BEYOND THE ceremonial planting of a tree here and there and the involvement of a number of schools in small-scale tree planting exercises during last Friday's National Tree Planting Day by the Forestry Department, there is no indication that the day was marked with the seriousness of engagement which it deserved.

Jamaica has been losing forest cover at an alarming rate with one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. The Forestry Department, using a combination of satellite imagery, aerial photography and ground reconnaissance, has estimated that only 30 per cent forest cover remains. And the rate of deforestation is about 0.1 per cent of the total area of forest per annum.

By its own admission, the department, inadequately financed like so many other government agencies, faces a formidable task in sustaining Jamaica's wood and water resources. So far it has been a losing battle as deforestation continues to outstrip reforestation.

The loss of forest cover has serious implications for the environmental health of the island. The denuding of watersheds, for example, has had a major impact on the rivers of Jamaica alternating between reduced flows and devastating flooding.

This year a mere 20,000 seedlings were made available for planting on National Tree Planting Day, up from 12,000 last year. At best, tree planting on this minuscule scale on one day is a token exercise, important for its awareness-building potential. Some 69,000 hectares of land have been identified by the Forestry Department as having good reforestation potential, much of this area in five of 26 watersheds assessed. Contrary to popular belief, the bulk of this land suitable for reforestation, 67,000 hectares, is in private hands. Clearly, an appropriate mix of carrot and stick strategies must be employed to get significant portions of this privately owned land back in forest.

While the Government should, as far as possible, use the legitimate power of the state to conserve and restore forest cover, the matter does not have to be purely a matter of environmental protection for some intangible and impersonal public good. Forests are commercially valuable resources producing a range of outputs. Jamaica once had a major timber industry which could have been sustained with careful restoration practices. The National Parks system created by the Government some years ago, took the wise approach of the integrated use of the parks, which included forest and marine areas, rather than a 'closed for business' approach. The Forestry Department has again underscored the enormous tourism potential of forest reserves.

While forests out in the bush constitute a vital part of the ecosystem, we should also emphasise more strongly the greening of urban space. We don't have the kinds of asphalt jungles that are such a feature of many large cities but much more can be done to create more ordered public and private urban green space with trees.