NEPA marks 25 years with anniversary lecture

Good afternoon everyone. Happy World Environment Day. We join with the rest of the world to celebrate this special day. Dr. Keshan Kadday, resident representative for Jamaica, Biz, Bermuda, the Cayman Island, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caos Island, United Nation Development Program, Multi-country Office in Jamaica. Mr. Christopher Wimstone, chairman, natural resources conservation authority and the town and country planning authority. Mr. Audley Gordon, executive director, National Solid Waste Management Authority. Mr. Leonard Francis, Chief Executive Officer, National Environment and Planning Agency and Government Town Planner. Miss Andre McLaren, senior director, National Development, Planning, Policy, and Monitoring Branch, representing the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development. Dr. Winnie Bry, Deputy Chief Ex Education Officer representing the permanent secretary in that ministry, the ministry of education, skills, youth and information representing Dr. Kasan troop members of government ministries, departments, agencies, representatives of international organizations and development partners, members of academia, civil society organization and the private sector, representatives of the media, colleagues, Distinguished guest, Mr. Scott Plattz, Vice President, Health, Safety, Security, Environment, Quality, and Marine Assurance, Accelerate Energy Global, Mr. Sean Moan Morgan, Regional Health, Safety, Security, Environment, Quality, and Marine Assurance, Accelerate Energy Jamaica. Colleagues, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Our theme recover stronger recover greener integrating ecosystem solution in post planning post disaster planning that will occupy our thoughts for the next two hours or so and even longer when we leave here. we will ponder on our discussions had today. I'd like to thank everyone for being a part of today's proceedings. And so on behalf of the National Environmental Planning Agency, it is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the National Environmental Awareness Week Distinguished Lecture 2026. Today's event is particularly significant as it forms a part of the AY's observance of National Environmental Awareness Week and it contributes to NEPA's 25th anniversary of service to Jamaica.

I would like to extend a very very special welcome on the AY's accomplishment on behalf of our CEO, Mr. Leonard Francis, the executive management team and the staff of NEPA. We are indeed honored by your presence and grateful that you have joined us for this very important occasion. For 25 years, yes, 25 years, NEPA has played a central role in advancing environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, land use planning, watershed management, coastal resource protection, climate resilience, and environmental governance throughout Jamaica. As we commemorate this milestone, we do so under the theme which is both timely and relevant. And we can say it by now cuz it's all in the room. Recover stronger, recover greener, integrating ecosystem solution in post disaster planning. Thank you. Recent events have served as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of small island developing states to natural hazards, climate change, and other environmental shocks. As we continue to navigate an increasing uncertain future, it's becoming clearer that environmental stewardship and resilience building are not solely environmental concerns. Indeed, they are fundamental national development priorities. Forest, wheds, wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs, and other natural systems provide essential services that strengthen our capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Equally importance, I'm sure the planners will advocate this strongly, is the role of sustainable land use planning where and how development occurs in national recovery efforts. Today's distinguished lecture therefore provides an important opportunity for us to reflect on how nature-based solution and sustainable land use planning can integrate into disaster risk reduction, recovery planning and national development strategies. It is our hope that the discussions this afternoon will advance our collective understanding and inspire stronger partnership and action that support a more resilient, sustainable and environmentally secure future for Jamaica and indeed for the wider Caribbean. We wish to acknowledge at this time Exhilarate Energy a major sponsor represented by Mrs. Scott Plats and team and thank them for their generous support of today's event. We also would like to extend our appreciation to some other sponsors. Seprod Limited, Sagicore Group Jamaica Limited, COX Services Limited for their valued partnership. And as we go on, we will thank our other sponsors throughout the afternoon's proceedings. Thank you all for joining us. And so to open the remarks section, we are going to commence with our chairman for the natural resources conservation authority and the town and country planning authority, Mr. Christopher Wimstone. In his capacity, he provides strategic oversight for environmental protection, natural resource conservation, and sustainable land use planning. Ladies and gentlemen, please help me to welcome him.

Good afternoon everybody.

After that long introduction of all our guests, I feel obliged to say all protocols observed but I think I will have to call some names. So good morning or good afternoon. Um, we have the honorable doctor here, Kishan Kad, who we're looking forward to hear from from the United Nations Development Program. Uh, we have our CEO, Mr. Leonard Francis, CEO and government town planner. Two very important titles. I put much more emphasis on the latter. He knows that. Um, honorable Edith Chin, who I just met a couple days ago. Custo, welcome. Um, you guys got the green award for your company, Juicy. Congratulations again. Well done. U, Mr. Wayne Robinson, permanent secretary, Minister of Water and Environment. Miss Marsha Henry. Is Marca here? No, I didn't see Marshall, who I know a long time. Uh, Miss Claire Bernard, deputy director general of the Pan Institute of Jamaica. Mr. Peter Clark, managing director of the Mr. Scott Plattz, vice president of Accelerate Energy. Nice to see you. Distinguished representatives of government, local authorities, development partners, academia, civil society, private sector, media, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome. So, as chairman of the Natural Resources Conservation Authority, um I'm pleased that to welcome you to the distinguished lecture hosted by NEPA, an in observance of World Environment Day and as part of NEPA's 25th anniversary. Uh 25 is always a special time in any company, in any organization, any marriage. Um, so it's a time for reflection especially and accountability and renewed purpose. So it's it's it's a very special time. Um, as said before by Michelle for 25 years NEPA has stood at the intersection of both environmental protection and national planning. a very complex organization NEPA is. Um, a lot of people underestimate it. Um, I it is for me one of the true multid-disiplinary agencies. Uh, and I'm a I'm familiar with a lot of them, but NEPA NEPA is one that really has um the the true broadest um selection of different professions and and varying and uh related and unrelated and um certainly in my short time as being the chairman and longer time as being the deputy chairman to see how that all comes together in the organ organization, how different um thinking and perspectives come together is amazing and and I honestly will tell you that NEPA does a very good very good job at managing that and managing their mandate.

