For the 2022/23 financial year, the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) will focus on the monetisation of its land assets through divestments, as well as the continuation of its project management functions. This is outlined in the 2022/23 Public Bodies Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, tabled recently in the House of Representatives. The document further noted that the UDC will continue...

Wise use of wetlands begins with learning about these valuable ecosystems and partnering with experts for their protection and sustainable use, says Executive Director of the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (C-CAM), Ingrid Parchment. Speaking at a recent Wetlands Webinar, hosted by the Natural History Museum of Jamaica, a Division of the Institute of Jamaica, Ms. Parchment encouraged participants and...

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) aims to release 1,000 Jamaican Iguanas in Hellshire Hills by 2026 as the iguana population grows under efforts of the Jamaican Iguana Recovery Programme. Speaking during NEPA’s World Wildlife Day Webinar on February 28, Coordinator, Watershed Information System, David Reid, shared some of the ongoing work under the programme to rehabilitate and increase...

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, has said that he will be going to Cabinet today (Monday, February 28) with “proposed measures” that would govern the highly anticipated reopening of the entertainment industry. Minister McKenzie, who was addressing reporters in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland on Friday (February 25), said that he has been tasked by Prime Minister, the...

The US$49-million biodiversity conservation project slated to be undertaken in the Cockpit Country has been approved for implementation by Cabinet. Entitled “Conserving Biodiversity and Reducing Land Degradation Using an Integrated Approach”, the project is being undertaken through funding by the Government of Jamaica, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Minister without Portfolio in the Office...

Newly appointed Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda (right), is greeted by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Department and Conservator of Forests, Ainsley Henry, before being taken on a tour of the Department’s Constant Spring Road location in Kingston, on Thursday (February 10). Senator Samuda, who was...

Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Fund (NHF), Everton Anderson (left), receives a plaque for ‘Best Decorated Front Office’ from Acting Principal Director, Public Sector Transformation and Modernisation Division, Cabinet Office, Karlene McKenzie-Spencer, in recognition of the organisation’s participation in the recent National Customer Service Week observed from October 4 to 8 under the theme, ‘You… Me…We got the...

The Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) has approved the release of approximately 1,324 hectares of lands in St. Ann for mining to Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners. Chief Executive Officer and Government Town Planner, National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Peter Knight, made the disclosure during a virtual stakeholder briefing on the ‘NRCA’s Decision on Noranda’s Application for Mining in Special...

The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) has commenced work on a multi-million-dollar project to protect the Montego Bay waterfront in St. James. The project involves the restoration of six groynes to mitigate against further erosion of the city’s shoreline and prevent severe flooding. Speaking at the St. James Municipal Corporation’s annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony held at Harmony Beach Park on Monday...