TEF Invests $10 million
in 2018 International
Coastal Cleanup Day
Activities
Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) Executive Director, Dr. Carey Wallace (left), joins Jamaica
Environment Trust (JET) CEO Suzanne Stanley (second left) and Ministry of Tourism volunteers
Sheryll Lewis (second-right) and Lorraine Lewis in International Coastal Clean Up Day activi-
ties at JET’s flagship site at the Palisadoes Go-Kart Track on September 15.
T
he Tourism Enhancement (TEF)
has
invested
approximately
$10 million in this year’s Interna-
tional Coastal Cleanup Day ini-
tiative, which is spearheaded local-
ly by Jamaica Environment Trust (JET).
Speaking at JET’s flagship site at the Pal-
isadoes Go-Kart Track on September 15,
TEF’s Executive Director Dr. Carey Wal-
lace said, “Tourism relies on our coasts
being clean and beautiful. Therefore,
we believe this programme is good val-
ue for money. We put $8 million into the
International Coastal Cleanup Day. Af-
ter that, we put another $2 million for
our Ministry and its agencies to partici-
pate. We have been sponsoring for the
past 10 years, and have spent approx-
imately $50 million during that period.”
International Coastal Cleanup Day is
coordinated globally by the Ocean
Conservancy (USA) and locally by JET.
TEF has been a major sponsor of the is-
land wide coastal cleanup initiative
since 2008. It attracts millions of volun-
teers in more than 100 countries who
clean up beaches and waterways to
raise awareness about marine pollution.
Source: Ministry of Tourism
Last year, Jamaica had 9,675 volunteers at over 147 sites, which was the
12th largest ICC event in the world. This was also the largest ICC day
turnout in the English-speaking Caribbean.
“As far as our participation in this event from a global perspective, we are
doing extremely well. It is very encouraging and heartwarming to see
that as Jamaicans, we not only spend the time and energy to clean up
our coastlines but we also demonstrate to the world that we are environ-
mentally responsible. Last year it was 93 miles of coast that was cleaned
up by the programme,” said Dr. Wallace.
The clean-up activities took place days before today’s announcement
by the Government of Jamaica to implement a ban on single use plastic
bags, plastic straws and Styrofoam effective January 1, 2019.
International Coastal Cleanup is a fraction of the Ministry of Tourism’s
partnership with JET through the Tourism Enhancement Fund, to protect
the environment. In 2014, the Ministry expanded its commitment with a
Clean Coasts Project. To date, TEF has given $146 million, including $25
million in 2018 in funding. The project includes environmental education
for adults and children along with practical strategies for tackling poor
solid waste management and marine debris in Jamaica.