Current Media Releases

On December 9, 2020, the Recycling Partners of Jamaica (RPJ) collaborated with the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and Magna Rewards Jamaica Ltd. to launch a Supermarket Plastic Recyclables Drop Off Programme.

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) will be commemorating Geographic Information System (GIS) Day, under the theme, “Geospatial Technologies: Shaping the Future.” From November 16-18, 2020, the Agency will execute activities that are aimed at helping members of the public and targeted stakeholder groups better appreciate how geospatial technologies are used in making critical planning and environmental decisions.

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) pilots sustainable plastic waste disposal initiative with Lee’s Food Fair Supermarket, Recycling Partners of Jamaica (RPJ) and Magna Rewards.

Residents in Kingston and St. Andrew now have an additional option for the sustainable disposal of their plastic waste with the establishment of a new drop-off point for plastics at Lee’s Food Fair Supermarket on Red Hills Road.

Twenty one representatives from ten locally operated Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Consultancies participated in a virtual sensitization session on the EIA process on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. The session was hosted by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has issued two site warning notices to Agro Expo Farms Limited following an investigation into a video circulated on social media on September 10, 2020, showing two of the company’s trucks carrying out sand mining in the Rio Grande River in the parish of Portland.

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is investigating a report of the illegal export of a sculpture made from Lignum Vitae to a Western European Country. The Agency was notified by the Country’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Management Authority on August 21, 2020. The craft item has been seized by the importing country, pending the investigation.

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and Ministry of Education Youth and Information (MOEYI) collaborated to provide environmental education to over 700 primary school teachers at the grade four to six level, through the NEPA Junior Environment Programme (NJEP).

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is announcing the dates for the game bird shooting season. The 2020 Game Bird Shooting Season is declared to open on Saturday, August 15, 2020 and close on Sunday, September 20, 2020.

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is advising the public to expect an increase of mats of the brown seaweed known as Sargassum along several beaches across the island in the upcoming months.

On Thursday, March 5, 2020, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) in partnership with the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) hosted part one of a policy dialogue session focusing on developing an integrated waste management system for Jamaica.

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is offering a reward to anyone who is able to provide information that will assist in the arrest and charge of the men seen in videos last week killing a crocodile.

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is aware of a series of videos and photographs depicting the killing of a crocodile on a fishing beach. The Agency has commenced its investigation and coordination with its partner agencies to find the perpetrators of this gruesome act.

Since January 2020, thirty-seven companies and individuals have been brought before parish courts for breaches of the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (Plastic Packaging Materials Prohibition- PPM) Order. Of the thirty-seven matters mentioned, twenty-five businesses pleaded guilty and were convicted which brings the number of convictions to date under the Order to twenty-five.

Twelve businesses in Western Jamaica were today convicted for breaches of the ban on single-use plastics by the St James and Trelawny Parish Courts. The establishments convicted, which included, restaurants, grocery and clothing stores were fined sums ranging from $10,000.00 - $20,000.00 or a term of one-year imprisonment at hard labour.

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) received a report from Rubis Energy Jamaica Limited of a pollution incident at its Rockfort facility in East Kingston on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at approximately 1:28 p.m. The company reported that there was a release of petroleum products, which entered the terrestrial and marine environment.