It's no small responsibility they have. It means helping Jamaica decide not only how we grow, but how we protect the land, water, biodiversity, and communities that make growth possible. I mean, in my capacity as chairman, I I I hope I bring to the table CEO and and NEPA staff um a different perspective because I'm also a practitioner in the in the built environment. I'm an architect by profession, been one for 26 years. Um, but I'm also a tree hugger. I tell everybody all the time that I I live under 12 lignum vit trees. And I had to um I had to design that property around all 12, not to cut them down, which was quite a task when everybody else is telling you to cut them down and do what you have to do. But that's only one aspect of it. designing around them but uh then you have to live with them um which becomes very challenging. It's not the butterflies. The butterflies is the is the blessing. Uh it's everything before it's the caterpillars and you know literally and 12 trees and you know in 3 months this set are doing their thing and in another 3 months and it becomes a cycle and we literally have to shut down the property. All cars park on the sidewalk when they start moving from tree to cocoon. We have to abandon all cars. No cars allowed on the property because in we've tried that and then all the all all the cocoons are under your car and then you lose that that life. You lose that when the cars move off and all those butterflies. So we have to literally live with them. Keep all windows locked. Um sometime it come becomes very very personal. You know, there you see one wing flapping out of a light socket and you pull off the light socket to get that one butterfly out so he can enjoy his his two days or three days. Um so so the environment is very important um but so is development. So is human existence is also very important and uh finding that balance is what we have to do. Um, this year's theme, recover stronger, recover greener, integrating ecosystem solutions in post- disaster planning, could not be more timely. Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in October last year, remind us the hardest way possible that climate climate risk is not abstract, especially on a small island state. Jamaica's assessed damage and losses have been placed at approximately Jamaican dollars almost two trillion with impacts felt across homes, livelihoods, infrastructure, and the natural environment. I mean, it's amazing. I I did not believe the trajectory. I mean, at all. When I saw that hurricane heading south um and it passed Kingston, I was like, just keep going. But what I didn't believe is that any hurricane could do a 90° turn. Um I I just thought that was BS. I mean, but when it did it, I mean, it was awesome because it really did a full 90 degree turn. I never thought that was even possible. I'm happy that we have the technology today to be able to predict that because then you can prepare as much as best you can. But you can imagine if you didn't have that technology and couldn't prepare in whatever little time you had. But I found that amazing that it did that 90° turn and then we all know what happened after that. Um I tell all the guys out in Port Royal who are killing up themselves to protect this and protect that and don't do this and don't do that. That if that hurricane had landed in Port Royal, all your fighting to protect would be gone. So if you need to get under the water to recover things, do it quick. not say I'm going to do it in two years and say I'm going to do it in five years because you might not have that opportunity really if that hurricane had landed in Kingston in Port Royal there absolutely it would have been gone if Black River is any proof of what what it does when it touches land there would be no more so we have to make hay while the sun shines is a is what I was trying to say to the guys out at the J&H regarding Port Royal um sometimes we overthink things and realize that we don't have time um it's best to do it as soon as you can. Um, so if there's one lesson we must carry forward is this. It's that resilience cannot be measured by only by how quickly we replace what is damaged. True resilience is measured by whether we rebuild in ways that reduce further risk, protect communities, and strengthen the ecological systems on which our economy and our well-being depend. Um, co has heard me say and the NEPA staff has heard me say, "I love the smell of fresh, healthy mangroves, but I also love the smell of freshly poured concrete." And that is just not in the same place. And and that's the balance I I try and bring to to NEPAB because of my profession and my and my passions. Um it sometimes put me in a precarious place uh because you really have to search soul search and scientifically search for that middle ground because we as humans have to survive and grow but the environment that support us also has to survive and grow and it's a it's a balance that the NEPA is charged to do. Um so healthy waterersheds yes they secure water supply and reduce sedimentations store and filter water mangroves and coral reefs reduce coastal flooding and storm impacts the global evidence and Jamaica's own experience make it clear that ecosystembased disaster disaster risk reduction belongs at the center of planning not at the margins In Jamaica's case, the evidence is compelling. The Hope Yalis wershed is estimated to supply roughly 40%, believe it or not, of the Kingston metropolitan area. Jamaica's mangroves provide an annual flood risk reduction benefit to built assets valued at more than 336,000 Jamaican dollars per hectare. And if these mangroves were lost, more people would be flooded each year during very intense storms that can protect approximately 770,000 people. I mean, you look at uh Malcolm's Bay and the impact when it the the the hurricane when Melissa landed and it beat the crap out of those mangroves and those were strong, healthy, robust mangroves. Um, can you imagine if they weren't there, the damage in land would be um m much more severe. Um, it's one of these things like like like the caterpillars and the lignum vit trees that we need to learn to live with and learn to love mangroves. Everybody and seagrass. Everybody thinks that, you know, they want to clear their beaches. They want to clear the shallows in the water to take out the seagrass. Everybody has white sand to step on. But really and truly, you lose the the the seagrass and then you start losing the white sand. There's there's a relationship. You you have to learn to love nature. You got to learn to love that seagrass. You have to learn to love the mangroves. They're not unsightly. They're not uncomfortable to walk on. It's a mindset that you have to change your thinking. They're actually beautiful and and very useful um natural infrastructure. Um so post- disaster planning must include ridgeto reef thinking. It must connect watershed rehabilitation with water security, coastal restoration with community safety, land use planning with hazard mitigation and public investment with long-term resilience. must also be whole of society work bringing together central government, local government, technical agencies, community leaders, development partners, and the private sector. It's an education process that I think Jamaica could do a lot more at in in in the basic to primary to high school level so that by time you you're an adult um you have a greater appreciation of some of these things and it doesn't feel learned but rather natural and and and normal um and not being forced on you. And I in by that I mean recognizing that seaggrass is nice and mangroves are nice and and and that sort of thing. This integrated approach is entirely consistent with vision 2030 which links a healthy natural environment with hazard risk reduction, climate adaptation and sustainable urban and rural development. It is also consistent with the global call to build back better by using recovery to strengthen resilience, livelihoods, and environments together. In other words, greener recovery is not an option or an optional add-on. It's a sound development practice. We are not starting from zero here. Jamaica is already has important building blocks on which to expand. We have the watersheds policy for Jamaica which calls for coordinated restoration of degraded watershed areas. Something we're trying I know us you guys in Nepo are trying. Um it's happy to see all of the sanctuaries that are established around the coast and they speak for themselves. their successes speak for themselves in in in in in that the very same fishermen uh you talk to now you would think it was their idea since inception to to have these because and that's a good thing when people when good ideas are are are are now being sold or preached by those who used to be against it. It means that there's a mind change that is happening and and what you're saying is working. Um and obviously they're reaping the benefits in terms of the size fish and the quantity fish. Um there's also the coral nurseries that that that NEPA has uh oversight of the various private and public sector people doing and those are working very well. Um I've I've been to a few of them and seen seen the the little corals growing and it's tr truly amazing. I'd like to go with you guys one one day on the night dives. I saw a video to see when they were um reproducing spawning and it was just a joy to see that on video. It'd be nice to see it in real life. Um the a Jamaican path from hills to ocean project is also one project that is supporting restoration from upper watersheds to wetlands and marine protected areas. These efforts point us in the right direction toward recovery strategies that understand that what happens in the hills is ultimately felt on the coast. were to me left to me CEO you know and Elena know we would have um like to have put some restrictions on what happens in our hills as far as development goes um for that very same reason because you know whatever happens up there ultimately has to come down and uh I think we need to be a bit more sensitive in terms of what's happening in our in our hills because we're feeling the effects of it down on the planes This agenda is also economically sound and recent UNDP supported analysis found that a stronger shift towards a green and climate resilient economy could generate up to 8,000 new jobs in Jamaica. Nearly 1% additional GT GDP growth relative to business as usual path and this matters. It tells us that environmental steward stewardship and economic opportunity are not opposing goals. Properly designed, they reinforce each other. And that's really what NEPA has a hard job of trying to to balance the pressures of politics and business and the environment that has to sustain us. That is one reason today's lecture is so fitting. Dr. Kishan Kad leads the UNDP multi-country office in Jamaica and has brought sustained emphasis to climate and ecosystem resilience, disaster risk reduction, recovery and opportunities of blue and green development pathways for small island states. He has argued that blue and green solutions may become one of the greatest development opportunities of our time. As UNDP marks 50 years of its multi-country office in Jamaica, we are especially pleased to welcome a speaker whose work so clearly connects environmental resilience with human development. Dr. Kay, we thank you for being with us today. We thank all our partners and stakeholders for joining joining with us in the conversations we're going to have this afternoon as Michelle said and we thank the team at NEPA under the leadership of Mr. government town planner Leonard Francis for convening a forum that is both timely and necessary. Ladies and gentlemen, Jamaica's recovery must not simply restore what was. It must prepare us for what is coming. It must be smarter, fairer, and more future ready. And it must be grounded in the understanding that our ecosystems are not expendable. They're actually foundational to national resilience. I could talk more and more and more, but I'm not the guest speaker. So, I will leave it there and say thank you very much and look forward to hearing the day's activities.

Thank you so much, Mr. Wimstone. Indeed, we need to balance for sound development practice. Interestingly, you spoke about marriage at 25 and you also twinned some approaches in your remarks. We'll just like to say if those approaches are twinned then I do believe and I think we all believe that what we will have stronger communities, healthier ecosystems, resilient future resulting in a sustainable Jamaica. We thank you again for your remarks.

We now invite Mr. Oley Gordon, the executive director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority. He is a longstanding advocate for environmental stewardship and public education. Under his leadership, the authority has continued to strengthen national efforts relating to waste management, recycling, environmental awareness, and public engagement. Before he comes though, I would like us to welcome especially the honorable Edith Chin, CDJ, who is the Costas Rotelum Rum. Did I get that correctly? Great. For the parish of Clarindon. Thank you so much for joining us today.

