Jamaica has seen an increase in visitors as a result of the inscription of the Blue Mountains and John Crow National Park on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List.
Inscribed on July 3, 2015, the 26,000-hectare park was the first to place Jamaica on the world heritage stage.
One of 32 “mixed” World Heritage sites, and the first such in the Caribbean, it joined a list of other historic sites such as the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the Taj Mahal in India, the Gros Pitons in St Lucia and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Heritage status is granted to places around the globe that are considered to be of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) for present and future generations.
Managed by the Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT), a non-governmental organization and a registered charity, the National Park is home to unique birds, frogs, the Homer swallowtail butterfly, the Jamaican needle and four of Jamaica’s six endemic snakes.
It is located at the eastern end of Jamaica and includes parts of the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland and a small part of southeastern St. Mary’s.
The Executive Director of JCDT, Dr. Susan Otuokon, told JIS News that the inscription has helped increase tourists to the Park’s main recreational sites, Holywell and the Blue Mountain Peak Trail and Portland Gap.
“We have also seen increased interest in visiting the Park, particularly from overseas visitors. We get a lot of emails with inquiries because people are seeing that the site is being promoted in the world heritage media,” she said, adding that the JCDT is working to get more overseas visitors.
While accepting the challenges of reaching the mountainous areas, Dr. Otuokon said there is a “special type of visitor” who is not afraid to get to places.
“There is a special type of visitor who is interested in world heritage, who is willing to travel long distances and willing to go through more difficult and less luxurious accommodation and transport to get to these very places special,” she said.
“We are planning to enter that market,” she continued, noting that the sign has improved the Park’s visibility and promotion.
Dr. Otuokon said UNESCO has a very strong globally recognized world heritage website and related and other social media, which really do a good job of promoting the sites that are inscribed.
“So at least once a year they’re calling and asking for pictures, videos and information that they can share on their websites and their related websites,” she added.
Dr. Otuokon noted that the number of visitors had dropped for a period as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the subsequent shutdown of the site. However, she said visitors are returning as people realize that the spread of COVID-19 is less likely to happen outside than inside.
Apart from the 15 to 20 percent revenue from recreational tourism activities, the Executive Director said JCDT has received a small amount of government funding since the heritage status, to manage the park.
“In fact, what the World Heritage Committee is saying to the government is that they must take on the responsibility of protecting these special sites on behalf of the whole world,” added Dr. Otuokon.
She said that although UNESCO recognizes the site, no financial contribution accompanies the inscription. However, she noted that due to world recognition, the government and JCDT have a better chance of receiving funding from UNESCO and other local and multilateral foundations.
“When we apply for funding to various foundations due to the fact that we are a world heritage site, it attracts more attention and has more credibility regarding the importance of the site and the importance of preserving the associated cultural and natural heritage with him. ,” noted Dr. Otuokon.
Reggae music became the second element to be inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This style of music, which started in Jamaica in the late 1960s, is now known around the world.
The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports, Mr. Olivia Grange, who headlined the Reggae Music Festival held in Port Louis, Republic of Mauritius in 2018, was overjoyed after the announcement.
“It shows the popularity of Reggae music around the world and the fascinating influence of the Jamaican art form,” she said during an interview.
The Moore Town Maroons in Portland, which received World Heritage recognition in 2008, live within the community’s buffer zone outside the National Park.
“We used to receive visitors to the area, but since the inscription, more visitors are coming. More people want to connect with the land, more people want to meet the people and more people want to see all the attractions we have in the valley,” Moore Town Maroons Colonel Wallace Sterling told JIS News.
Mr Sterling said some people still don’t understand “the tremendous impact heritage designation has had on people in the valley”.
“We end up getting more visitors. It is up to us to ensure that we continue to protect this designation. The worst thing that can ever happen to us, as a people, is that they delist us or wipe us out; that would be a disaster. So we have to ensure that we continue to maintain the place in a pristine way,” he said.
In addition to World Heritage recognition, Jamaica has served on several intergovernmental committees over the years. This included the Executive Board of UNESCO during the period 1970-1976.
Jamaica’s mandate spanned the periods: 1974-1976; 1980-1981; 1981-1985; 1991-1995, 2001-2005 and 2007-2009, resulting in the country’s participation in 51 sessions, as chairman and representative, according to the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports. The most recent term was for the period 2018-2021, led by Minister Grange as the representative of Jamaica.
While on the Executive Board, Jamaica served on four committees, including the Committee on Conventions and Recommendations, which was chaired by Minister Grange.
Currently, the country is serving on the intergovernmental committees for the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. This is for the periods 2018-2022 and 2021-2025, respectively.
In addition, Jamaica served on the World Heritage Committee from 2014 to 2017 and has re-submitted its candidacy for 2023 for four years.
Jamaica is a signatory to four cultural conventions under UNESCO, including the 2011 Convention for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
The government is making efforts to register Port Royal on the World Heritage List, similar to what has been done for the Reggae inscription.
Port Royal, a town located at the end of the Palisadoes strip in Kingston and the former home of pirates during the 17th century, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List since February 2009.
The World Heritage nomination for the Sunken City of Port Royal was submitted in 2018. According to the Ministry, the nomination file was evaluated in 2018 and addressed by the World Heritage Committee in 2019 at its 43rd session, resulting in a postponement of the file.
“The postponement was extensively reviewed in 2020 by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust technical team with a view to re-evaluating and resubmitting a new designation,” according to the Ministry.
