An eBird Mobile Application (App) for bird monitoring has been developed by the Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT). The App will track and monitor birds in the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (BJCMNP) and buffer zone, which will help to determine the changes and threats to the ecosystem’s health. Some 29 endemic birds in the area are...

The fundamental rights and freedoms to which citizens are entitled are guaranteed in Jamaica’s Constitution and through legislation, according to Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte. These include the right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, place of origin, social class, colour, religion or political opinions, and the right to equitable and...

The St. James Public Health Department is imploring consumers to be extra careful when purchasing meat during the Christmas season. Addressing the monthly meeting of the St. James Municipal Corporation on December 8, Acting Chief Public Health Inspector for the parish, Sherika Lewis, said that shoppers should ensure that meats are purchased from a licensed butcher and are inspected and...

School administrators are being encouraged to conduct an analysis of bullying within the school environment, in order to implement effective measures that will stop the practice among students. Child Protection Specialist at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Dr. Charlene Coore Desai, made the appeal during Part Two of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) anti-bullying workshop. The...

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is encouraging Jamaicans to adopt a culture of composting and recycling, to reduce the amount of waste being produced. “We want to push composting, because depending on the statistics you chose to look at, anywhere between 67 to 75 percent of what we currently load on to a truck, at huge taxpayers’ expense,...

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has underscored the importance of technology in growing the tourism sector. Speaking at the Tech Beach Retreat held recently at the Iberostar Resort in Lilliput, St. James, Mr. Bartlett said the Ministry and its public bodies have been prioritizing technology, as a key part of its marketing strategy. “[We] have made innovation an essential...

Christmas came early for an indigent family in Moreland Hill, Westmoreland, who received the keys to a $10 million two-bedroom housing unit built under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development’s Indigent Housing Programme. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, handed over the housing solution to the family of four on Friday, December 9. The beneficiaries included Candice Coke, Antoinette...