NEPA Looking To Forge Partnerships With Environmental Organisations in Negril

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is looking to partner with environmental organisations in Negril, Westmoreland, to lend support in strengthening protection of the resort town’s coastline.

This was disclosed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Leonard Francis, while addressing a recent urban planning public education forum at the agency’s office in Negril.

“We want to help the Negril Coral Reef Society to be resuscitated, and we want to help them to ensure that they can… play the very critically important role that we know they are supposed to play,” Mr. Francis stated.

He also underscored the importance of the Negril Area Environmental Protection Trust (NEPT), among other organisations, in the fight against the town’s coastal erosion.

“NEPT is very important to us as well, and we know it has been struggling. We need to ensure that we find a way to resuscitate them. We want to work together with the Negril Chamber of Commerce; we want to work together with every single body. [In] whatever way we can, we will do that,” Mr. Francis stated.

Meanwhile, the CEO said the primary goals for undertaking urban planning within Negril should be achieving sustainable growth and development, and encouraging local stakeholders to play a role in this regard.

“Because, as Negril’s population continues to grow and the demand on our… resources increases, you along with our various professional bases must play a vital role in ensuring that our cities, towns and communities can accommodate the growth without deleting our natural resources or harming the environment,” he emphasised.

The forum was co-hosted by the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation and the Negril/Green Island Area Local Planning Authority (NEGALPA) under the theme ‘Shaping Our Future: The Role of Urban Planning in Communities’.