Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society

The Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society (NCRPS) is a not-for-profit environmental, non-government organization., , PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION, ? To promote public awareness of the importance of coral reefs for the maintenance of environmental quality through education at all levels of society, with emphasis on the development of marine parks and protected areas and encouragement of ecologically sound planning practices. , , ? To identify, protect, and manage ecologically significant natural areas and the life they support by assisting governments to establish and manage national parks and protected areas., , ? To provide advice to developers at the earliest stages of planning to ensure that environmental factors are fully considered and to assist in the preparation of environmental impact assessments., , ? To develop and maintain an information base relating to the marine environment and make it available to all interested parties., , ? To protect and preserve natural marine resources in a way that they can be used as a sustainable base for tourism, recreation, education and fishing by specifically protecting the coral reefs, sea grass beds, wetlands, rivers and estuaries., , ? To work closely with other organizations that have a vested interest in preserving natural marine resources., , , There are approximately one hundred active members in the Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society., , Since its inception in 1990, NCRPS has played a key role in the establishment of the Negril Marine Park. The Society first installed mooring buoys on Negril_s reefs in 1991 to prevent anchor damage to corals and launched a coral reef public awareness campaign. It was then that NCRPS began lobbying the Government of Jamaica for the establishment of the Negril Marine Park. In 1995 the organization was awarded grant funds to establish a management structure through funding from the European Union and the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica. Since 1995 NCRPS has been actively managing the NMP, which was legally established/declared in 1998. Presently the management structure includes a staff consisting of a Project Manager (Marine Park Manager), Administrative Manager, Assistant Project Coordinator, four Rangers, one Assistant Ranger and an Administrative Assistant (driver/bearer). Current Negril Marine Park management programmes include administration, education/awareness, training and development, including a Junior Ranger Training Programme, research and monitoring, including coral reef and water quality monitoring, zoning and enforcement, and fisheries management. ,