Tag: climate change

The Natural History Museum’s Earth Day Arts Competition for Children and Youth: Deadline March 9!

February 24, 2020

The Natural History Museum of Jamaica (NHMJ), a division of the Institute of Jamaica, is inviting entries for its 2020 Earth Day Competition, which has the theme: Countdown to 2030: Vision of a Healthy Environment.  As Earth Day reaches its milestone 50th anniversary in April 2020, nature and the environment are facing incredible and unprecedented challenges … More The Natural History Museum’s Earth Day Arts Competition for Children and Youth: Deadline March 9!

The Forest Factor: Millions of Trees Planted, Too Many Lost

February 8, 2020

You may have missed this (as I almost did in the horrendous month of January) – but the Forestry Department has been busy. You may recall that last October Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced a “Three Million Trees in Three Years” project. The numbers are great, but the devil is in the details. Does the … More The Forest Factor: Millions of Trees Planted, Too Many Lost

Losing Our Fellow Creatures: UN Environment Programme Launches International Poster Biennial on Biodiversity

January 24, 2020

I feel that the issue of our loss of biodiversity – the millions of species of animals, birds, plants, insects that we have the honor of sharing this Planet with – has been somewhat sidelined in the discussions on climate change.  And yet – news stories appear almost daily that fill my heart with deep sadness. … More Losing Our Fellow Creatures: UN Environment Programme Launches International Poster Biennial on Biodiversity

Fifteen Clarendon Communities Consulted on Risk Profiles and Climate Change Adaptation Plans

December 29, 2019

I have spent some time in the beautiful central parish of Clarendon in the past year. Studies (and recent events) have shown that the area is particularly vulnerable to flooding, prolonged drought, and other impacts of climate change.  Prime Minister Andrew Holness pointed out in Parliament in October that Clarendon was responsible for a large … More Fifteen Clarendon Communities Consulted on Risk Profiles and Climate Change Adaptation Plans

Unfair and Unequal: New UNDP Report Sheds Light on Discontent in Latin America and the Caribbean

December 10, 2019

Well, not so much the Caribbean, you might think. However, in case we had not noticed, there have been rumblings in Dominica of late (politics and then some), and Haiti has seen a year of protests. As I noted in my previous post, “Poor People Fed Up”! There is a lot of discontent, in particular … More Unfair and Unequal: New UNDP Report Sheds Light on Discontent in Latin America and the Caribbean

On Trees That Feed…and What Feeds Them

November 11, 2019

The Prime Minister made an announcement about a major tree-planting programme on September 27, 2019 at the United Nations General Assembly. We are waiting to hear details, although I hear that the programme is still in its planning stages. Still planning? Was the announcement a little premature? In recent years, the Government’s tree-planting programmes have … More On Trees That Feed…and What Feeds Them

Minister Daryl Vaz’s Remarks at the Pre-COP 25 Meeting and Launch of Jamaica’s Green Climate Fund Country Programme

October 29, 2019

On October 23, I joined the annual meeting organized by the Climate Change Division ahead of the upcoming UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 25) in Santiago, Chile. Our meeting was titled: Climate Action: The 2020 Agenda. We met at the very cool new AC Marriott Hotel in Kingston. It was very well attended by … More Minister Daryl Vaz’s Remarks at the Pre-COP 25 Meeting and Launch of Jamaica’s Green Climate Fund Country Programme