REPRESENTATIVES of the island’s two main political parties have endorsed a call for environmental issues to take centre stage during the election campaign now under way.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), supported by 34 civil society groups and individuals, called on the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) to ensure that their election manifestos include concrete plans to address ongoing environmental degradation, strengthened enforcement of existing environmental laws and regulations, transparent and accountable environmental governance, and ratification of the Escazu Agreement.

The groups also recommended that there be specific commitments, with timeliness, to tackle illegal activities such as unregulated sand mining and pollution of rivers, mechanisms for holding all violators accountable, and a review of the governance and legal framework for national parks and protected areas.

Responding to the call, minister with responsibility for the environment, Matthew Samuda on Wednesday told the
Jamaica Observer that the Andrew Holness-lad Administration welcomes the call as it is committed to protecting the environment.

“The Jamaica Labour Party has always had environmental commitments published in its manifesto, which it has met. It is a debate this Administration would easily win. I have one challenge with the call they have made: They say they don’t want to hear about all the things that have happened in the past — and that is not a position I can support.

“Manifesto commitments are empty promises without evaluating the credibility of those who make them. And what do I mean by that? The People’s National Party, every time they have had reins of the Government they have paid nothing but lip service to the environment,” said Samuda.

“It was the People’s National Party that was pursuing a coal plant to be built in St Elizabeth, something that would have breached all our international obligations…and would have reduced air quality in and around that area. They made it very clear that they intended to build a logistics hub out at Goat Island but this Administration has made it a nature sanctuary.

“The very leader of the PNP [Mark Golding], when he was a senator, abstained from the vote on the plastic ban in the Senate. There is no genuine intention to improve environmental protection by the PNP. This Administration has moved the protection of Jamaica’s land mass from about 14 per cent to 25 per cent with 14 new forestry orders. We are the ones who protected over 79,000 hectares of the Cockpit Country. This is a huge deal. That is the single-largest protected area in the Caribbean. And we shouldn’t be shy about the fact that we have done more to further protection than any other Administration,” Samuda added.

He argued that the Holness Administration has also made positive strides in reducing pollution.

“Two forms of pollution which are well understood by the public are plastics and waste water pollution. This Administration started the process that has now banned five types of single-use plastics. We have moved [the] recycling rate on plastic bottles to well over 40 per cent. This Administration made the single-largest investment in the National Solid Waste Management Authority to increase its carrying capacity to collect more..waste.

“Sewage is one of the greatest environmental challenges we face, which is why this Administration has given the commitment that it will divest and ensure expansion of Soapberry [Wastewater Treatment Plant in St Catherine] while also committing to re-laying the the sewage distribution network right throughout Kingston and St Andrew — ensuring we no longer poison our water table. We have done more on this than any other Administration. On climate change, Jamaica is widely regarded as a leader in this area,” Samuda told the Observer.

In the meantime the PNP’s spokesperson on environment and ecological heritage Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns told the
Observer that the environment will definitely be part of the party’s focus.

“The environment is such a critical part of our existence; the way in which we manage the environment, particularly climate change, is going to impact our future. As a small island developing State, any type of development we have must be sustainably done. The Opposition believes that in an era like this the environment must play an important part of any election manifesto.

“Both myself and the Opposition Leader Mark Golding have met with, and continue to have discussions with environmentalists because we see them as partners and critical stakeholders. We have had a number of meetings with various environmental groups, and we will continue this engagement because of the seminal role they play and because they are, in fact, critical partners in sustainable development,” said Frazer-Binns.