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The Forestry Department will be planting some 50 trees at the Bridgeport Primary School in Portmore tomorrow (Oct. 5), as the agency observes National Tree Planting Day 2012. The activity, under the theme: Putting down Roots in our Communities,' gets underway at 10:00 a.m. Senior Manager for Public Relations and Corporate Communications at the Forestry Department, Stephanie Donaldson Francis, told...

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, has lauded the Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) to Climate Change Project in Jamaica for the positive impact it has had on some vulnerable communities. The Minister was addressing the final evaluation workshop of the project on October 2 at the Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston. Under the initiative, funded by...

Teams from the National Works Agency (NWA) have been deployed across the island to carry out technical assessments and have major corridors re-opened, following two days of torrential rain. Speaking to JIS News on October 1, Senior Communications Officer at the NWA, Collin Morrison, said 16 corridors in the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Ann, St. Thomas, St. Catherine and...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, says that damage and welfare assessments are being carried out following heavy rainfall over the weekend, which caused severe flooding in some areas. The evaluations are being conducted by representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Prime Minister said. She was speaking to JIS News on October 1 following...

An Atlas of natural hazards in Jamaica was officially launched on September 26, by Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill. The publication entitled, 'Natural Hazards Atlas of Jamaica', is authored by Dr. Parris Lyew-Ayee, Jr., Geologist and Director of the Mona Geo-Informatics Institute, and Urban Geologist and  Lecturer in the Department of Geography at the...

The Meteorological Service has continued the Flash Flood Warning for low-lying and flood-prone areas of all parishes until 5 p.m. today. A FLASH FLOOD WARNING means that flooding has been reported or will occur shortly. Motorists and pedestrians should not attempt to cross flooded roadways or other low-lying areas as strong currents are likely. Residents in low-lying areas should be...

Close to 3,000 residents of Broadgate in St. Mary now have improved access to potable water, with the recent commissioning into service of a $35 million water supply system under the Rural Water Improvement Project. The project was undertaken by the Rural Water Supply Limited in keeping with Government’s commitment to provide safe drinking water to residents of rural communities....

The government is moving to establish a regulatory body that will have primary responsibility for environmental policing, compliance monitoring and enforcement. A Green Paper has been developed for the establishment of an Environmental Regulatory Authority (ERA). Work is being undertaken by a Steering Committee in the Cabinet Office, Office of the Prime Minister, comprising various stakeholders in the environmental field....

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, says it is important that developing countries, like Jamaica, implement mitigation strategies to reduce their emission of green house gases. He noted that, as such, the Government has placed increased focus on the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy and land use changes, especially forestry. "These will be Jamaica's...

Minister of Water, Land, Environment, and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, has underscored the importance of internationally accepted standards, in a world undergoing social, economic and environmental changes. The Minister was speaking at the Jamaica Institution of Engineers conference held on September 17 at the Pegasus hotel under the theme 'Engineering Standards for Integrated Regional Development'. [RELATED: Govt to Address...

The Government will be moving swiftly to assess and address the poor sanitary and environmental conditions at Pedro Cays. This was the word from Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, as he addressed the Jamaica Institution of Engineers' conference at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston on September 17. Media reports had recently outlined the...

The Rural Water Supply Limited (RWSL), of the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, has undertaken 20 water catchment projects in the parish of St. Elizabeth, since January 2012. This was done at a cost of $15 million, funded primarily by the Ministry. General Manager of Engineering at RWSL, Douglas Wilson, told JIS News that the projects are...