WWD 2001 Event
Jamaica - Montego Bay Marine Park
March 22 is celebrated as World Water Day and around the world global advocacy and awareness-raising activities take place. Many activities will be taking place in Jamaica and Montego Bay will be no exception. Clean drinking water is a prerequisite for life. However, most of the fresh water on earth cannot be directly drunk, because it contains microbes, bacteria and micro particles detrimental to human health. Even here in Jamaica, access to clean water can no longer be guaranteed without an effective water purification system in place.
The Montego Bay Marine Park Trust, in association with Ecological Technologies Ltd (Eco-Tec), is hosting a demonstration of a water filtration system that makes water safe to drink. The demonstration will take place from 11:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. beside the Pie River at the UDC's construction site of the new Sports Complex at Catherine Hall, Montego Bay. Interested parties are invited to attend and drink water from the Pie River!
Eco-Tec is a Dutch company located in Jamaica that promotes environmentally benign products. Developed in Denmark, the Sweetwater Technology is a portable and cost effective water filtration system that uses carbon, RO and UV filters to purify fresh water no matter how polluted it is! This system will be of particular importance to citizens, construction companies, the emergency services, the military, farmers, particularly in rural areas, and anyone else who needs pure water. The filter unit requires an input supply of fresh (not salt) water from a pond, river, catchment or even a sewage system and then filters out all impurities.
Although Jamaica, is blessed with adequate supplies of good quality water, this is based on protecting the integrity of our water supply with good watershed management and we cannot afford to be complacent. The “Land of Wood and Water” has been accused of having the highest rate of deforestation in the world today and in a recent report we earned the dubious distinction of ranking number six in the world for the number of endangered species of endemic trees. As more trees are cleared for agriculture or development, less water is retained by the soil and more runs off carrying sediment downstream. As erosion increases, there is an increased risk of landslides and we have increased nutrients running into our coastal waters that promotes the growth of algae which smother the coral reefs that build and protect our beaches.
This year, the global community is focusing attention on water and health issues to impact opinion on how to improve the current condition of water and health around the world. Although international attention is increasing on such issues, much still needs to be done. With more than one billion people drinking unsafe water; 3.4 million people mostly children, dying every year of water-related diseases; and 40 per cent of the human race without adequate sanitation the picture looks gloomy.
Contact
Jill Williams
Executive Director
Montego Bay Marine Park, Jamaica