Jamaica’s Coalition for Forests calls for a more participatory national budgeting process

Jamaica’s Coalition for Forests is calling on the Government to increase the allocation for forest conservation and management in the 2024/2025 budget, to embrace participatory budgeting on every level, and to recognise and support the value and economic benefits of civil society’s work on forest conservation and management.

The 2024/2025 budget and the Government’s fiscal priorities will be unveiled by Dr. the Hon Nigel Clarke, Minister of Finance and the Public Service in the Opening Budget Presentation to Parliament on March 12, 2024. This budget was developed with input from Ministries and agencies and reviewed by the Cabinet over January and February and must be approved by Parliament by March 31, 2024. But Jamaica’s civil society feels that they do not have sufficient voice in determining priorities for budgetary support for forest conservation and management.

The Caribbean Coastal Area Management (C-CAM) Foundation is one of the 27 members of the Coalition for Forests. C-CAM’s Executive Director, Ms Ingrid Parchment, highlighted that, “Civil society and government want the same
thing for the forest sector in Jamaica – to see it develop and thrive and deliver real results for communities and people on the ground protecting and making their livelihoods off the forests. CSOs and the public sector partnering for a more
inclusive budgeting process makes sense as the benefits to both Jamaican citizens and the economy are far-reaching.
Working together to conserve Jamaica’s forests means uniting for a more sustainable and prosperous future for
Jamaicans.”

As the Coalition for Forests looks forward to assessing to what extent the 2024/2025 budget addresses forest conservation and management as a national priority for economic development, livelihoods and wellbeing, its key messages for Ministers and Members of Parliament debating the budget are that:

 Increased budget allocation to forestry management and conservation is beneficial for the Jamaican people, environment and economy.

 Jamaican civil society is delivering results for forest conservation and management and therefore has a right to be included in the budgeting process and allocated more funding to strengthen their important work.

 Forest management and conservation supports economic growth and participatory budgeting opens the door for sustainable development; it opens the door to improved governance, accountability, strengthened citizen engagement and democracy, and an increased share in the public and private spending on forests and forest-based communities.

 Funding forestry management and conservation is funding strong, sustainable and resilient communities.

The Coalition’s aims are to advance democracy by increasing citizen engagement in forest decision- making, and to help increase the share of public and private spending that benefits forests and forest-based communities.

The Coalition’s work is being supported under the project Building civil society awareness and capacity to engage in participatory budgeting and financial management for the forest sector in Jamaica with support from the European Union (FED/2021/428-620) and implemented by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), in partnership with the Caribbean Coastal Area Management (C-CAM) Foundation and the Jamaica Conservation Development Trust (JCDT).