Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer

Jamaica's Conservator of Forests at the Ministry of Agriculture's Forestry Department, Marilyn Headley, says the constant flooding of the Yallahs Ford in St. Thomas can only be solved if the Upper Yallahs Watershed is comprehensively reforested.

She says the deforestation of sections of that watershed is largely responsible for the damage to the road network in the area, because of the heavy runoff resulting from the cutting down of trees. She says many hillsides in other parts of St. Thomas and rural St. Andrew are also being denuded.

Headley made her comments during an interview with The Gleaner following the Forest Conservation Fund grant signing in Kingston, on Thursday.

"The problem (at Yallahs) is always attempted to be solved by putting a bailey bridge or by fixing the fording. But, it can only be solved if we fix the top of the watershed," Ms. Headley advised. "There needs to be a massive comprehensive development plan for the Upper Yallahs watershed and that would entail a real full-fledged planting programme in collaboration with the people in the area."

Trees are very important

She explains, "when you have trees, the water doesn't run off as quickly. It is absorbed into the ground, and comes out into the rivers at a later date."

Headley says community members should play their part in preventing people from denuding the hillsides. She says the gravity of the problem in the area has made the Upper Yallahs watershed a priority area for corrective work by the Forestry Department.

"It is a big problem and is one that all of us have to fix. If we can cover the watershed and keep it in a good state, with optimum (forest) cover it will reduce this heavy runoff that occurs with every drop of rain, because we see the results lower down when the river comes out in spate," the forestry conservator says.

In its most recent Forestry Profile of Jamaica , the Forestry Advisers Network of the Canadian International Development Agency's (CIDA) also confirmed that increasing deforestation in Jamaica 's mountains and the resulting soil erosion is threatening the country's sustainability. The report said more than a third of Jamaica 's watersheds have deteriorated in recent years and were in urgent need of rehabilitation.