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A sum of $65.5 million has been allocated to a project to improve the management of the Yallahs and Hope River watershed areas. This is contained in the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure now before the House of Representatives. The project, entitled: ‘Integrated Management of the Yallahs/Hope River Watershed Management Area,’ seeks to reduce the pressure on the natural resources in...

Work on the establishment of a Jamaica Water Resources Development Master Plan is to get underway this month. The Government of Jamaica has allocated $18.4 million towards the project in the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure now before the House of Representatives. The project seeks to provide assistance to the Water Resources Authority (WRA) to update the Jamaica Water Resources Development...

A sum of $38.7 million has been allocated to the Hermitage Dam Rehabilitation Study. This is contained in the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure now before the House of Representatives. The project, to get underway this month, seeks to carry out a feasibility assessment for the rehabilitation of the Hermitage Dam. It will determine the structural integrity of the dam and...

The Government is to spend $361 million this fiscal year under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Programme (EECP), to improve energy efficiency and conservation within the public sector. The money, which is to come from the Consolidated Fund, has been allocated in the 2016/2017 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. Targets this fiscal year include the complete...

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) will continue its implementation of the Jamaica Integrated Community Development Project to enhance access to basic urban infrastructure and services, through a further allotment of $305 million. This is contained in the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project is also to contribute to increased community safety in selected...

The Government has allocated $3.6 million towards the Integrating Water, Land and Ecosystems Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States  project. This is contained in the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The objectives of the project are to: restore historical hydrological and other physical processes in the Negril Great Morass; enhance and re‐establish native vegetation...

A sum of  $14.9 million  has been allocated to support  implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 2011-2020 Strategic Plan, as outlined in the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project seeks to integrate Jamaica’s obligation under the CBD into its national development and sectoral planning framework through a renewed and participative biodiversity planning...

The Government has allocated $35.5 million towards the Third National Communication and Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is contained in the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The funding is to assist the preparation of the Third National Communication (TNC) and First Biennial Update Report (BUR) for...

The pilot programme for Climate Resilience II (PPCR II) – Adaptation Programme and Financing Mechanism Project has been allocated $250 million in the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The objective of the project is to increase Jamaica's resilience to climate change, through enhancing adaptive capacity across priority sectors. It is anticipated that for the fiscal...

The country’s capability to use climate data for better planning will be enhanced with a $200 million allocation. The money, which has been provided in the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure, is to be disbursed under the Improving Climate Data and Information Management project. Implemented in April 2013, the project seeks to improve the quality and use of climate-related data and...

Styrofoam and its effect on health and the environment will be the primary focus of Earth Day, to be observed on April 22. The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) will be encouraging individuals and companies islandwide to participate in ‘No Styrofoam Day’, as an activity or way of observing Earth Day. The agency highlights that expanded polystyrene, though used...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, has described climate change as a “real and present danger” that will persist, and “critical and urgent action” must be taken by nations globally to reduce its effects. “We are now facing a future that almost certainly will be hotter, wetter and drier due to...