And now we welcome Mr. Oudley Gordon.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Madame chair person. Is that my wife? Oh you know. Yes. Honored to celebrate another year with one Karine. Yes, we are married for 29 years

and today is her birthday. And for my personal safety, I won't spend too long here because I I would not want to report a negative next time you invite me. Yeah, I will adopt the established protocols because what the introduction didn't say about me is that I'm a firm believer that too much time is spent on the protocols. Now, I know people will disagree with me, but that's cool. I've got I went to a function and when I sat there and had the time up is over an hour that was spent collectively if everybody go up and re and repeat the protocol now if that's not time wasting well I'm good but I will adopt the protocol and I trust that I'll be forgiven since time is of the essence I I will however start by acknowledge all the distinguished ladies and gentlemen in the room and I greet you well from the National Solid Waste Management Authority. As the executive director for the National Solid Waste Management Authority, I have seen firsthand the dangers of what I call a very bad culture that has evolved in my country. I trust that it's okay to speak some hard truth here. I not so sure I must be just diplomatic. But the truth is that what we are wrestling against and all that you have said is a very bad culture. Is a culture that has deviated from where we were even 50 years ago, 40 years ago. Some basic things that we used to do. One of them was to enjoy picking up the litter off the ground. Was basic, but we used to sing a song. Beat bits of paper. Bits of paper lying on the ground. And we used to enjoy moving around and picking it up. And in doing so, at the time we didn't know that we were making a huge contribution to our environment because by not having the loose garbage around, we would prevent a lot of the flooding that destroy lives and properties, cause sever severe damage to people's homes. And and every time we have a flood and once the water begin to recede, you will see the cause of the flood in the plastic bottles, the juice boxes, the lunch boxes, all the stuff that get washed down. Now, all those were placed in the environment by humans behaving badly.

Now there's a call for recover stronger, recover greener. But that call would be best served if we begin with some self evaluation, some reflection of our own bad habits and contribution, negative contribution. Because indeed, when we do the ocean cleanup and when we send divers to the floor of the ocean and when we remove tons of litter from the bed of the ocean, I'm sure that the person up on the hill or who live on the bank of a gully or a drain, they don't connect their action readily with the damage that's being done to even the very fish that they are putting in their plate. So there is a need and it's a humble opinion for as a society for us to reflect on our own conduct, our own behavior, how we manage waste. It is always that you hear people ask where's the garbage truck? I don't see the garbage truck. I went last see truck the truck not come. The truth is that Jamaica don't have a truck problem. What we have is a waste management problem. Because most maybe even in this room believe that waste management is somebody else's job to do. But nothing could be further from the truth. We are responsible for the solid waste that we generate. So if you're finished with your lunch box or a bottle or uh whatever juice cup any form of solid waste you generate it you have a first duty to make sure that it is responsibly handled and managed so that it don't create a nuisance for your neighbor.

Now, one of the ways we do that at our homes is to properly containerize it. This way the wind don't get to carry it all over the place or the rain the water don't get to you know create river for it to float in or we don't find it in a drain somewhere or in the most problematic one that we're having now called travel waste where every public thoroughare that you traverse you can see on the sides of the roads. Items thrown from the windows of a car or just deposited by a walk or pedestrian.

The investment in public education around waste management have to be significantly increased. We giving thanks now that for the first time in the history of the NSWMA, we are seeing a sum in the budget that we can begin to work with. I I I I can't say it is sufficient. We are about $200 million that to direct towards public education. The prime minister acknowledged that something is wrong up here, that we have to get into the heads of our people and to get them to reconsider the way we manage waste at source.

So we will we have already built out that program and subject some tweaking here, tweaking there, we will be going full speed ahead to begin to chip away at that bad culture. It was just uh Tuesday of this week we launched operation calm. Operation calm was launched in Rocky Point. For those of us here who familiar with disaster know that Rocky Point, Portland cottage that belt I see custas here is usually even this Melissa here. It was supposed to go I maybe somebody prayed very hard in in Rocky Point but it is a place very familiar with natural disaster. So we chose that most appropriate location for the launch. And you ask me what is Operation Calm, C A LM. Now, Operation Calm is conceived as a proactive approach to floodprone communities and we know them. You NEPA knows them. Uh, ODPM knows them. The parish councils know them. NWA, NSWMA, we all know them. We have been around and we have seen disasters and we know the first places you hear the report coming from. And calm the sea is to clear all the possible garbage, everything that we can find to move out of these areas right throughout the hurricane season. which is why I say is a proactive thing. We're not waiting until Evan Thompson announced anything. We're not waiting until we are called to Jamaica House as part of this great thing to say now it's nearing. No, we are in the fraudprone areas and we are going through clearing. We have deployed our tipper trucks and we have engaged additional trucks and we are doing a thorough cleaning of the area and the A is it has a advisory component where we are doing a robust public education program in those floodprone communities communicating best practices giving the dos and the don'ts. How you operate before, how you operate during, how you operate after, how you manage your waste when the truck can't come because there is weather disturbance. When you cut a tree, when you don't cut a tree, because there are people who will have a tree hanging over their house and I know you don't like to hear about cutting tree, Mr. Stone, I I understand, but you know, sometimes a part of the protective measure that people deploy. I hope they don't just do it willy-nilly. But you know, but there are people who wait and is while the breeze blowing. Don't laugh. It's true. When they see the neighborhood coming down, that's the time they get out in the wind with machete and all that sort of things trying to do. We are saying no. Look, we have to be careful to assess our properties. look at where the risks are and deal with them in a proactive way. So the A is an advisory component in there for a sustained public education program where we'll be talking to just about everybody who will accommodate us. We are talking to people in the churches. We are into the schools heavily. We are dealing with the man on the corner. We're working with the elected representatives. We are working with all the youth clubs, the CDC's. We are targeting everybody. We partnering with SDC. We're just going right out so that all in the floodprone area will not have the excuse of ignorance. So that's the A. The L is now where we're leveraging the community leadership because a lot of these things we going to do it and it don't get the same buying as if you use a JP who is popular. If you use a maybe you have a good shopkeeper was very influential maybe would have allowed a few credits to people from time to you you get all the different people who can help you with your messaging. We are leveraging that and we are trying to and I said earlier that we have the elected people on our side. We always get them first and try to make sure that there's harmony across the different um groupings in in in a constituency or in an area like um the the flood poners that we are targeting. We have the M now which is a most important component and this is the monitoring maintaining a presence and monitoring right throughout. So we don't just go in and do a program and it's a nice program and we get some media and JIS and and nice and we put up some of the feder band or something and stuff. No, this is about work. This is about sustained presence. This is about ensuring that we lead people into a better approach, a better way of doing things. So the maintenance of the space, the monitoring of the space is critical. C A LM but CO also have a nice little psychological thing to it too. A lot of people still reflect on Melissa and get panic attack. A lot of people still wondering, Lord, I wonder if we going to get anything like that again. And part of what we are trying to to do is we deliberately went for that acronym. We we try to build something with that is to kind of say no if we do what we have to do just keep a steady head whatever comes we will be in a better shape. Whatever comes we'll be in a better shape. I don't want to detain you too much with the Melissa's story since all of us would have been quite familiar. Suffice it to say that the UN DP had estimated some 500,000 loads of debris, truck loads of debris deposited on the island and um the NSWMA was tasked immediately to begin clearing um that. So far we are just about 50,000 loads. But I have good news for you. It may be that we are more than a 100,000 loads. And I'll explain where we would normally in the conventional way move pack things on a truck and move it. We had some shredders that were donated to us some years ago by Joseph and we didn't have much use for them and they came in very handy some wood shredders. So most of the wooden debris I would say about 90%. We were able to stage set stage areas in different parishes, different parts of the thing and do wood chipping right on spot and people they're moving faster than we could ever believe. People want them for farm. People want I mean you it's just amazing. We we'd leave a huge mountain of wood and overnight we go we don't see any. And it teach us a lesson. It is a great lesson in the in the debris management going forward that it maybe we should have the the the more wood chippers which we are ordering uh and government is supporting us on that and not only should we have the wood chippers that we should pre uh h arrange staging areas and have them deployed even before so in case you get a road cut off here you can't move and so on. Um so proactively we need to have those uh temporary sites and we are trying now to identify them. Um we are we are looking at currently at a long list of you know parcels of land that government own right across the country especially local government and we are looking to do those staging areas so that we can when the next hurricane hit we will be able to move more decisively and more timely. What happened to us is none of us expected what came. So all our wood strippers were at the hero circle stored there. By the time we realized what was happening to us, there were all sort of other problems that you have to navigate to get them into the spaces where you really need them. So there's a lot of lessons that we learned and that was one. And um we're going into hopefully we don't get another disaster like Medela but should we would be much better prepared. Um I must also put on record the swift movement of government to find over a billion and a half um dollars for us so that we could facilitate payments of the equipments and the trucks that we had to hire. Also um the other attending costs that come with running operations like that. lot of fuel was used. You, you know, you had to drive to Montego Bay five times to the week because there's no hotel, there's no Airbnb, there's nothing. I mean, you you talk about disasters such as happening areas like Katherine Hall and West Green where 1,300 homes was overtaken by flood water with all sort of sand and silt and other debris just filled the people house up. All furniturees covered, people, you know, thousands of people displaced and you're trying to get them out of their misery as quickly as you can and you don't have anywhere in Montego to stay and a lot of the people that you're bringing down your management or everything have to be commuting while we do that. Add to that there's no phone service and um by the time we get to Starling set up that was days into the thing. Um there was issue with water, there was issue with all sort of things but what we have done now is good to talk about the problem but I love to talk about what we have done. We have put our four regional offices now in a position where this not only do we have the regular electricity but we have good standby generator that is properly scoped the cap in terms of the capacity to manage our operations. We also have the Starlink set. Um, we also have four brand new water trucks. So, we will have not only the tanks filled up at the offices, but we'll have water on wheels to help us. So, those are some little things that we have put in to make sure that the process is smoother going forward. Now, we talk about this greener approach that we should take. And I I see um there is a lot of ignorance out there that will have to be tackled and a lot of it will have to be driven by policies as it will be driven by reports. Now I would want to just give a few recommendations if I may and um close off my presentation. At the policy level, I think should mandate the inclusion of nature-based solutions in all national post- disaster recovery framework. For somehow I believe that if you dictate, no, not a good word. If you put a little muscle behind things, it get done better than the moral persuasion. It shouldn't be. No, we should be able to reason and just things you know people just accept the reasoning and just but I don't think we are there yet deepen collaboration between NSWMA NEPA UN um DP private sector NGO and look at how we can be not just partners partnership in a peacemeal way but the partnership is ongoing for example we have operation calm now I throw it out there I would love to get some suggestion I would love to see how more people want to come in and say let us maybe I could help you with the public education thing maybe I could help you with this aspect maybe I could help because you know what there's a lot of turf I don't say turf war but people just you know territorial and everybody was you know want a stripe for themselves over here and a stripe over there and and so on and the truth is that together each achieve more. So we we want to strengthen and deepen the collaborations. We need to train disaster responsors in ecosystem sensitive waste management and can have a conversation around that too. And we want to establish dedicated green recovery funds and incentives for community-led restoration projects. I know Nepa is a cashrich company so I don't think they need that advice but you know if we can go into the communities train people at the local level and of course you know once you go there you the first word going come out of the mouth is what's in it for me the incentive how much may I get you know but if there's an investment that I believe would be well made because I I will emphasize there's a lot of ignorance out there. You talk about the mangroves, you talk about the the the seagrass and so on. This public education thing and this trying to get the buying and trying to train people is not just for the local the small communities. Mr. Francis, you have a lot of people, some of them in big businesses, hotels and all that, that need the same training because while you see the average Joe out there pulling out the seagrass, they are sometimes they are just satellites working on behalf of people who would come to these meetings and say, "Oh, what a shame. They are disturbing the grass in the sea. Yes. So we need that um education so that people can understand the dangers they can make the linkages this they can see the connection between their bad behavior and the disaster that they are trying to avoid. There was a pastor man who used to preach some very long sermons at church. One day he went to church with a band a little bondage under his cheek. I said, "Pastor, what happened to you?" said last night I was thinking about the sermon while shaving and I accidentally cut my chin and I said, "Oh, pastor, next time you must concentrate on your chin and cut the sermon."

