The Negril Chamber of Commerce was one of the visionaries and continues to be a leader in the Greening of Negril Program. Although the Chamber's mandate is largely to promote the development of business, it has seen the bigger picture and made the connection between business development and environmental management placed in the context of sustainable development. Negril's economy is largely dependent on tourism with natural resources conservation being one of the key elements of sustainable tourism development.

As part of the Greening of Negril initiative we have worked with the Chamber on a number of projects. These include community environmental awareness, the recycling of grey water, sanitation and water quality monitoring. We have also worked together on a recycling center for glass and cardboard that we hope will be launched soon with the support and participation of the entire Negril community.

It is obvious that the Chamber is concerned about the development of the entire Negril destination. This is evident from its involvement in a wide range of projects and activities touching on social, educational, community development and business development issues. It is indeed a holistic approach which is quite appropriate as we live in a complex society with so many areas of interaction that are critical to the development of the society and the economy.

USAID wishes the Chamber the very best in its future endeavors. There are a number of important developments in the world economy that will impact on Jamaica and indeed Negril in the short-term The tourism industry is very competitive and particularly so in this recovery stage after the events of September II . Negril with its five-mile stretch of pristine beach, beautiful water and coral reef ecosystem is particularly well placed to compete in the international arena as a tourist destination. I am certain that there are other areas of the Negril economy that can be developed for entry into the international marketplace. That may be one of the challenges of the Chamber, that of diversifying the Negril economy. I would like to encourage the full participation of the entire Negril community, the private sector, government, non-government organizations and local communities. The way forward requires the joint efforts of all facets of civil society working in harmony.

I would like to congratulate the Negril Chamber of Commerce for their achievements to date. I pledge the continued support of US AID for your activities in our efforts to build a sound economic base for the prosperity of the people of Jamaica.