KINGSTON, Jamaica – The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is calling on Jamaicans to end the practice of burning garbage and agricultural waste, warning that it poses serious risks to public health, the environment, and future generations.

Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank, on Wednesday, Manager for NEPA’s Air Quality Management Branch, Jody-Ann Marston, stressed that reducing air pollution cannot be the responsibility of the agency alone.

“Many of the sources of air pollution fall outside NEPA’s regulatory framework and so we have to collaborate with other government agencies and the public at large to be able to reduce air pollution, which is already affecting the health of Jamaicans,” she said.

Marston described backyard burning as a “long-standing issue” seen across the island.

“We are urging Jamaicans to refrain from burning domestic waste and to use other appropriate methods to manage their waste, such as composting, recycling, and reusing where possible,” she suggested.

She also appealed to farmers to abandon the use of slash-and-burn techniques in land preparation, noting that these fires contribute significantly to poor air quality.

The call comes against the backdrop of the 2024 amendments to Jamaica’s Ambient Air Quality Standards, which introduced tighter limits for pollutants and added monitoring for PM, which are fine particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, posing severe health risks.

Since the amendments were made, NEPA has installed 11 PM monitoring stations across the island to track these and other harmful pollutants.

“The amended standards are not the be-all and end-all. We all play a part in reducing air pollution, and we are encouraging the public to take personal responsibility,” Marston said.

For his part, Senior Manager for Environment Management and Conservation at NEPA, Richard Nelson, reinforced the message of shared responsibility, extending it to water resource protection under the Government’s No Discharge Policy.

“It can’t be the Government alone. It can’t be NEPA alone. We need the support of everyone. While we can put policies such as this in place and we can enforce them, my call to industries is that we would rather not enforce, but have you comply because when we have to enforce, it means the damage is already done,” he said.

Nelson urged licensed facilities, from large industries to small operations like cook shops and car washes, to comply with their licence conditions to ensure sustainable operations that protect rivers and other water sources.

“What we do today impacts our future generations,” he noted, adding that “the environment often doesn’t show the impact of our actions immediately. Sometimes it’s years down the road, but based on experience, we have a chance now to put a plug into that and prevent lasting damage.”

Both officials emphasised that safeguarding Jamaica’s natural resources requires community vigilance. Citizens are being reminded to report environmental breaches early so that they can be addressed before they escalate.

“We have a chance, together, to protect the air we breathe and the water we depend on. Every action counts, and every citizen has a role to play,” Nelson said.

– JIS