Jamaica Bay: Fighting the climate crisis in front of New York's skyline

Jamaica Bay: Fighting the climate crisis in front of New York's skyline

Canada geese, great egrets and red cardinals can be spotted around the lake, along with turtles and monarch butterflies - and behind the yellow-flowering goldenrods on the horizon, the skyscrapers of the metropolis of New York. "More than 300 different bird species have already been identified here," says Daphne Yun. "Special nesting platforms have been built for ospreys, which have been so successful that we no longer need to build any new ones. A pair of eagles have been coming every year for 32 years."

Yun wears the green uniform of the US Parks Department and works as a ranger, a warden at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The nature reserve, along with several other areas in the New York metropolitan area, is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, which was established around 50 years ago. Almost nine million people visit the area every year - more visitors than the internationally much better-known Grand Canyon and Rocky Mountain National Parks in the west of the USA combined.

The forests, parks and beaches of the "Gateway" are a popular recreational area for the people of the metropolis of millions - but at least since Hurricane Sandy raged over New York in 2012, they have also been at the forefront of the city's fight against climate change. Jamaica Bay in particular: a bay separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the narrow Rockaway Peninsula in the southeast of the metropolis along the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, comprising around 70 square kilometers of water, marshland and an entire archipelago of islands. From here, it takes around an hour and a half by public transport to reach the skyscrapers of Manhattan.

Located right next to JFK airport

For many visitors to New York, Jamaica Bay, whose name has nothing to do with the island state in the Caribbean but is borrowed from the language of the Lenape natives, is the first thing they see of the city. The reason: the major John F. Kennedy Airport is built right next to it.

And tens of thousands of people currently live directly on Jamaica Bay. They are already experiencing repeated flooding, and many houses have already been built on stilts. Scientists at New York City University warn that, due to rising sea levels and increasing flooding, living directly on the bay could be "unsustainable" by 2050 and impossible by the end of the century if climate change continues to develop as it is at present.

When Hurricane Sandy hit New York in 2012, the area around Jamaica Bay was one of the worst affected. 44 people lost their lives in New York alone, and the city estimates the damage to infrastructure, buildings and the economy at 19 billion dollars (around 18 billion euros). In the "Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge", the masses of water tore down a wall between the bay and an artificial freshwater lake behind it, which is used by many migratory birds as a resting place. "It took your breath away in a terrible way," says Ranger Yun. "There was a path and suddenly it was gone."

Coastal protection with Christmas trees

However, the storm has increased the commitment of people in the area to climate protection, says Terri Carta from the environmental organization Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy. "We're now looking at how these very vulnerable communities that live around the bay can be part of sustainable solutions and a better future. And from our perspective, that starts with connecting them to the nature that protects our shores."

Together with other partners, the environmental organization and the U.S. Park Service have rebuilt the seawall. Now they are looking for the best way to fortify it against possible future storms - with a completely new idea for Jamaica Bay: "We wanted a 'living shoreline', so just taking things from nature to protect the coast," says Carta.

In addition to sand, soil, oyster shells, plants and mats made from coconut fibers, one thing in particular worked well: Christmas trees thrown away by New Yorkers at the end of the festive season. Wrapped in burlap made from natural fibers, the trees now line a section of the Jamaica Bay coastline. "We walked along the shoreline at low tide and observed what was quickly washed away by the water and what was not. The Christmas trees were a brilliant idea! They worked."

1. Despite the increasing number of visitors to Jamaica Bay, which is faced with the challenge of climate change, efforts are being made to protect the environment and create sustainable living solutions for the surrounding communities.
2. The impact of the climate crisis was evident during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, when parts of the protective wall at Jamaica Bay were destroyed, highlighting the need for innovative coastal protection strategies such as using Christmas trees to fortify the seawall.
3. In the face of the climate crisis, nature conservation initiatives like those in Jamaica Bay, such as building nesting platforms for ospreys and protecting the bay, are crucial for both the environment and the well-being of the local communities in New York.

Source: www.dpa.com