The following is the text of a speech delivered by Marcia Forbes, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications, at the International Seminar - Man and the Biosphere, at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort, Montego Bay, on April 5.

As the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications, my responsibilities cover two areas which can be of concern to environmentalists.

Mining - which covers the Jamaica Bauxite Mining Company, Jamaica Bauxite Institute, Mines and Geology Division, Clarendon Alumina Production Limited, Bauxite and Alumina Trading Company of Jamaica.

Telecommunications - which covers Post and Telecommunications Department, e-learning, Spectrum Management Authority, Universal Access Fund.

For the six months that I have been permanent secretary I have become even more aware of what seems like an unbreachable divide between those in the bauxite/ alumina industry and mining in general and environmentalists.

The telecommunications sector is equally contentious - with deep concerns about emissions form both cellphones and cellphones tower, along with concerns re disposal of handsets and other waste products.

At times, each side holds such hard lines that the situation can become untenable, so it was with a sigh of relief and much hope that I read the 'Man and Biosphere' booklet.

The document spoke to issues of balance:

Using our resources but doing so in a manner which shows respect and regard for human kind and for the environment.

Man and Biosphere's objective is to achieve a "sustainable balance between the sometimes conflicting goals of conserving biological diversity, promoting economic development, and maintaining associated cultural values".

The booklet also highlighted the evolving approach of "general integration of conservation and development through increasing cooperation among stakeholders".

It speaks of "communication and cooperation"; not "us and them" but "we"; a togetherness, a working together to promote sustainable development.

As stated in the booklet "One of the greatest strengths of the biosphere reserve concept has been the flexibility and creativity with which it has been realised in various situations."

I come back to the matter of the bauxite and alumina sector specifically, but the mining sector more generally, to support the point of us working together and finding ways to benefit from our resources, but in a planned sustainable manner.

I was quite surprised when Dr Carlton Davis, who has written two books about the bauxite/alumina sector from its inception in Jamaica to, I believe, the mid-1990s, highlighted in a meeting (recently) that only 0.7 per cent (less than one per cent) of Jamaica's landmass has been disturbed by bauxite mining.

Before starting as permanent secretary in the ministry I did not know the ways in which the sector contributes to communities, to families, to Jamaica. Like most of you, I just knew that I did not like the ugly scars in the land which were created and sometimes left for years because of mining.

When I read recently about the thousands of hectares of mined out land left unrehabilitated, I was appalled and immediately started calling in the numbers.

If the bauxite equity holders were tardy in their actions of reclaiming mined out land, as per their agreement, owed the Government and, by extension, the people of Jamaica money, then my ministry, as the gatekeeper, was going to ensure the collection of whatever is owed.

In taking this action I realised that things are not always as they may appear.

In fact, whereas reclaiming/ rehabilitating mined out land is not being done as speedily as the Government would like, it is not as bad as some may present, and is much better that it used to be.

As at December 2008, just over 8,000 hectares have been disturbed for mining. Over 60 per cent has been reclaimed and certified by the commissioner of mines. The rest is either being mined, or in the process of reclamation.

There is a fine of US$25,000 per hectare for unreclaimed mined-out land.

It is noteworthy that during this period of low production the Government, through the commissioner of mines and the Jamaica Bauxite Institute, the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications, is insisting on:

increased reclamation;

strict adherence to the terms of agreement with equity owners;

they must honour their obligations to workers, to communities and to the Government.

With regard to telecommunications and environmental challenges, a number of measures have been or are being implemented:

The Spectrum Management Authority and the National Environment and Planning Agency - to monitor emissions from cell towers.

recycling

Digicel is currently working out a plan to recondition used handsets and sell them as seconds elsewhere in the world. The money collected will be donated to a local charity. I do not want to steal Digicel's thunder and we await the fine-tuning of this programme and its announcement.

There are wider, more overarching measures being implemented by the ministry. These include the drafting of an ICT policy, which addresses matters such as co-location on cell towers and shared space as far as possible and practical.

We are also working on a national, comprehensive minerals policy. The Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications is not standing idly by. Like the 'Man and Biosphere' document, we are encouraging collaboration, cooperation, flexibility and creativity.

With this approach, we anticipate that we will be the first English-speaking Caribbean territory to designate a biosphere reserve. I suspect it will likely be the Portland Bight and the Cockpit Country.

Portland Bight in southern Jamaica was designated a Wetland of International Importance on World Wetland Day, February 2, 2006. - file