5.2.2. Cost and Benefit Data

Table 14 provides detailed information on the various data points used to assess the economic and environmental impacts of forest management, reforestation, and conservation activities. This information serves as a foundation for evaluating the cost-effectiveness and broader implications of implementing Jamaica’s long-term forest sector strategies.

Table 14. Data Points and Sources

Data point considered

Main source

Budget allocated to expand government nursery programme

National Forest Management and Conservation Plan (NFMCP) 2021-2026

Annual revenue generated by nursery seedling sales

NFMCP 2021-2026

Average cost per hectare of reforestation operations

NFMCP 2021-2026

Annual funding to develop and update Forest-Management Plans

NFMCP 2021-2026

Cost of implementing riparian-forest management practices

NFMCP 2021-2026

Unit cost of staff training in silviculture

NFMCP 2021-2026

Cost of improving forest spatial-data and inventories

NFMCP 2021-2026

Unit price of a reference automated weather station

Davis Vantage Pro2 (product specification)

Establishment cost of permanent forest-sampling plots

NFMCP 2021-2026

Typical cost of conserving protected forest areas

Economic Valuation of Jamaica’s Portland Bight (2000 study)

Monetary benefit from soil-erosion avoided by mulching

Portland Bight valuation; supporting land-resources datasets

Reduction of heat-stress losses using silvopasture

Literature on silvopasture benefits; 2023 livestock statistics

Annual benefit from charcoal production in reforested zones

Portland Bight valuation study

Recreation and tourism value added by reforested areas

Portland Bight valuation study

Coastal-protection value of mangrove conservation

Portland Bight valuation study

Budget for cross-sectoral integration of the forest sector

NFMCP 2021-2026

Budget to amend Forest Act and related regulations

NFMCP 2021-2026

Budget to update development orders affecting forests

NFMCP 2021-2026

Funds to transfer crown lands to the Forestry Department

NFMCP 2021-2026

Budget to strengthen tenure and trespass enforcement

NFMCP 2021-2026

Budget to develop regulations for recreation, research, leases, bonds

NFMCP 2021-2026

Cost of verifying boundaries of public forest estates

NFMCP 2021-2026

Budget for controlling invasive species in forests

NFMCP 2021-2026

Budget for pilot species-conservation and mapping work

NFMCP 2021-2026

Biodiversity value attributed to reforestation

Portland Bight valuation study

Cultural, visual and symbolic services from reforestation

Ecosystem-services valuation study (ScienceDirect)

Air-quality regulation value provided by new forest cover

Spatial analysis of Northern Guatemala (applied to Jamaica context)