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PORT ANTONIO — Reducing disaster vulnerability in Manchioneal and surrounding areas of Portland was the focus of a community workshop on the Coastal Multi-hazard Mapping and Vulnerability Assessment Project on Thursday April 28. The project, implemented through the cooperation of the World Bank, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), and the...

KINGSTON — Jamaica's disaster preparedness and emergency management mechanisms are expected to be ready to deal with any eventuality arising during the 2011 Tropical Atlantic Hurricane Season, which begins on June 1. This follows a series of activities which the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) has undertaken since last year, aimed at strengthening the capacity of the...

KINGSTON — The Government is identifying public lands for affordable housing developments, particularly in the Corporate Area and St. Catherine. This was disclosed by Water and Housing Minister, Hon. Dr. Chang, who said that the administration was particularly interested in housing solutions for lower income earners. “We have been seeking to identify as much land as we have in the...

KINGSTON — Minister of Water and Housing, Hon Dr. Horace Chang, has reiterated the Government’s commitment to providing affordable opportunities for home ownership, particularly for low income earners. He said the recently re-launched Secondary Mortgage Market (SMM) facility by the Jamaica Mortgage Bank (JMB) formed an important part of this commitment. The objective of the SMM is to provide liquidity...

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) will, this fiscal year, continue to train emergency response teams, implement community micro-mitigation projects, and access more data for hazard risk reduction implementation. These activities will be carried out with budgetary support of $32 million, which has been allocated in the 2011/12 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. ...

KINGSTON — Disasters are unpredictable and can occur at any time. As such, it is imperative that preparedness mechanisms be implemented to cushion the impact and damage. Across the globe, discussions are still ongoing about the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that occurred in Japan, causing widespread deaths, injury and property damage. The disaster resulted in many countries re-examining their preparedness...

KINGSTON — The Jamaica Economical Housing Project has received $1.5 billion in the 2011/12 Estimates of Expenditure to upgrade infrastructure (water, sewerage and roads) in the rural communities of St. Ann and St. Elizabeth. Other objectives of the project,  as outlined in the Estimates, now before the House, include: alleviating the deficit of housing solutions in St. Ann, by providing...

KINGSTON — The Government has earmarked $24.3 million for the development of a comprehensive multi-hazard disaster management plan for towns and cities under the Natural Hazard Management in Urban Coastal Areas project. The project, which got underway in April 2008, seeks to strengthen the parish response capacity through comprehensive disaster management training, public education, and awareness; and provide technical assistance...

KINGSTON — The Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Programme has received an additional $103 million in the 2011/12 estimates, now before the House of Representatives. The programme seeks to increase resilience and reduce risks associated with natural hazards in vulnerable areas, as an adaptive measure to climate change, contributing to sustainable development in Jamaica. It also aims to...

KINGSTON — A sum of $6.9 million has been set aside in the 2011/2012 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, to continue measures to phase-out the use of ozone depleting substances (ODS), and address the illegal trade of such substances. The initiatives will be carried out under the Montreal Protocol for the Phasing out of Ozone Depleting...

KINGSTON — A sum of $8.7 million has been allocated in the 2011/12 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House of Representatives, to continue work on the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce’s Plant Breeding and Diagnostics Technologies project. With funding from the Government of Jamaica and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the main objectives of the projects are:...

The Government will be spending $18 million on the Rural Water Supply project, in 2011/12. This is according to the 2011/12 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representative on Thursday (April 14). The Rural Water Supply Project aims to improve the basic sanitary/ health conditions, by increasing the coverage of potable water and sanitation services in poor rural...