The
Ministry of Land and Environment aims at developing strategies to
facilitate land use administration, environmental controls and resource
management to enhance the social and economic well-being of the
nation. In the furtherance of its objectives the Ministry is assigned
responsibility for:
1)
|
Land
development and administration |
2)
|
National physical planning to ensure orderly development and
utilization of land and other resources |
| 3)
|
Environmental protection and conservation which relates to protection
and conservation of the natural resources of the country including
its coastal zones |
The
agencies which fall under the Ministry and carry out policy implementation
include the following:
•
|
Natural
Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) |
•
|
Town Planning Department |
| •
|
Land Development and Utilization Commission |
•
|
Negril/Green
Island Area Local Authority |
•
|
Real Estate Board |
•
|
The
Town and Country Planning Authority |
•
|
The
National Land Agency (This Executive Agency, in transition,
was created from the merging of the former Land Valuation and
Estate Department, Registrar of Titles and Survey Department) |
Rural Development
The
objects of this Programme are to:
i.
Achieve efficient land administration and land use within a framework
of sustainable development;
ii. Reduce land idleness through the activities of the Land Development
and Utilization Commission set up under the Land Development and
Utilization Act 1966.
The
Programme includes schemes for divestment of Government-owned lands,
dealing mainly with the valuation of land, updating of valuations,
land surveys, the registration of titles to land and the management
of Government-owned land.
The
Land and Development Utilization Commission is responsible for the
units and taking steps to ensure the proper development and utilization
of idle land and units, including the monitoring of the usage of
divested properties.
National Land Agency
The
National Land Agency (NLA) is a direct response to the National
Land Policy (NLP) of 1996, with its goal to streamline the land
titling process and modernise land registration systems. This will
include developing a customer oriented service delivery system for
all programme operations; providing a decision support infrastructure
by way of a comprehensive mapping programme; and supporting the
land settlement and titling process in Jamaica.
The
NLA was created to deliver services more efficiently, effectively
and with greater accountability, using available resources for the
benefit of customers and taxpayers. The agency will be accountable
for achieving results through a formal system of performance measurement
and will provide land information, land registration, survey and
property valuation support to ensure security of tenure, equitable
land valuation and a sound basis for planning and development.
The
NLA will be responsible for:
•
|
Providing
land related information to clients |
•
|
Issuing titles under the Registration of Titles Act and the
Registration of Strata Titles Act |
| •
|
Land Development and Utilization Commission |
•
|
Registering
all dealings related to existing titles |
•
|
Maintaining the valuation roll for property taxation |
•
|
Valuation
of land taxation and non-taxation purposes |
•
|
Checking
survey plans in accordance with the Land Surveyors Act |
Town Planning Department
The
Town Planning Department was established to maintain efficient land
use islandwide, through the provision of land use and density regulations.
It also ensures that land will be available to satisfy the needs
of all activities in accordance with the Town and Country Planning
Act and the Local Improvement Act. This is achieved through the
preparation and promulgation of Development Orders, which establish
planning policies to ensure a more effective use of urban and rural
lands.
Development
Orders are being finalised for Manchester and Negril and work on
that for Kingston and St. Andrew is continuing. The issuing of these
Development Orders will:
•
|
Lower
the incidence of non-conforming land usage in urban areas, particularly
those listed above |
•
|
Provide a more efficient service for assessing and processing
development and sub-division applications and satisfying enquiries
islandwide |
| •
|
Improve the awareness of the role and function of Town and Country
Planning in the island’s development |
•
|
Provide
source document for areas under planning control |
Planning and Research
The
objectives of the Planning and Research Division of the Town Planning
Department are to:
(i)
|
Reflect
national/regional and urban development policies in physical
planning terms; |
(ii) |
Maintain efficient use of all land resources through complementary
land and use density zoning, based on projections and trends,
thus ensuring that land will be available for whatever use proposed,
when so required; |
| (iii) |
Achieve a balanced and comprehensive development of land throughout
the island; |
(iv)
|
Complement
existing knowledge of Town and Country Planning and Development; |
(v) |
Provide
answers to basic questions relating to planning; |
(vi)
|
Provide
a better understanding of the nature of the physical environment
of urban and rural areas, the social, economic, governmental,
legal, technical and aesthetic forces that fashion them and
the inter-relationship between urbanization and society. |
SUBJECTS
(LAND)
• |
Emancipation
Lands |
• |
Land Acquisition Act |
| • |
Land Development and Utilisation |
• |
Land Reform |
• |
Land
Registration |
• |
Land
Surveyors' Act |
• |
Land
Surveys |
• |
Land
Titling |
• |
Lands
(including Crown Lands and Land Settlements) |
• |
Mining
Act |
• |
National
Geographic Data Management |
• |
National Land Policy |
• |
Non-Bauxite Mining |
• |
Public
Sector Estate Management |
• |
Quarries
Act |
• |
Quarries
and Non-Bauxite Minerals |
• |
Real
Estate (Dealers and Developers') Act |
• |
Registration of Titles Act |
• |
Survey
and Titles |
(ENVIRONMENT)
• |
Air
Quality and Control |
• |
Beach Control and Coastal Management |
• |
Marine
Conservation and Protection |
• |
Meteorology |
• |
Disaster
Preparedness and Emergency Management |
• |
Watershed
Management |
• |
Wildlife Protection |
PHYSICAL PLANNING
• |
Local
Improvements Act |
• |
Negril and Green Island Development |
• |
Registration
(Strata Titles) Act |
• |
Subdivision
of Land |
• |
Town
and Country Planning |
|
