Forestry Department gets Tree Relocation Device to combat tree cover loss
In the latest move towards sustainable development, Dr. The Most Honourable Andrew Holness has officially commissioned a Tree Relocation Device (TRD) to be operated by the Forestry Department, aiming to combat tree cover loss resulting from infrastructure development.
The handover was completed on June 9, 2025, at Jamaica House in St. Andrew, followed by a brief demonstration involving the supplier, Stewart Industrial, and the Forestry Department team.
A $76 million investment, the TRD is a versatile, dual-purpose machine that combines tree relocation capabilities with front-end loader functionality. Enhanced aesthetics and biodiversity, green recreational spaces, shaded streets, cooler temperatures, and amplified carbon sequestration are just a few of the benefits the public will enjoy. Dr. Holness said, “We are not trying to build a hard square, concrete place; we are trying to build a more rounded kind of infrastructure where the human side is prioritised and catered to.”
By reducing tree loss, the TRD will contribute to environmental restoration and accelerate the ecological functionality of urban spaces by landscaping with mature trees.
The TRD will be accessible islandwide, supporting tree relocation, road widening, and other infrastructure projects. Honourable Matthew Samuda, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth & Job Creation, said, “…this will be how we approach all major government developments. [The TRD] will also be available to the private sector, who are doing housing developments, who wish to preserve trees with a particular root structure. It’s just another investment in Jamaica’s march towards sustainable development.”
Ainsley A. Henry, CEO and Conservator of Forests at the Forestry Department, said the TRD is, “to the best of our knowledge, the first of its kind in the Caribbean. It will enable us to safely and efficiently dig up to relocate and replant some of the mature trees that development activities would have otherwise destroyed.”
The recent State of Jamaica’s Forests Report (2024) revealed that the island’s forest cover increased by almost eight percent. The Forestry Department welcomes the TRD in its forest management efforts, as it will help us maintain and increase tree cover, especially in areas impacted by infrastructure development.
Photo: Stewart Industrial and the Forestry Department team demonstrate the removal of an Acacia mangium tree using the tree relocation device (TRD) after the commissioning ceremony held at Jamaica House on Monday, June 9, 2025.
