KINGSTON, Jamaica — A new report released Thursday by Earth Insight has warned that some of Jamaica’s most ecologically significant marine habitats could face direct threats from offshore oil and gas exploration in the Walton-Morant block off the island’s south coast.

The report, Fossil Fuel Threats to the Ocean: Marine Life and Coastal Communities at Risk, was produced in partnership with the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) and 10 other civil society organisations worldwide.

In a statement, JET said the report uses geospatial analysis to show that the Walton-Morant block and its associated risk zones overlap with nearly all of Jamaica’s coral reefs, seagrass beds and key fishing grounds that have supported coastal communities for generations.