PRESS RELEASE - April 16, 2004

Jamaica will join the international community in celebrating the 34 th anniversary of Earth Day on Thursday, April 22. To mark the event, several activities have been organized by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) which will take place across the island.

NEPA in collaboration with the Jamaica Library Service (JLS) will mount displays highlighting information enshrined in the United Nations Citizen’s Charter in Parish Libraries island-wide. In addition, NEPA will present a collection of Environmental CDs to the JLS for distribution to libraries. Persons undertaking research on local environmental issues should find the information useful.

An Environmental Film Festival aimed at increasing environmental awareness among participants in holistic governance courses will be staged at the Management Institute for National Development (MIND) from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

“Recycle Jamaica Day” will be hosted by the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) at its Waterloo Road office in Kingston starting at 10:00 a.m. The Caribbean Maritime Institute will convene a forum to discuss environmental health issues with students at the institution.

The St. Catherine 4-H Clubs will hold their Annual Achievement Day, which begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Innswood High School, located off the Old Harbour main road. In St. James, the Montego Bay Marine Park will undertake a beach clean-up of the River Bay Fishing area.

A Pre-Earth Day Lunch Hour Meditation, “Faith and the Environment,” is scheduled to take place at the Webster Memorial United Church at 53 Half Way Tree Road at noon on Wednesday, April 21.

The Office of Public Affairs (OPA) of the United States Embassy will be the host of a Digital Video Conference on Sustainable Tourism, slated for Tuesday, April 20 at 12:30 p. m. in its state-of-the-art auditorium.

NEPA is urging schools, community groups, youth and service clubs, professional organizations, public and private sector agencies and individual citizens to support activities in commemoration of Earth Day 2004.

The first observance of Earth Day took place in the United States in 1970 when an estimated twenty-five (25) million people joined clean-up groups, sang and listened to speeches in honour of planet Earth. Introduced under the theme “Think Globally – Act Locally”, Earth Day has spread to become an event marked by vigorous environmental action at the local level in many countries. Earth Day is intended to focus citizens’ attention on the natural environment and remind them of their obligation to protect and preserve the Earth.