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Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, addresses the House of Representatives on January 14. At left is National Security Minister, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang

Minister Expects Smooth Transition From Polystyrene Products

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, says he expects a smooth transition from the use of polystyrene products to the alternatives on the market. This, he said, is due to persons...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, addresses the House of Representatives on Tuesday (January 14).

Government Pleased With Response To Plastic Ban

Regional Operations Manager at Western Parks and Market (WPM) Waste Management Limited, Garnet Edmondson

Western Parks and Markets to Undertake Plastic Bottle Recycling Project

Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Vice President, Mariame McIntosh, addresses journalists during Thursday’s (January 9) launch of the PSOJ’s 2020-2022 Strategy, at the organisation’s head office in Kingston.

PSOJ Supports Gov’t’s Tree-Planting Project

Government Senator, Matthew Samuda, speaks in the Senate.

Senator Proposes Impact Assessment Study On Ban On Plastics

6 years ago Environment

Styrofoam Ban Takes Effect

As of January 1, 2020, the Government will impose a ban on the local manufacture, distribution and use of expanded polystyrene foam products used in the food and beverage industry. This is being done as part of initiatives to place greater focus on pollution control. Speaking in an interview with JIS News, Senator Matthew Samuda said that public education has...

Local Government and Community Development Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie (second right), in discussion with Kingston’s Mayor, Senator Councillor Delroy Williams (right), during a recent press briefing at the Ministry’s offices on Hagley Park Road in Kingston. Listening (from left) are National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) Executive Director, Audley Gordon, and Chairman, Dennis Chung.

6 years ago EnvironmentLocal Government

NSWMA Embarking On Composting Public Awareness Campaign

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) will be partnering with the Social Development Commission (SDC) and Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) to heighten public awareness about the benefits of composting. Composting is a form of waste disposal wherein organic waste decomposes naturally under oxygen-rich conditions. This was disclosed by the NSWMA’S Executive Director, Audley Gordon, during a recent press...

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange (2nd left) along with from 2nd right: Senior Director, Gender affairs, Sharon Coburn Robinson and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Denzil Thorpe, share a moment with students from Jamaica College at the Stand up, Talk up Public Forum on Friday (November 29) held at the Courtleigh Auditorium in Kingston. The forum was held in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (IDEVAW) which was observed on November 25.

6 years ago EnvironmentGender Affairs

Gov’t To Establish Three State-Run Shelters For Victims Of Gender-Based Violence

The Government is in the process of establishing three state-run shelters for victims of gender-based violence. The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport has already completed the purchase of one property to serve as a national shelter. Speaking at the Stand up, Talk up Public Forum on Friday (November, 29) at the Courtleigh Auditorium in Kingston, Portfolio Minister, Hon....

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz (centre), peruses report produced from the ‘Forces of Nature: Assessment and Economic Valuation of Coastal Protection Services Provided by Mangroves in Jamaica’ project with (from left) Managing Director, Jamaica Social Investment Fund, Omar Sweeney; Acting Country Representative for Jamaica, The World Bank, Karlene Francis; Marine Natural Resource Management Specialist, The World Bank, Juliana Castaño-Isaza; and Director of the Environmental and Conservation Division, National Environment and Planning Agency, Anthony McKenzie, at the report’s launch on Wednesday (November 20), at The Knutsford Court Hotel.

6 years ago Environment

Minister Calls On Jamaicans To Protect The Mangroves

With the negative effects of climate change becoming more evident, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, is reiterating calls for Jamaicans to protect mangroves, as they help the nation to save millions during storms. He explains that mangroves act as the first and most significant line of defence against these natural...

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign, Senator, the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith (at podium), addressing the International Conference on the Legal, Scientific and Economic aspects of Deep Seabed Mining at the AC Hotel Marriott in Kingston on Friday (November 15). Seated at the head table (from left) are: Deputy Director of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Vladimir Jares; International Court of Justice Judge, Justice Patrick Robinson; Secretary-General, International Seabed Authority, Michael Lodge; and Associate Director and Editor-in-Chief, Center for Oceans Law and Policy, University of Virginia School of Law, Professor Myron Nordquist.

6 years ago Environment

ISA Member States Encouraged To Recommit To Safeguarding Marine Resources

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign, Senator the Hon Kamina Johnson Smith, is encouraging International Seabed Authority (ISA) Member States to use the occasion of the orgnisation’s 25th anniversary, this year, to recommit to preserving and equitably utilising marine resources, and action in response to issues related to ocean-based climate. This, she says, against the background of the ongoing rapid...

Government Senator, Matthew Samuda (standing), addressing a recent sitting of the Senate, at Gordon House. Listening is colleague Member of the Upper House, Senator Charles Sinclair.

6 years ago EnvironmentSenate

Government Senator Urges Sustained Private Sector Support for Ban on Plastics

Business interests are being encouraged to continue supporting the Government as it embarks on the second phase of the ban on specific categories of plastic packaging material, which ultimately aims to protect the environment. This call came from Government Senator, Matthew Samuda, as he opened the 2019/20 State of the Nation Debate during Friday’s (November 15) sitting of the Upper...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., signs a painting during the University of Technology’s second International Built Environment Conference at the institution’s Papine campus in St. Andrew, on Thursday (November 7). He was the keynote speaker. Looking on (from left) are Programme Administrator in the Built Environment Faculty, Dr. Patricia Green; Faculty Dean, Dr. Garfield Young; and the Faculty’s Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Paul Ivey.

6 years ago EducationEnvironment

UTECH Launches Built Environment Graduate Programmes

The University Of Technology (UTech), on Thursday (November 7), launched its Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes across five disciplines in its Built Environment Faculty. Both graduate programmes will be available in the specialised areas of architecture, environmental sustainability and climate change, construction technology and management, geomatics and geoinformatics, and urban and rural land management. The...