The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) is looking to facilitate the planting of at least 500,000 trees over the next two years. The move is in support of the Government’s initiative, launched last October, for the planting of three million trees over three years as part of measures to mitigate the effects of climate change. It is also in...

Government Senator, Matthew Samuda, is proposing that an environmental impact assessment study be undertaken to ascertain the effectiveness of the ban on certain categories of single-use plastics. In an interview with JIS News on December 30, Senator Samuda said the study would look at how much plastics have been taken out of the island’s waste stream since the ban took...

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...

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...

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....

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, 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...