Master Plan to be developed for Protected Areas

Wednesday, 25 July 2012 16:41

A Protected Areas System Master Plan is to be developed, which promotes a co-ordinated approach to Protected Areas management within the Government and across the other sectors of society.   

"An important section of the Master Plan concerns the sustainable financing of Protected Areas and proposes strategies to be taken to accomplish this, one of which is the establishment of a National Trust Fund,” Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, has said.

He added that the Master Plan is presently being finalised and will be completed this year.

The Minister was speaking during his contribution to the 2012/13 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives, on July 24.

He also informed that work will continue on the development of a National Policy and Strategy for the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes.

“A draft Policy document has been prepared and will be forwarded to Cabinet for approval as a Green Paper in the second half of the 2012/13 financial year,” Mr. Pickersgill added.

Also, under the Trust Fund of the Quick Start Programme established under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), Jamaica will implement a project to develop an inventory of priority chemicals, namely mercury and asbestos, and develop and implement a national programme for the environmentally sound management of electrical and electronic wastes (e-wastes).

The primary focus of the programme will be the collection and export for recycling, of used and end-of-life computing equipment and mobile phones and related accessories. It will also include a pilot project, including select communities within the Kingston and St. Andrew region and St. Catherine.