State of the Environment, Human Development reports launched

Denise Dennis

Monday, December 19, 2011

THE National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Friday launched Jamaica's State of the Environment (SoE) report for 2010 along with the UNDP Human Development Report (HDR) for 2011.

The SoE is a status report on the condition of Jamaica's environment, while the HDR, titled Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All, explores the linkages between environmental sustainability and equity. It also forecasts a possible collision course if human development and environmental risks are not brought into balance.

At the launch held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston, Minister of Housing, Environment, Water and Local Government Dr Horace Chang said that the SoE report presents worrying trends such as deteriorating air and water quality, poor management of solid, liquid and hazardous wastes, loss of biodiversity, watershed degradation and, among others, net loss of forest cover.

The HDR summary also noted that there is increased evidence of widespread environmental degradation around the world and a potential future deterioration.

"What this means is that new approaches will be need at the global, regional, national and local levels. In this regard, moving towards a green economy makes sense," said Chang.

He said that among priority areas for the Government is to build the country's awareness and capacity to manage chemicals and waste in a sound manner.

Chang also indicated that the fastest-growing waste stream is that of electrical and electronic wastes.

"In this regard, the government intends to develop in the near future, a national programme for the environmentally sound management of electrical and electronic wastes."

He called on NEPA to provide a concise report for citizens and for annual updates on critical indicators to be prepared.

"One of our challenges is the lack of data; we have to address the need for data to be collected systematically, to be properly stored and for access to be provided as appropriate," Chang said.