In conclusion, we will recover stronger, recover greener if we work together.

Thank you. That was humorous. Oh my god. All right. So, we thank you so much, Mr. Gordon and we wish for you and the National Solid Waste Management Authority all the very best with your operation calm and thank you for reminding us that we need to change the culture towards waste management and in recovering stronger and greener and we can just start by looking at ourselves you know the man in the mirror. So we really want to thank you for that. So, as we continue, we will have Miss Andre McLaren. She will bring us some remarks as the pastor did. Um, she'll bring us some brief remarks. We welcome you, Miss McLaren, and thank you.

Good afternoon everyone. I am going to be brief. Um, permit me to say all protocols observed. Um, and no, I'm not throwing any shade on you, former counselor Gordon. So, it's my pleasure to represent our permanent secretary, Mrs. Arlene Williams, at this distinguished lecture series in observation of the National Environmental Awareness Week 2026. Unfortunately, PS Williams could not be here with us today as she has a competing event, but I know her heart is here with us as we continue to celebrate. The theme for this year's observation, recover stronger, recover greener, integrating ecosystem solutions in post- disaster planning speaks directly to one of the defining challenges of our time, namely building resilience in the face of increasing environmental and climate related threats. As a small island developing state, Jamaica remains particularly vulnerable to hurricanes, floods, droughts, coastal erosion, and other climate impacts. Our recent experiences with hurricanes Burial and Melissa have reinforced the reality that recovery cannot simply be about restoring what was lost. It must be about rebuilding in ways that strengthen communities, protect natural systems, and reduce future risks. The theme also highlights an important truth. Our ecosystems are among our greatest assets in disaster preparedness and recovery. Healthy forests help stabilize watersheds and reduce flooding. Wetlands serve as a natural storm buffer, while coral reefs and mangroves protect our coastlines from erosion and storm surges. These ecosystems provide essential services that support livelihoods, food security, economic growth, public well-being. Investing in environmental protection is therefore not separate from development. Indeed, it is fundamental to sustainable development. National Environmental Awareness Week provides an important opportunity to deepen public understanding of these issues and encourage collective action. Sorry. It reminds us of our shared responsibility to protect the natural resources upon which all life depends. Today's forum is therefore especially timely as countries around the world grapple with climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and resource depletion. It provides an opportunity for meaningful discussion on the path forward. The decisions we make regarding land use, infrastructure development, natural resource for man management and environmental protection will shape the resilience and prosperity of future generations. This year's observance carries added significance as NEPA is also celebrating its 25th year of existence. For a quarter of a century, NEPA has served as Jamaica's principal environmental and planning authority, playing a central role in safeguarding the nation's natural resources while facilitating sustainable growth and development through its work in environmental regulation, biodiversity conservation, coastal and marine management, watershed protection, environmental monitoring and development planning. The agency has helped ensure that environmental considerations remain central to national decision making. Over the years, NEPA has guided the implementation of critical environmental policies, supported the protection of protected areas and sensitive ecosystems, advanced sustainable land use P planning, and promoted compliance with environmental standards. These efforts have contributed significantly to preserving Jamaica's rich natural heritage while strengthening resilience to environmental and climate related risks. We are pleased that there are part of the ministry's family of agencies. And as we congratulate and celebrate this important milestone with NEPA, we also recognize that the work is far from complete. Emerging environmental challenges demand innovation, stronger partnerships, greater public participation, continued invest and continued investment in environmental management and resilience building initiatives. They also require a whole of society approach. The government, the private sector, civil society, communities and individuals all have a role to play in creating the resilient, prosperous and sustainable future we seek. I therefore commend NEPA and all partners involved in organizing this lecture and the wider activities for National Environmental Awareness Week. I also want to say a special thank you to our distinguished presenter Dr. Kishan Kad for sharing with us his expertise exp and experience at this forum. I am confident that the insights he shares here will continue to even be more meaningful and that the dialogue will strengthen our collective efforts to build a Jamaica that can truly recover stronger and greener. Thank you and I wish you a productive and engaging lecture.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Miss McLaren, for your reminders and of course our shared responsibility to which we are recommitting today. Is that correct? We're all recommitting to that today. Great. Thank you. We move now into the section of our program where we will have the launch of what I'm going to call a flagship program that we have here at NEPA. And it's so good that in our 25th year, we can think about not just now, but our children and our future generations to come. So, we have the launch of a young CEO program conceptualized by our very own CEO, Mr. Leonard Frances. Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Angela Hamilton will give us an overview of the program. We will have the launch done by our CEO. And as in everything, when you're having a program dealing with our youth, then the endorsement of the Ministry of Education is always crucial as it really puts the icing on the cake for this program. So, we will have Dr. Once you get your name correctly, Dr. Winnie Berry and she is the deputy chief education officer and she will bring some remarks after Mr. Francis has launched the program but before so Mrs. Angela Hamilton

