The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has issued a plea to the public to refrain from cutting trees for use in protests over poor road conditions and other social issues.

In a release today (October 26), the agency also urged political parties, community leaders and non-government organisations to discourage the practice of removing trees.

They describe these activities as hurtful, noting that the practice causes great damage to the country’s environment.

“This loss of tree cover is especially worrying as there is a likelihood that the trees being felled may be native, endemic, rare or threatened species,” said Monique Curtis, manager, Ecosystems Management Branch, NEPA.

When citizens remove trees in either urban and rural areas, it can also have a negative impact on the capacity of the environment to provide a number of ecological services needed to sustain quality human life, the agency noted.

“From an environmental perspective, sustained tree loss can lead to deteriorating soil stability, poor drainage and lowered air and water quality,” Curtis added.

The preservation and protection of tree cover is a part of the agency’s mandate to manage and protect Jamaica’s natural and built landscape.

Among the other important characteristics of tree coverage listed by the agency are provision of shade, water retention, water evaporation and transpiration as well as carbon sequestration, which has a cooling effect.