Director General of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ), Rear Admiral (Ret'd) Peter Brady, says the agency will be pushing for legislation governing exploration and development of a sustainable blue economy. The blue economy refers to the utilisation of the resources of the ocean for economic benefits, while ensuring the sustainability and productivity of those same resources. It includes tourism;...

Plans to remove 1.5 million used tyres from the Riverton Landfill in St. Andrew are far advanced, says Government Senator, Matthew Samuda. Speaking at this year’s staging of the Youth Climate Action Expo, hosted by the Jamaica Climate Change Youth Council at Campion College on March 16, Senator Samuda said there is a programme that will come on stream in...

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) will be making more than 2,000 reusable shopping bags available to the public in support of the Government’s ban on single-use plastics. The Institute’s Director General, Dr. Wayne Henry, symbolically handed over the first 500 bags to Government Senator, Matthew Samuda during a ceremony at the PIOJ’s Oxford Road offices in St. Andrew on...

Director of Economics at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr. Justin Ram, says the organisation is considering the establishment of blue economy satellite accounts for borrowing countries. The initiative will enable member States to measure the direct contribution of the blue economy to national development. This will provide for more timely, valuable and accurate data for strategic planning and decision-making....

The Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) is reporting positive results from the trials of the prototype of its ocean-cleaning device dubbed ‘Jambin’. An innovation out of the CMU’s recently established Centre for Blue Economy and Innovation, the device is designed to collect debris from the sea. “It is a reinforced household bin; a floating device, which is attached to a dock...

Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Robert Montague, says the Government is implementing legislative measures aimed at supporting a sustainable Blue Economy as a key driver of economic growth. He cited the recent passage of the Ballast Water Management Convention Act, aimed at preventing ships entering Jamaica’s waters from introducing foreign aquatic species and diseases into the marine environment; the...

Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Robert Montague, says the Government is currently drafting new legislation that will give Jamaica access to funding in the event of oil spillage at sea. “The Maritime Environmental Fund has over $200 million that Jamaica has signed on to but we haven’t passed the local legislation, so the Government is moving on the legislative...