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  The Government has taken a further step towards improving the environment in which business-related activities are facilitated and conducted locally. This, through the establishment of a Bureaucracy Hotline, 1-888-REDTAPE (733-8273) in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce. The hotline was formally unveiled by portfolio Minister, Hon. Anthony Hylton, in his capacity as Chairman of National Competitiveness Council (NCC),...

The Manchester Parish Council is welcoming the move by Government to strengthen the country’s system of environmental planning and regulation, through the establishment of an Environmental Regulatory Authority (ERA). Spatial/Physical Planner at the Council, Ryan Wallace, told JIS that if the ERA is implemented then it should have powers to be able to make arrests so as to enforce the...

The second in a series of public consultations on the Green Paper for the establishment of an Environmental Regulatory Authority (ERA), was held at the Montego Bay Civic Centre, St. James, recently. The meeting was hosted by the Public Sector Modernization Division (PSMD) in the Office of the Cabinet, and included presentations and discussions on the proposed reform of Jamaica’s...

Professor at the University of the West Indies, Anthony Clayton, says Jamaica needs a strong national planning agency to address matters relating to the environment and there are plans ahead to upgrade the National Environment Planning Agency (NEPA) into such an entity. Professor Clayton made the observation while addressing the first in a series of public meetings on Friday, October...

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Co-ordinator and Representative to Jamaica, Dr. Arun Kashyap, has underscored the need for governments to ensure that Disaster Risk Reduction is streamlined as an integral component in the equitable and inclusive development of their countries. In a message to mark World Disaster Risk Reduction Day on October 13, under the theme: ‘Act Now, Save...

The first in a series of public meetings on the setting up of an Environmental Regulatory Authority (ERA) will be held on Friday, October 12, at the Cecil Charlton Hall in Mandeville, Manchester, starting at 5:00 p.m. Officials are expected to receive feedback from public and private sector stakeholders on the ERA, which will effectively address environmental, social and economical...

With sections of the island experiencing heavy rainfall recently, resulting in flood damage to roadways, houses and farms, the parish of Westmoreland is on full alert. According to Disaster Preparedness Co-ordinator for the parish, Rev. Hilma Tate, all shelters have been inspected and certified, and relief supplies secured and stockpiled for any eventuality. "In spite of the rainfall (experienced in...

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...