everyone thank you. So, um, I'm just going to be telling you a little about the program. The junior CEO of the day program, as was said by our master of ceremonies, is really the brainchild of our CEO. And um, so um, let me just get into the presentation.

Okay, I'm trying to get this clicker work working. Okay, it's on now. Yes. All right. So, the Junior CEO of the day program, the aim of it is to inspire the next generation of Jamaicans to be responsible environmental stewards. Now, I was really heartened to hear our chairman said that, you know, he loves the smell. He's a tree hugger, but he also love the smell of concrete. And that is what we want. We want for our next generation of Jamaicans to uh appreciate the importance of being sustainable in our development. And um it's something that we're proud to launch this year, our 25th year as an executive agency. So the program, the aim of the program is to deepen youth awareness regarding the importance of sustainable development to empower young Jamaicans to share their ideas and strengthen their leadership skill and to the initiative will alternate between the high schools and the primary school. So this year, the inaugural year, we are starting in the high school and then next year we are going into the primary school. And we believe that you're not too young to learn about the environment and to understand the principle of sustainable development. So um in order to participate in the program, the students will be invited to participate in a video storytelling competition. They will present their ideas on sustainable development in a three minute video and will be able to show off their digital skills. We know how our young people these days, they're so much into digital and they're so much into, you know, AI and all of that. So, we want them to be able to show off their, you know, use that to harness that that passion that they have to tell their story about um, you know, sustain sustainable development. Of course, um we don't want them to be just, you know, showing off those skills. We want them to be able to give their ideas. Um so each school will have a competition and they will select the winner the winning video to represent their school and each school would submit their entry into uh NEPA's national video competition and the winner from that competition will go on to be our junior CEO for the year. I hope I haven't confused anyone. We all understand how the program works, right? Okay. So, we have we know we have to incentivize them. So, our first place winner will have a cash award of $75,000, second place $50,000, and the third place winner will get $25,000. If you notice the um the prizes, they increase by $25,000 each, you know, in honor of our 25th anniversary. So you know if we are ever hundred years you know some kids could be filter rich anyway. So um the winner will also have some interesting opportunities. They'll be able to they'll be officially have the title of junior CEO. Can you imagine being a CEO before you're 20? So they will um shadow our top executives, our CEO as well as our two deputy CEOs. They will partner with hopefully some of us here um who are you know in in in environmental um you know uh line of work. they will be able to learn from you and to be able to use their voice to advocate for their peers and their parents to appreciate the importance of sustainable development. Um, so our website has more information. I just gave you a brief overview. That's the website address and the QR code to be able to um learn more about the video storytelling competition and the junior CEO for the day program. So, um, I'm now going to invite the brainchild of the junior CEO of the day program, our CEO who can't wait for one of the our young Jamaicans to replace him as CEO as a CEO for NEPA. And he's going to give us his vision and his expectation. And then, of course, we'll hear from our representative from the Ministry of Education.

All right. Good afternoon. Thank you very much. Now, the fact is that I am getting a bit older, right? And the reality is that I do not believe and I've said it from my here that my how I see it is one, I need to retire early to Portland. nice one-bedroom or two-bedroom house and just chillax, right? Go to the river, go to the sea. And part of what we're trying to do here is to ensure that the sea and the rivers and everything there is preserved, including Jamaica. So, it's a bit selfish what I'm doing here as CEO. So, in moving on, I like to believe we should always look on the next 100 years. We are not certain what the next 100 years going to look like but what I can tell you if the rate continue I don't know what HR is doing in NEPA but 70% of the senior management are female so if we call that rate we all know what's going to happen right the Judah CEO probably going to end up being a female which is always good because you'll never believe this anytime this is sad you know but anytime I want to get something done perfect and properly inper. Guess what happened? I give it to the female and is always done. That is sad and a bad indictment on me, but it happens. Now the junior CEO program is about replacing all of us. Is about replacing me. And the reality is that I've said when I was coming in, I'm just interested in three years. Then if I got another contract for another three years after the second year in that three year we have to start looking someone. Okay. And that's what I believe and that's why that's why I stand by that. Now the reality is that as we move along we are seeing a young generation coming up and if we do not want Ahi to replace us I want a AI running NEP or want a AI being your preacher I want a being your wife or your husband or whatever it is we have to mentor those who are coming after us and I was mentored by a lot of the whole because in Portland a lot of whole person used to mentor me right now as we go throughout Jamaica and we see what is happening. I like to go to the primary schools and speak. I went Trout Hall. I've been around and I've been talking to primary school students and you never believe what happened. I went to a school I won't name the school in Troutall. It's a primary school. They're having boys day. It's not Trout Primary though. If you cover a lot, you will know what it is. And guess what happened? Every single person in that school were females right on a boys day. No man, hold on. What I mean teachers and everybody else, not the boys. Sorry about that. Not the boys. So here am I speaking and everybody say miss. And then the teachers correct them and said no then miss miss. And it's not a bad thing you know but the reality is that the men need to step up. Now I is a sidebar to young CEO thing because I'm telling the millionaire you need to step up. Now just think about it. If we have a young CEO every year coming right up, the possibility is that what will happen is that we'll always have a cadre of young minds who are ready to replace every single one of us in the sustainable development business. That is what will happen. But we just don't want a program for a program or a project. We want persons who are going to invest in them. And that's why I'm telling PR and telling Neper, telling an RCA, Mr. Whimstone has now become a best friend because RC have a lot of money. The idea that whoever wins, we want to put them up like for three days in our hotel. So wink wink. We are looking sponsors to pay that hotel part of it. And that's why our good friend Custous is right here. And the other part of it is that we want to put up also their families and if we have enough money the idea is that we could have first, second and third. Now that student that comes in will for that day and I know the purist going to say it cannot happen will have a certain level of autonomy authority and they will sit in my chair for that day chair the various meetings that I chair. Of course, they'll get somebody to guide them so they don't destroy the world. And we're also going to be taking them around to the UN, the various permanent secretaries, the minister, and we want to do that for the for three days. We also want at the time they'll be out because Eva is you cannot take children out school. So, NEPA NEPA itself is a university, right? Let's face that fact. And so, we'll be also be teaching them. We'll teach them for those times so we'll not miss and we want them to continue to be part of a program of mentorship because NEPA is strong on mentorship and succession planning. So guess what? Every one of you we are gathered right here will have an opportunity to participate and to partake and to be part of the future of the country. So thank you very much for coming. I would like to wish you happy great. Thank you very much.

