Above: the signing ceremony in Kingston (JIS Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Jamaica and Brazil have signed an agreement to strengthen the former’s water resources management.

The $98,000 contract was signed last week by Jamaica’s Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change Minister Robert Pickersgill and Brazil Ambassador to Jamaica Francisco Da Costa e Silva in Kingston.

“Indeed, the need to manage our water resources has become increasingly urgent,” said Pickersgill, who noted that Brazil has a “wealth of experience and expertise in the area of water management.”

“The different but related use of water by households, commercial establishments, agriculture, industries, and even for recreational activities, has put pressure on our natural water resources,” Pickersgill said. “This, in turn, threatens the larger environment.”

Brazil’s envoy, who signed on behalf of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, said the decision to support Jamaica’s water management capacity was made in February when Brazilian Foreign Minister Luis Alberto Machado led a 10-member delegation to Jamaica.

“We’re hoping that we will be able to finish this phase of the project in the next two years and then we might continue this co-operation with Jamaica once we have identified what issues, if any, we can offer co-operation on,” he said. “Brazil has expertise in several areas and we are very happy that we have the capabilities to give assistance to Jamaica.”