Mission Statement:

The mission of the Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society (NCRPS) is to protect and preserve coral reef ecosystems, locally, regionally and internationally, through education, research, training, monitoring, lobbying and the creation of Marine Protected Areas.

Background:

The Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society is a non-profit, non-government organization formed in 1990 by a group of divers, who recognized the drastic degradation of the coral reef ecosystem, which at that time seemed to be most impacted by anchor damage.  The first initiative was to install reef-mooring buoys for the protection of the fragile coral reefs. Ties were made with Reef Relief, a prominent environmental organization in the United States and 35 reef mooring buoys were initially installed, which through data collected prevented an estimated 22,000 anchorage’s in the first year.

The Organization continued with its protection efforts through a rigid and vigorous education programme.  Through research it was realized that in order to protect the fragile coastal marine environment, corrective programmes should begin on land, as what ever happens on land will eventually affect the sea.  The Society then started what amounted to a seven-year lobbying process for government to declare not only a Marine Park but also an Environmental Protection Area.

The objectives for which the Society is established are:

To promote public awareness on the importance of maintenance of environmental quality through education at all levels of society, with emphasis on the development of marine parks and protected areas and the 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 statements and assessments.

To develop and maintain an information base relating to the marine environment and make it available for all interested parties.

To protect and preserve natural marine resources in a way that they can be used as a sustainable base for tourism, for recreation, education and fishing by specifically protecting the coral reefs, the sea grass beds, wetlands, rivers and estuaries.

To work closely with other organizations that have a vested interest in preserving natural marine resources.