Let me first acknowledge and I must do this. I'm representing our permanent secretary of the ministry of education skills youth and information. So our moderator Miss Michelle Grant who is our masters of ceremonies Mr. Wayne Robertson. He is our permanent secretary. Is that correct? Yes. Mrs. Marsha Henry, is she in? Not here today. But let me also acknowledge Mr. Leonard Francis, CEO of NEPA. We all want to come to Portland with you. Uh, sitting close beside me was also the vice president of HSS EQ, Mr. Scott Plats. Yes, vice president of HSSQ. Other distinguished Oh, the honorable Costas Roto Rollola. Welcome. I acknowledge you. All the distinguished and specially invited guests, senior officers and members of staff of Nepo, there's students here. Not today. Teachers are here. Yes. And principles are here and members of the media. Good afternoon. Permit me to acknowledge the leadership of all of you here this afternoon. It is a pleasure and privilege to join you for the formal launch of NEPA's inaugural junior CEO for the day program. And I'm doing this as I've said before on behalf of our permanent secretary who really could not be here. This however as she shares is an initi in initiative that speaks directly to the ministry of education skills youth and information. It is our commitment to developing informed responsible and empowered young citizens. as our CEO spoke, you know, I was so thrilled to hear what you're saying as a geography teacher for a number of years and also um and with other subjects, sociology and um social studies and I'm very proud to say that a number of the things you spoke to have been crafted in our curriculum, the national standards curriculum. Many of these are targets and I'm saying that a program of this nature can only serve to reinforce what we're trying to teach this generation to carry to the next. We talk about sustainability, sustainable education. And so this is so appropriate and so today's launch is particularly fitting as it forms part of the activities commemorating Nepal's 25th anniversary. You said 100 years, we'll get a 100,000 each step and this is your 25th anniversary as an executive agency. For 25 years, NEPA has played a critical role in safeguarding Jamaica's natural resources, promoting sustainable development, and building public awareness about environmental stewardship. This ministry is proud to have been having a longstanding relationship with you. When we were writing this the national standards curriculum, there were representatives from your office who came in and we were able to fit some of those targets in. So, we have had a longstanding relationship with NEPO. Over the years, our collaboration with you has provided countless opportunities for students to learn about environmental protection, climate action, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable living. Together, we have helped young Jamaicans understand that caring for the environment is not just a responsibility, it is an investment in the future. The ministry is pleased to partner with you in this program that aligns so strongly with our commitment to developing confident, competent, and socially responsible citizens through the National Standards Curriculum. And you've heard all about the NSC. That's what it is, National Standards Curriculum. We seek not only to equip students with academic knowledge but also to nurture critical thinkers, problem solvers, innovators, and leaders who can contribute meaningfully to Jamaica's sustainable future. And as you so aptly described this program critical thinking uh 21st century skill a must is so so much a part of the platform of what this program is about. The junior CEO program embodies these aspiration. It challenges students to examine real environmental issues, connect them to the principles of sustainable development and propose practical solutions. Importantly, it gives young people a platform to use their voices creatively and digital storytelling skills to influence positive change. As Jamaica continues to confront the realities of climate change, environmental degragation, and increasing demands on our natural resources, we need a generation that understands the delicate balance between development and environmental stewardship. The students participating in this competition will not merely be competing for a title or the money. They'll be engaging in a process that encourages civic responsibility, environmental awareness and leadership. Ladies and gentlemen, the junior CEO for the day program represents another significant step in this partnership. It offers students a unique platform to showcase their creativity, critical thinking, and leadership potential skills through storytelling. It gives them an opportunity to engage meaningfully with issues that affect their own communities. And I can tell you that based on what happened in Jamaica and is happening now, this will be lived experiences. This is not something they'll be reading about that comes from some other place or they've heard about. It will be their own experience. We have all experienced it. Whether we were living in Rocky Point or Portland or the western end of the island, some impacted much more than others. And those who seem not to have been impacted physically have certainly been impacted emotionally and mentally and otherwise. And so it offers them a great opportunity. It gives them an opportunity to engage meaningfully. As educators, we recognize that learning extends beyond the classroom. And so programs like these, they allow students to apply the knowledge they have learned there. So you're talking about applied knowledge here. This is what this is all about. I'm particularly encouraged by the objectives to strengthen youth leadership, enhance understanding of NEPA's work, promote sustainable development, and support youth development. These goals align perfectly with our vision. Our students are not here, but they may hear this. To those who will participate in this competition, I encourage you to embrace the opportunity with enthusiasm and purpose. Use your voices to tell compelling stories about the environment and the importance of protecting Jamaica's national heritage. Your ideas matter. Your perspectives are valuable and your contribution can inspire meaningful change. I also wish to commend the schools that will support this initiative and our principles and teachers are here. You will support this initiative by conducting your own internal competitions. Your involvement demonstrates a shared commitment to nurturing leadership and civic responsibility among other young people. It's a domino effect as we gather today as a distinguished or lecture. It's coming up. Yes, for a distinguished lecture focused on disaster recovery and climate resilience. We are reminded that the challenges facing our world require innovative thinking and strong leadership. Programs such as junior CEO for the day help to cultivate the next generation of leaders who will help Jamaica navigate the challenges with confidence and vision. I saw that in you when you stood here. So ladies and gentlemen on behalf of the ministry of education skills youth and information and in particular our permanent secretary Dr. Kassen Troop I congratulate NEPA on this timely help me and impactful initiative. We look forward to strengthening our partnership and continuing to create opportunities that empower young Jamaicans to become champions of sustainable development. NEPO NEPA for many years has been all over our classroom with charts and things they have provided for many years for our schools. And so as I told you before, this is a strengthening continuing of the relationship we have had. I wish every participating student the very best and look forward to witnessing the creativity, the passion and leadership that this pro program will undoubtedly inspire. We thank you and we ask God to bless you and to bless Jamaica, the land we love. And so the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth, and Information endorses this inaugural junior CEO for the day program. It's launched.

Thank you, Dr. Barry. And um we're going to do something symbolic now as a symbol of our partnership going forward. Um yes, don't go too far. We're going to have a photo op. So, I'm going to be calling um Dr. Barry to come back um here at the front. our CEO um Miss McLaren who is representing our parent ministry and um our representative from the association of science teachers in Jamaica uh Dr. Debbie Devonish and Miss Cadesha Crony I hope I pronounced that correctly as well as Mr. Kad all our partners here that I just mentioned and we're going to be doing it in front of

Thank you again everyone.

Thank you Dr. Winnie. Thank you Mr. Francis. Thank you, Mrs. Hamilton. Lunch has been served and we have started to partake, but nonetheless, let us just do graces. So, Lord, we want to thank you for the provision of this meal. Lord, may it be of good nutrients to our bodies. May us in return be good stewards to the environment. We thank you again and thank you for this gathering. We thank you for this distinguished lecture and for everyone who is gathered in this room online and who will watch later. For all your mercies, we give thee thanks. Amen. And so we will break for lunch for about 15 minutes. Use the time to network with each other. And while we break, we will have some entertainment, brief entertainment, and then we will get into our lecture. And we will have Mr. Anthony McKenzie, our deputy CEO. He will introduce our distinguished lecturer. I trust you'll enjoy the meal and the networking opportunities available. Thank you.

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Happy World Environment Day.

It's my pleasure to introduce our lecturer today. Dr. Kisha Coden is rep resident representative of the United Nations Development Program Multi-country Office here in Jamaica. From here he represents the UNDP in the Bahamas, Biz, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Jamaica and the Turks and Cikos Island. Dr. has served with the United Nations for 25 years, including per tours of duty in China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan. He has led over 1 billion US dollars in UN grants across the global south to combat poverty and inequality, enhanced systems of governance and justice and accelerate climate action and ecosystem resilience. A scientist and international lawyer by background. Doc Dr. Kadai has also been a thought leader on the planetary crisis and climate justice speaking regularly at global and regional fora and having authored over 30 publications in UN and academic journals. Right? And this has been on the transition to sustainability. His latest report is future earth reparatory justice for people and planet as a contribution to UNEP's or the UNDP's upcoming 2026 global human development report on planetary and human futures. Let me welcome let us well let me let join me sorry in welcoming Dr. Good day.

