JAMAICA | THEY ARE BUYING OUR COAST — AND WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT WE'RE LOSING

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — From the rolling coast of St. Ann, past the cliffs of Trelawny, through the bays of St. James and into the parishes of Hanover — something is happening along Jamaica's shoreline that most Jamaicans haven't yet registered as a crisis. But it is.

Expatriate Chinese nationals are acquiring coastal land along Jamaica's north and northwest coastline — and in their wake, the mangrove forests that have stood for centuries are being cleared. Quietly. Systematically. Without the public outrage these acts deserve.

What makes this doubly scandalous is the timing. At the very moment these ecosystems are being destroyed, the global economy has placed an extraordinary premium on exactly the kind of coastal assets Jamaica is losing. In the emerging world of carbon credits, our mangroves are not just trees in the sea. They are currency. And someone else is spending it for us.

What Exactly Is a Carbon Credit?

Think of it like this: the world has a pollution problem, and some companies are prepared to pay good money to offset what they cannot yet stop producing. A carbon credit is a certificate that says one tonne of carbon dioxide has been removed from — or kept out of — the atmosphere. Companies, airlines, and tech giants like Microsoft buy these certificates to balance their emissions.

The credits that command the highest prices are nature-based: mangroves, seagrass meadows, forests, wetlands. Not because of sentiment, but because nature sequesters carbon at scale, permanently, and with rich co-benefits — biodiversity, coastal protection, fisheries habitat. These are the credits Jamaica could be producing. These are the credits being destroyed.

The Numbers Jamaica Is Walking Away From

One hundred hectares of protected and restored mangrove, generating 2,500 tonnes of carbon credits annually, would earn approximately US$50,000 per year — every year, for up to thirty years — while simultaneously protecting the coastline from the next hurricane season.

Now ask yourself: how many hectares of mangrove have already been cleared between St. Ann and Hanover? And who gave permission for that to happen?

Where Jamaica's Policy Stands

Jamaica is not asleep on this issue — but it is moving too slowly for a market that will not wait.

• Climate Change Legislation: Under preparation, with drafting instructions targeted for April 2026. Without it, Jamaica cannot formally authorise carbon credits for international sale.
• Blue Carbon and the NDC: The Nature Conservancy and UWI's Centre for Marine Sciences are mapping Jamaica's mangroves and seagrass beds to support inclusion in the country's updated climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. That inclusion is the legal gateway to trading these assets internationally.
• Article 6 of the Paris Agreement: At COP29 in 2024, the world finalised the rules for international carbon credit trading between countries. Over 97 bilateral agreements have been signed globally. Jamaica has signed none.
• The JSE Green Bond Plus: Launched in 2024, Jamaica's Stock Exchange now has a platform for trading green financial instruments. The plumbing is there. The carbon product is not yet on it.

The policy foundations are being laid. What is missing is the urgency — and the political will to treat the destruction of mangroves not as a planning issue, but as an act of economic sabotage against Jamaica's future.

How Jamaicans Can Claim Their Share

This is not just a government story. The carbon credit economy creates real, concrete opportunities for Jamaican entrepreneurs, farmers, fisherfolk, and investors right now.

Where to Start — Right Now

• Identify land with carbon potential: degraded mangroves, upland forest, coastal wetlands, or farmland suitable for agroforestry
• Access carbon measurement training through PADF, the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, and UWI's Centre for Marine Sciences
• Choose a certification standard: Verra's Verified Carbon Standard and Gold Standard are the most recognised globally
• Engage early with international buyers via platforms such as Xpansiv, South Pole, and Anew Climate
• Monitor and participate in Jamaica's Climate Change Legislation consultations — the authorisation framework will determine what can legally be sold internationally

The Verdict

Someone is getting rich off what belongs to Jamaica. That is the simple truth buried beneath the diplomatic language and bureaucratic timelines. While our policymakers prepare concept papers, foreign nationals are clearing the very ecosystems that the global market is prepared to pay us to protect.

The carbon credit economy is not a distant future. Countries are signing bilateral trading agreements. Corporations are securing 30-year offtake deals for nature-based credits. Entrepreneurs in Kenya, Indonesia, and Brazil are already building carbon aggregation businesses that generate millions of dollars annually.

The question is whether we wake up in time to defend it — and to profit from what is still standing.