NEPA CEO Urges United Approach to Environmental Protection

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Leonard Francis, is highlighting the need for a whole-of-society approach to protect the environment and address pollution.

A united effort is key in achieving the objectives of safeguarding health and well-being and building a resilient and sustainable Jamaica, he noted.

“These cannot be accomplished by mere talk. There is no magic that can instantly bring about the changes we want,” Mr. Francis said, while addressing a recent symposium on the environment held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.

He pointed out that the Government has taken bold steps to safeguard the environment with the designation of new protected areas, expanding the network of ecological sanctuaries, safeguarding critical habitats, and developing policy to prohibit the direct discharge of effluent into water bodies.

Noting that “most of our waterways have long suffered from industrial, urban, domestic and other forms of pollution,” he said that NEPA will be taking the necessary steps “to eliminate, totally, discharge from our water bodies”.

“We are asking you as partners to help us to achieve this goal,” Mr. Francis told his audience, noting that “we have targeted efforts to rehabilitate vital rivers such as the Rio Cobre.”

He called for increased recycling to prevent materials such as plastics from ending up in rivers and oceans.

He noted that single-use plastic, in particular, has become a menace, choking waterways, endangering marine life, and impacting human health and livelihoods.

“We have made progress with bans on single-use plastics and increased public awareness, but more needs to be done to enforce regulations, build capacity and shift behaviour,” Mr. Francis said.

The NEPA CEO said that the agency’s commitment to protecting the natural environment and ecosystems is “not just policy actions” but expressions of the national will to reverse environmental degradation.

He said that policy must be lifted from paper and “breathe life into our visions and aspirations through a deliberate plan of action”.

The symposium provided a platform for identifying pressing environmental issues while fostering collaboration and innovation to protect Jamaica’s unique natural heritage, and the rallying of stakeholders from various sectors to strengthen the shared vision for a sustainable and resilient future.

NEPA’s mission is to promote sustainable development in Jamaica by ensuring the protection of the environment and orderly development.

The entity works to achieve this objective through managing and protecting both the natural and built environments, integrating environmental, planning, and sustainable development policies and programmes.