Well, good afternoon everyone. No, it's a pleasure. It's privilege to be here and so let me start on behalf of UNDP thanking Mr. Francis, Mr. McKenzie, Miss Williams, and the whole team at the National Environment Protection Agency, as well as our other partners that are here today from the Planning Institute, the PIOJ, uh PS Robertson from MEC, um and everyone else that's here today um with us for this important day, World Environment Day 2026, themed on climate action globally. And of course synergizing nicely with National Environment Awareness Week and this theme of uh resilient recovery, rec green recovery. So important. Um as we know this year again is another example of what the climate crisis brings. More frequent and severe events a very hard heavy El Nino that's shaping up possibly as they call a super El Nino. And so that resilience is needed definitely going forward as we do recover from Hurricane Melissa um day by day. So again, it's a pleasure to be here. Um I'm going to heed the call of Mr. Gordon and I'm going to I'm going to I'm going to focus on my on my chin. I did shave today. So, I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm focused on my chin and I'm going to keep it succinct so that we can I know it's Friday afternoon, so we're gonna but it is an important day uh to mark uh World Environment Day and National Environment Week, the kickoff. Um so, I'm going to start with a presentation. Um and this is really focusing about recovering ecosystems and communities um particularly in western Jamaica. Oh, right. Sorry. Yes. So firstly, as we know, there is now today more carbon in the atmosphere than there has been in 2 million years, according to global scientists. Last time there was this much carbon in the atmosphere. The Arctic was a rainforest, which is of course hard to imagine, but that's what the scientists tell us that that was the last time there was this much carbon up there in the atmosphere. And that carbon of course has been accumulating over the last couple of hundred years. And so um Jamaica and other small island development states hardly a contributor to those emissions but definitely at the front line unfortunately of the impacts. So we're seeing in particular in the Atlantic a rapid acceleration of ocean warming um an acceleration of those more frequent and severe systems not least El Nino in front of us but we saw Barl and Melissa in recent recent times. Um some of those ocean warming events, marine heat waves are lasting more than 500 days, which is of course, you know, close to two years, a year, more than a year and a half straight of a marine heat wave. So we can see that graph there terms of how that's changed over the years, uh the mean annual uh temperatures in the ocean. So of course disproportionate impacts as we know unfortunately um for SIDS so among the most vulnerable globally uh despite upper middle income even high income uh national and per capita levels but at the front uh the forefront of national vulnerability globally and so that's something that we take very seriously as the UN development program to make sure that support and cooperation is there um globally we know that over 200 million people um could be climate displaced in the coming decades and pushed back into poverty because of because of this process. And so this climate inequality hybrid, the connection between climate impacts and growing inequality and the possible push back into poverty is really a need to rethink development, rethink what recovery looks like. um but also of course prevention um towards more restorative pathways including for restorative ecosystems and communities. And so therefore, it's a call of course this event um today on World Environment Day to really prioritize green recovery, ecosystem restoration. And we stand steadfast as UNDP together with our partners in MOC and in NAPA and other ministries, communities across the country in actually trying to achieve that goal of restoration of ecosystems and communities as we recover from Melissa for 25 years. Uh firstly a big congratulations to NAPA of course on the 25 year anniversary. Yes.

And for 25 years, it's also for us an anniversary of UNDP partnership and sport to Napa. And that's something that we're very proud of. A lot of successful initiatives over the years, whether it's around the national parks, around the marine protected areas, establishing pilots and then scaling that up over those 25 years. And so that's something that we continue to to put as a success story for UNP cooperation here in Jamaica over the past 25 years. Now key priorities going forward this year and forward on coral mangro restoration, rehabilitating eroded coastlines, reforestation of decimated landscapes, watershed recovery, um integrating green solutions into building design as buildings come back, uh whether it's on roofing or structures themselves, um and other infrastructure. There's a big space to integrate green solutions into that infrastructure buildback um that's taking shape. So the national economies and local livelihoods have a heavy dependence on these natural systems. Um and so this vulnerability to the natural systems of course is affecting um multi-dimensional poverty. So yes income levels but there's those other dimensions of inequality and poverty that are really shaped by um this degrading ecosystem these challenges of vulnerability. I won't linger too much as as we all know um that it was the strongest ever hurricane Melissa in modern history of Jamaica. The upper ranges of category 5, you know, almost pushing for really defining what category 6 looks like because it was really at the upper ranges of category 5. Um loss in damages from the United Nations loss and damage assessment report with with government. um 12 billion US dollars that Jamaica has uh suffered from this one event. Um and that's close of course to 60% of um of uh 2024 annual GDP. And so this is one of the most catastrophic impacts of any country. It was the record the biggest impact 2025. But even if you look back at modern history globally, it's really historic in that sense as well. Of course, our colleagues at UEIE, uh, the climate group, um, immediately after landfall did an very good analysis showing that Hurricane Melissa, the severity of its impact was six times more likely because of climate change specifically, right? And so that was a very important contribution by the UEIE climate group to actually, you know, that particular element of of the connection to the climate crisis. Um, new world records set, um, tying Hurricane Dorian a number of years ago. um and that world record setting um you know on landfall in New Hope. Um so this is really unprecedented but also unfortunately a new bar. Um so uh we can unfortunately expect more severe and frequent disasters into the future as we know the trends. Now when you talk about the impacts as we've seen from the UN uh assessment and other assessments um the ecosystem component of over loss and damage was a significant one when we look at the loss side of the tabulation about 30% of all the losses apart from the damages on the damage side but on the losses from hurricane Melissa 30% of all that is related to environment um according to Napa and ministry of forestry analysis uh more than 40% of forested forests have been impacted over 2,000 hectares of mangroves um and more than 90% of mangroves in those impact hotspots um in western Jamaica and of course as we know the government have identified eight sites up for priority restoration works St. Elizabeth, West Morland, um, Montego, Bay, Felmouth, and other other areas. And these actions are aligned under the national strategies. And we of course commend the government for its work on the emerging national ecosystem restoration plan, which is an important framework, not just for this event, of course, but going forward in general to restore Jamaica's ecosystems um from various impacts. So again, priorities for building back better um in the coast, but also in land, particularly water retention is a major priority, not least this year with the impacts of Hurricane Elino with the risk of drought. Um and um and we saw what that was like, the back-to-back 2023 uh record drought and and water issues after that barrel, after the Melissa. So you really kind of have to uh prioritize those most vulnerable communities that are trying to again recover um when there's another u crisis on the potentially on the horizon. Now in terms of priorities for green recovery from our perspective um the use of strategic environmental assessments. So using environmental assessment methodology at the upstream when we're thinking about um national recovery framework, the national recovery plan, those subnational um recovery plans as well. looking at them at the upstream at the early stage in terms of integrating reducing risks for future risks in terms of that infrastructure um reconstruction but also the much of the other work that's going to be focused under those plans. Um I think that's a a very strong opportunity since we're still at that stage of crafting these plans. Um and as we know there is billions of dollars of large scale investments uh foreseen from domestic budget from international partners. So that's one priority I think is on the on the assessment and planning side. Um I think it's good to also think about it in terms of you know we have a big focus of course as UNDP but also of course in in government as a country on the social security system. How do you how do you enhance the ability of communities to be to have that human security level through a social security system? I think it's time to start thinking about ecosystems as a security system as well. Thinking of it as an ecological security system because if we see these services from the ecosystem that have been impacted by Melissa, we can see also how that's impacting social security and human security on the left side. um livelihoods clearly when you talk about the um whether it's poultry farmers or farmers in general the fisher folk other other livelihoods that have been um um impacted but I think this kind of analysis this kind of framework would be important in terms of uh building back better or recovering in terms of a policy framework making policies and approaches to human security also really factor it in um within development not as an environment issue but really bringing it to to concept of development itself. And so as UNDP we launched last year what we call the multi-dimensional poverty index global report and this is looking at multiple deprivations on the social side um but for the first time we've focused this global report on the nexus to climate change and ecosystems um and how that is a source of multi-dimensional poverty.

