LOADING
The global essential oils market has been estimated to be US$10.6b in 2021 rising to US$16.0b in 2026 [(Markets, 2021)1] as a result of growth in awareness to preventative healthcare, improvements in the standard of living, along with an increase in the demand for aromatherapy products. With the potential availability of relevant plant materials in Tobago, it is appropriate to develop a strategy for the introduction of Plant Extracts Industry in the island.
Numerous organic chemicals, either directly manufactured or formed as byproducts of other processes, are released into the environment. Once there, many cause adverse effects on environmental and human systems. Of particular concern are long-lasting impacts from those organic pollutants that remain in the environment for long periods of time. The development of appropriate management strategies to address this problem requires knowledge of the environmental distributions of these pollutants.
A major challenge facing farmers in Portland, Jamaica is dry weather, especially during the optimal growing season from April through August. During this five-month period Portland suffered from severe dry spells during the years 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2020. A second challenge is the damage to crops and land as well as loss of livestock due to tropical storms or hurricanes and the associated flooding. Portland farmers have suffered losses due to an active hurricane season numerous times and most recently in the years 2004, 2005, 2012 and 2020.
The goal of harnessing our biodiversity to bring health and wealth to the people living in the Caribbean Region got a boost recently courtesy of a 2016 IUCN project entitled ‘Advancing the Nagoya Protocol in Countries of the Caribbean Region’ that had five components. This project was commissioned by eight governments (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago) with GEF funding, had UNEP as its Implementing Agency and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as the Executing Agency.
Lead, a well-known neurotoxin, remains environmentally abundant, arising from many natural and synthetic processes which encourage its environmental accumulation and hence, increased interactions with flora and fauna. Therefore, tremendous research efforts have been invested into developing various methods for its analysis and sequestration, however, affordability, sensitivity and selectivity still remain formidable challenges in this area and hence here is room for further exploration.
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