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June 1 – 7 is being observed in Jamaica this year
as National Environmental Awareness Week (NEAW). The week-long
observation coincides with two major international environmental
celebrations; World Environment Day (WED), which is being celebrated
on Sunday, June 5 and World Ocean’s Day on Wednesday, June 8.
In an effort to mark the week, the National
Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) along with some private sector
companies and other environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs)
have organized several activities. This year’s theme for WED is
“Green Cities: Plan for the Planet”.
For the first time this year, NEPA in association
with the Palace Amusement Company Limited and Digicel will host an
Environmental Film Festival, on Wednesday, June 1. Three films
will be shown during the festival which starts at 9:00 a.m. in Palace
Amusement cinemas in Kingston, Portmore, Montego Bay, Mandeville and
Cove Cinema in St. Ann Featured presentations include: Day After
Tomorrow; Ice Age or Shark’s Tale.
Renowned drummer Desi Jones and the Worl’ of
Drums quartet and Stefan Penincilin, winner of the Jamaica
Cultural Development Commission’s 2003 and 2004 Popular Song Contests,
will be the headline entertainers at the free WED Concert, on
Thursday, June 2. Scheduled for the Emancipation Park, the two-hour
event starts at 6:00 p.m. Other winners of other JCDC’s 2005 Festival
of the Performing Arts competitions, schools in Kingston and staff of
NEPA will also perform.
NEPA will mount weeklong exhibitions in Port
Royal, the site of Jamaica’s second Wetland of International
Importance, as well as in Negril and Montego Bay, starting on Friday.
In Port Royal, a concert and a live radio outside broadcast will be
held at the Port Royal Junior High School.
The Ministry of Land and Environment (MLE) will
also mount an exhibition under the theme “Green Cities: Plan for
the Planet” in its lobby at its Half Way Tree Road offices,
starting on Friday.
The Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) is promoting its Jamaica Carpool
Day. Under the theme: “Cities on the Move”. JET is encouraging
all Jamaicans to show their support for greener cities by carpooling
to work on Friday, June 3.
A Press Conference will also be held
on Friday, at the Regional Coordinating Unit of the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP); at its Port Royal Street offices. The
conference will focus on the Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) and
UNEP’s work in the
Caribbean.
On Saturday, the National Solid Waste Management
Authority (NSWMA) will conduct a beautification exercise along the
Michael Manley Boulevard, in Kingston. Residents in the area are
invited support this initiative.
The NSWMA will also mount a weeklong exhibition, starting on Saturday,
at the Reading Room of the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Library on
the “History of Solid Waste Management in Jamaica.”
The Alliance Française de la Jamaique will mount a display and show a
documentary with English subtitles on biodiversity at its Lilford
Avenue headquarters, on Saturday, June 4.
On World Environment Day (WED), Sunday, June 5,
the WED Church Service will be held at the Grace Missionary Church in
Kingston. The Minister’s message will also be read on Saturday and
Sunday in churches island-wide.
The NSWMA will launch its United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP)/ Global Environment Programme Small
Grants Programme at the Knutsford Court Hotel, on Monday.
The Used Lead Acid Battery (ULAB) Project will
also be launched on Monday at the Tom Redcam Library, in Kingston at
4:00 p.m.
The Manchester Parish Council and the Parish
Development Committee (PDC) will launch a weeklong exhibition,
including presentations from key personnel, on Planning and
Environment Issues in Manchester. Proposals for the Sustainable
Development of Manchester will also be reviewed. Activities get
underway on Tuesday, June 7.
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