrew, and Saint Catherine parishes, as well as the western parishes like Westmoreland and Clarendon, are hit the hardest. But Jamaica may tap into a natural solution which at scale could prove formidable: protection of wetlands.

Dry and wet seasons are typical for the region, and Jamaica in particular is no stranger to this cycle. The wet season typically begins during late May or early June, but for the better part of this year, water scarcity and lack of rain has been an issue. In April, the government initiated a water supply restriction schedule within the corporate areas of Kingston. 

But as far back as January, people have protested water scarcity and issues in Jamaica's largest parish, Saint Ann. Residents of Mount Edgecombe complained of a persisting scarcity that began in 2020. 

Tamara lives in the Kingston and Saint Andrew corporate area. In many ways, people like her are hit the hardest. Not only are women historically more vulnerable to water scarcity, but Tamara also operates her own farm. Farmers are particularly vulnerable to water scarcity. 

“It was very hard to maintain not only myself, but the animals,” she told TriplePundit. “The reality of continuous days without flowing water became terrible as the hot weather became harsher. I felt a high level of heat stress, and if I experienced that, I could only imagine what my animals would’ve succumbed to. In order to manage, I had to prioritize the animals over myself because I can be helped, but they rely solely on what I can provide. So, the majority of the water that I had in storage was used to supply them and make sure I could at least take a bath.”

Kingston has untapped underground water sources, but there is an issue with attempting to tap into them, Debbie-Ann Gordon-Smith, a chemistry professor at the University of the West Indies, told 3p. “Several studies I’ve been a part of have revealed contamination in the water underground,” Smith said. The main contamination found was sewage waste. 

It’s water she believes could be treated and reused for other purposes, and it speaks to an interesting quality of the land in Jamaica: an ability to hold water, even below the surface.

Tapping these underground channels may be a future solution or even a part of a larger overall plan for more sustainable water policy and practice. In the meantime, the ability of the land to trap and store water offers another solution in a place like the Mason River Protected Area on the border of Saint Ann and Clarendon parishes. The 202-acre wetland is home to the island’s only inland peat bog.

There’s nothing particularly new about protected areas or wetlands. But Mason River is a perfect example of what happens when land is protected and how surrounding communities can benefit, even during droughts. It was declared a wetland of international importance, or Ramsar site, in 2011. 

“In general all the green spaces cumulatively help to improve the environment,” Keron Cambell, a botanist who supervises the Mason River Protected Area, said. “With respect to ecosystem services on a broad scale, we have cleaner air, water to drink and use for irrigation, nutrient cycling, mitigation in terms of flooding, etcetera.” The protected area is owned and operated by the Natural History Museum of Jamaica, which is the division of the Institute of Jamaica that Campbell works for. 

I visited the protected area after it rained across the island overnight.  And even during the dry season, I still had to wade through ankle-high waters in some sections. That water-holding ability is thanks to limestone, Simon Mitchell, a professor of sedimentary geology at the University of the West Indies, told 3p. 

“Wetlands are really formed when we have water captured in a particular place,” Mitchell said. “A place like Mason River is a series of limestones and a relatively flat area, so the water builds up in the depressions in the limestone. We see water being captured in these areas because these limestones have some clay in them, which stops the water from draining away.” 

Much of Jamaica is limestone, evidenced by the many underground rivers, streams and connections to major bodies of water that run through the parishes, Mitchell said. This ability to trap, store and divert water underground might just be the island’s most resilient, natural hidden power against the ongoing drought.

Unfortunately it’s not a cure-all for climate change ills. Wetlands are habitats that host life, and they’re not an infinite or dispensable resource. Even the Mason River Protected Area finds itself more at risk as the days go by. 

Climate change is not only intensifying weather systems and creating global heatwaves, it's also creating longer, more grueling dry seasons. During my visit, I noticed an absence of the carnivorous plants that are usually there year-round. The station attendant explained that their absence is due to the increased heat during the dry season. Some plants completely wither only to return when the wet season begins.

Furthermore, wetlands have become much more valuable with their capacity to absorb and trap carbon dioxide within their bogs and marshes. The loss of these places is even more dangerous because of the years of trapped carbon that is released in the atmosphere when they are dried up or disturbed. 

It’s essential to protect wetlands like Mason River, as their ability to boost climate resilience is priceless. But they are limited in their ability to weather the changing climate. Individuals can support these protected areas through ecotourism ventures like guided tours. The remaining challenge lies with governments, world leaders and policymakers who can sanction or cease environmental crimes and support sustainable ventures.