THE PROJECT

Institutional Strengthening to Support Environmental Management of Kingston Harbour

I. Objective

1.01 The Project has two objectives: (1) to create the institutional setting needed to coordinate the diverse stakeholders and activities that impact upon the current state of the Kingston Harbor, and (2) support pre-investment efforts to address major pollutant sources.

1.02 The purpose is to kick-start activities that will contribute to a unified and sustainable effort towards a cleaner Kingston Harbor. The clean up of Kingston Harbor will require the coordination of efforts by multiple stakeholders to address the various sources of contamination to the Harbor.

1.03 The Project will create the institutional framework to coordinate the actions of a diverse range of actors, and more importantly, develop the financial and legal mechanisms to sustain this institutional framework over time by spurring a high level GOJ initiative dedicating resources, assigning responsibilities, and setting objectives in concrete, measurable terms.

1.04 The majority of resources of this Project will be used to provide consulting services for improving the institutional capacity of the GOJ to address the contamination of Kingston Harbor. The Project will also finance the purchase of a water quality model, finance a pre investment study and various teaching materials and seminars

II. Description

2.01 The Project will have the following five components: (a) Institutional Strengthening; (b) Development of a Physical Plan for Kingston Harbor; (c) Improving Environmental Performance of Industries Discharging to Kingston Harbor; (d) Development of Documentation and Tender Documents for a Ship-Generated Waste Reception Facility; and (e) Public Outreach, Education, and Training.

2.02 Institutional Strengthening. This component will provide the institutional basis for implementation of the Kingston Harbor clean-up effort. The component will finance the development of specific institutional options for the GOJ to choose from and implement by dedicating resources, assigning responsibilities, and setting objectives. An implementation plan will be formulated that proposes the steps and milestones required by key GOJ and other participants towards effective self-organization. One important result from this component will be to build in mechanisms to assure financial sustainability of whatever option is ultimately developed so that the resulting initiative can thrive long after the Project is executed. The five tasks within this component consist of developing structural options for implementation strategies, developing the legal and regulatory framework supporting the option chosen, developing a mechanism for a financially sustainable proposal, developing an implementation plan, and supporting the first steps of implementation.

2.03 Development of a Physical Plan for Kingston Harbor. This component consists of developing two fundamental tools that are requisite to a national initiative to rehabilitate Kingston Harbor: (a) a Basic Zoning Plan of the harbor, and (b) a Water Quality Model. The Basic Zoning Plan will serve as a complement to, and will be framed within, the Master Plan of KMA. Given the limited budget available for this task, the Basic Zoning Plan will focus specifically on the problem of water quality of the Harbor, proposing general land and water uses on and around Kingston Harbor. The Water Quality Model will be used primarily by NEPA to provide an empirical basis for remediation activities, allowing NEPA to prioritize enforcement efforts internally as well as publicly. Several aspects of this component will be closely coordinated with the task described in the TOR for the Institutional Strengthening, avoiding duplication of effort and capitalizing on synergies wherever possible. The resulting document will serve in developing its general zoning policy.

2.04 NEPA does not currently possess or use a water quality model, although it is an essential tool for any regulatory agency and policy maker seeking to understand the impact of contamination sources on a water body. With the Model, NEPA will be able to develop a water quality monitoring and enforcement methodology for Kingston Harbor and the rivers that feed into it and in calibrating the model for operation. Only a basic level of detail is required, considering just a few key indicator parameters in calibration, to allow NEPA to achieve its desired objectives of empirically supporting monitoring and enforcement activities. This list of parameters might include, subject to budget availability, dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD), nitrogen, phosphorous, total solids, and possibly one or two prominent heavy metals. Using model results, the Project will also support NEPA in developing a protocol for articulating and communicating key information on the quality of Kingston Harbor to other regulatory authorities and to the public at large.

2.05 Improving Environmental Performance of Industries Discharging to Kingston Harbor. The purpose of this component is to bolster NEPA’s capacity to provide technical assistance to industries discharging to Kingston Harbor. This component complements the activities of the Component for the Development of a Physical Plan for Kingston Harbor, in that it will link Water Quality Model results with specific intervention activities. The four basic activities within this component include developing a NEPA program strategy for addressing industrial polluters, conducting sample pollution prevention audits at one facility (leveraging USAID/EAST project experiences), leading biggest polluters through stages of improved environmental management, and developing a revolving fund to help finance performance improvements within Kingston industry.

2.06 The various activities of this component will serve to strengthen NEPA’s capacity to provide technical assistance to industry and to enforce environmental regulations more effectively. The cornerstone of this component consists of the development of a program strategy for NEPA focused on managing dischargers to Kingston Harbor. The Project will also perform audits of two industrial facilities in the Kingston Harbor area for use as examples for improving industrial environmental performance through application of a combination of cleaner production measures and adopting an Environmental Management System (EMS). Finally, a study for the development of a new revolving fund to help finance performance improvements in Kingston Harbor is expected to serve an existing need by creating a one-stop-shop financing vehicle and technical assistance that leverages available finance opportunities as well as creates new ones to provide financing for manufacturers undertaking projects favorable to the environment of Kingston Harbor. Project consultants will explore funding the fund with both local and international sources. The fund will not subsidize polluters and should provide funding without distorting market conditions. Financial sustainability will need to be built into the fund through internal sources such as a fee collection system drawing from various sources deriving benefits from the Harbor, including discharging industries, ship traffic, docks, and developers; as well as external sources of funding.

2.07 Development of Documentation and Tender Documents for a Ship-Generated Waste Reception Facility. The purpose of this component is to prepare the documentation required to bring the proposed Waste Reception Facility to the point that a call for bids to finance, build and operate the Facility . The Facility will help reduce pollution loadings discharged to the Kingston Harbor. NEPA is the regulator. While NEPA is the Executing Agency for this grant, the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAOJ) will provide assistance in preparing the tender documentation. Consultants should draft the document for financing, building and operating structure as well as prepare the financial model and tender documents. The proposed facility will also allow Jamaica to fulfill its obligation as a member of the International Maritime Organization’s International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (1973) and its Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL). This work will be guided by two criteria: 1) the options explored in the resulting document should meet the needs expressed by the GOJ sponsors, and 2) the options must be structured to attract investors and bids in the desired Facility.

2.08 Public Outreach, Education, and Training. This component will consist of two activities designed to build awareness among the general public as well as stakeholders and polluters in the Kingston Harbor Area: (a) a stakeholder awareness campaign, and (b) development of education modules for primary and secondary school children in the Kingston Area. NEPA will coordinate with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture in the development and delivery of the education modules. This component will support the development of two sets of educational modules for schools in the Kingston Harbor area of influence, one for the primary school level and one for the secondary level. Modules will focus on building understanding among Kingston students of the ecology of Kingston Harbor, the importance of maintaining environmental quality of the Harbor, and specific actions students can take to build general public awareness and change behavior. The Consultant will help design permanent displays and tools that will have a lasting presence in the target schools in helping to build overall awareness.

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