According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 4.2 million deaths occur each year as a result of exposure to ambient air pollution with low- and middle-income countries experiencing the highest burden from this type of pollution. Some pollutants are emitted into the air and others are formed in the air from chemical reactions to the emissions. Of great concern is...

The plastic separation project in Drax Hall Manor, St. Ann, is progressing well with more than 360 bags of plastic bottles collected since the start of the pilot in February 2020. The community is the first in the parish to participate in the ongoing national plastic separation and recycling campaign being undertaken by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA),...

Residents of Hope Village in Manchester are expressing gratitude to the National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC) and its partners for making good on their commitment to replenish a fruit orchard in the community. The residents came out in their numbers on the International Day of World Biological Diversity on Saturday, May 22, to participate in a tree-planting exercise...

The disruption to human activities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has had positive effects on the environment, such as improved air quality, with the slow-down in industrial actions that generate a good deal of carbon emissions. Environmentalists believe that the campaign to protect the environment should continue and the next generation must be educated about their role in the process....

A vegetable garden is a gift, wards of the state living at the Nest Children’s Home in Kingston say, they have wanted for a while now. On National Children’s Day, which was observed on May 21, they received that gift from the Government, through the Backyard Vegetable Gardens in Residential Childcare Facilities (RCCFs) initiative. The Home received the first set...

As the Jamaica Climate Change Youth Council (JCCYC) approaches its fourth anniversary, the organisation is looking to inspire the next generation of young people to become involved in environmental advocacy. The JCCYC is the youth affiliate of the Jamaica Climate Change Advisory Board. In an interview with JIS News, JCCYC Director, Eleanor Terrelonge, says since the group was launched in...

Newly appointed Poet Laureate of Jamaica, Olive Senior, will be promoting environmental awareness with poetry. Ms. Senior tells JIS News that she will be using poetry to sensitise the public about nature and environmental issues under a three-year project, titled, ‘I see my land’. The title is based on the late Michael Garfield Smith’s patriotic poem ‘I Saw My Land...

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), is calling on persons to desist from the unsustainable harvesting of Pimento plants and the Bitterwood tree. Three species that are endemic to Jamaica – the Pimenta obscura, Pimenta jamaicensis and Pimenta richardii – can be found in select parts of the country, while the native plant, Pimenta dioica, can be found in...

The Earth’s climate is constantly changing, showing variations in temperature and rainfall patterns. In recent times the climate has changed significantly, mainly due to the use of fossil fuels and the resultant release of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. The drastic changes being experienced have been termed ‘climate change’, and without climate action – deliberate moves to...