JET dissatisfied with environmental management amid recent incidents of pollution

By Nakinskie Robinson    

 

The Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) has expressed dissatisfaction with what it said is the apparent mismanagement of the environment following recent incidents of pollution.

 

Chief Executive Officer Dr. Theresa Rodriquez-Moodie said the recent events indicate a blatant disregard for the protection of water bodies from both industrial and domestic waste.

 

Speaking with Radio Jamaica News, Dr. Rodriquez-Moodie argued that not enough is being done to safeguard the environment. 

 

"Too often, we are getting reports of these pollution incidents, not just by private companies, but also by state entities. And what does this say?... Is it that we don't care about the environment enough? Is it that we don't fear the environmental consequences of these negative impacts? I think it's a combination, but I think that we need to focus more on pollution prevention, which includes better monitoring and enforcement by our regulatory bodies," she suggested. 

 

Dr. Rodriquez-Moodie said a more rigorous approach must also be implemented by the relevant authorities to better tackle environmental issues. 

 

"We also need to encourage people to report incidents when they do occur, so that going forward, we want to move away from being reactive and focus more on being proactive, because it is better, it is easier to prevent an incident than it is to recover from an incident," she said.