And so this was the first time as I said in this global report that we're looking at those layers of how the climate and ecosystem vulnerability adds a layer to various pre-existing social vulnerabilities and multi-dimensional aspects. If you see here on the orange graphs, the orange bars, those are that's when you put that climate and ecosystem overlay, those that's the added vulnerability to those various determinants of social vulnerability, right? Child mortality goes from 21 to 116 as an indicator when you add on that climate and ecological hazard and the list is down there. water goes from 15.153 to 355 which is a bit more intuitive when it comes to water. But when you think of some of the others, housing again as we saw unfortunately last year um heavy impacts from the climate crisis. And so here in Jamaica, we supported um a human impact assessment through the strong cooperation with the with PIOJ and other partners. That's really looking at specifically at the human impact at the micro level. let's say. Um, and that's something that's about to be published. It's being finalized and it's about to be published, but that'll look a little bit more nuanced at the multi-dimensional poverty element of what happened from Hurricane Melissa. Um, and then to overlay that with subnational climate maps and analyses which are also emerging so that we can make this strong vulnerability nexus in advance and to plan ahead um, effectively. As we know, many parishes that were affected by Hurricane Melissa were already suffering from 20 25% multi-dimensional poverty rates. Um so income poverty rates obviously uh uh you know have improved significantly over the years but multi-dimensional poverty is still significant challenges and so with the impact of Hurricane Melissa that increased of course you know 30 to 40% multi-dimensional poverty in some of those communities that have been impacted and so that's serious that's significant and this social this nexus then again between ecosystems and social vulnerability is quite critical to understand during the recovery as So we recent recently completed UNP together with UN environment UNEP and with the UN disaster agency UNDR a joint review of the environment sector within disaster needs assessments to integrate that effectively into disaster needs assessments. Um there is the multi-dimensional poverty index report which I recommend in terms of that nexus specifically to climate and ecosystems. And we also launched last year a broader report on development at risk which looks at the multiple crises um before us including the economic crisis around energy etc. So now I'll come I think it was Mr. Francis that said earlier or Mr. Gordon that said earlier that you know it's not just the theory but what are we doing about it. So I also want to spend a little bit of time um just talking about some of the initiatives that we have ongoing um or some of the initiatives that you have ongoing that we're supporting um here in Jamaica. So firstly uh UNP uh implements about 4 billion US dollars of grants for the green transition 140 countries around the world. So we're the largest in the UN team in terms of implementing grants for for environment for the green transition and Latin America Caribbean. These are the statistics here. uh currently close to 700 million US dollars of projects across the region um and another 300 million that are under development. Um so this is really a priority for for UNDP um in a way that really connects with that social inequality agenda in particular many of the projects that we do undertake. One example is the Jamaica Resilient Recovery Initiative or JARE that we launched um weeks after uh landfall with the strong support of the European Union, the CARICOM uh Caribbean Development Fund, the CDF, Ozade and other other partners and that one of the key things at the upstream level again is those assessments as I mentioned the human impact assessment collaboration for other assessments but importantly collaboration on a new national spatial plan which is quite critical when you talk about land use um uh on a preventive side to reduce the risks of uh impacts whether it's to human life to buildings to infrastructure investments uh to protecting ecosystems of course in terms of no build zones. So that cooperation with the government on uh the national spatial planning process is quite critical. Um and then local plans for specific areas like the work we're doing with um with Napa um UDC and others on um around Black River around the Black River area. Now local action grants for the communities also under this initiative. So we've scaled up solar solutions for some of the communities that had kind of lingering challenges with electricity access or to in fact build the resilience so that when a new system comes they have that locally to be able to continue energy access through those solar systems should you know the grid get cut again in in in future events. So building that resilience uh community resilience, economic resilience, social resilience through solar systems, debris management as was mentioned earlier close to five million metric tons of course were created out of hurricane Melissa islandwide and so that's a major challenge um that's ongoing um and supporting thosememes those small and mediumsiz enterprises informal and formal to really restart those livelihoods.

a very dedicated focus of course through our partnership with Napal on mountains and forest ecosystems and so a large scale initiative that's taking off in earnest nationally of course as we as we know uh a significant impact on the west on the cockpit country um it's a critical ecosystem globally the it hosts 60% of the island's vascular plants a primary sanctuary for amphibians birds islandwide as a sanctuary islandwide And of course it was in the direct path of hurricane Melissa as seen in in the map. Um major loss and damage major damages uh of course the communities but also losses to those ecosystem services which are national ecosystem services. Um so it provides 40% of the groundwater across Jamaica. 40 rivers and stream originate from the wersheds around the cockpit country. So in terms of local action, the new initiative that's that's going to be launched um is focusing on a number of key actions and um I want to again express thanks for the cooperation with NAPA and other partners on this initiative um which is going to bring some tangible green recovery potentials locally. One is supporting zoning in the protected area um and monitoring of the species recovery in the cockpit country. um prioritizing native species. So in terms of reforestation um as we know uh choosing um some of the native species um rather than the pine and other other uh other species uh landscape planning um protecting some of those intact forests. So in the scheme that you know the grand the grand sweep of all the impacts actually there were some bright spots where somehow forests were able to withstand better than others. So resilience anchors, you know, building on those intact forests uh for for future conservation efforts, green infrastructure. Um so as we know, they provide a significant amount of water security to Jamaica and other resources. So thinking of those wersheds and those ecosystems in the cockpit area as that critical green infrastructure for the national economy but also for those critical uh social security dimensions I mentioned earlier engaging local communities of course as agents of change there'll be a very important local grant facility uh to bolster community resilience supportingmemes and expanding good practices for sustainable resource use um including a potential really for getting uh more traction and impact on recovery of ecosystems. A second uh example I just want to highlight which is which is worth highlighting in the discussion is of course the impact on the tourism sector which was significant um from hurricane Melissa and so another large scale initiative um together with with uh Minister Bartlett and team and private sector from across the country in terms of the the tourism sector um and this is really towards integrating green solutions into the tourism sector um whether it's in terms of buildings designs um in terms for that buildback not just big but also mediumsiz and small um facilities and community tourism etc. the whole ecosystem really allmemes that are um linked to the tourism sector. So public private partnerships to scale up sustainable tourism goals. Um supported the small and medium tourism enterprises for new investment projects that can actually achieve this national goal of ecosystem restoration and greening. Um supply chains opportunity really to bring back uh build back in a way that expands the ecoourism sector specifically um along with branding along with that global connection. This is an initiative that UNP leads in the UN system, but then we also have UN World Tourism Organization um and a number of other UN agencies um connected to that program. Solar for recovery, I won't spend too much time on, but that's a program we're going to expand out um to their strong cooperation with MWC and other partners. Uh that's really again to build that community resilience to have that energy solution locally so that when a disaster does strike there's that um extra uh support that extra asset for communities to to lean on. Um and that also reduces as we know the growing energy costs um so that creating some fiscal space also for families and communities to allocate to health, education and other priorities. I would, you know, not do justice to to our cooperation with all of you without mentioning our small grants program, our community grants. Um, so we have about $3 million US dollars across Jamaica, BISE, and Bahamas to provide direct grants to CSOS and NOS's across the country here in Jamaica. We just launched, I think last week, if I recall, um, our next phase of these grants to CSOS and NOS's. And so that's uh critical support to for example some of those local NOS's that are in charge of the fish sanctuaries or the coral restoration sites um or various other other activities. Sometimes it's about um small business artisans you know nature-based um um products but in the cultural space or the artisan space. Um, so that's really important again from both recovery of communities as well as the ecosystems. Now, as we're speaking of Hurricane Melissa and major disaster impacts, of course, we have the new global fund for response to loss and damage um, which is just getting underway providing the first round of grants. And so in as a comparative example in biz we've submitted just last week um a large submission together with the with the ministry to um to specifically focus on the ecosystem element of loss and damage actually. So um almost half a billion of a of a loss in damage in recent decades in biz. And so this project is going to be able to formally recognize in the national system legislatively and otherwise the non-economic losses such as ecosystem services. Um we provide we provided support earlier to a national loss damage framework in bise which is quite an important base for doing these initiatives. Um and so but this is also prioritizing the those community social and ecological recovery needs. So it's not just about big infrastructure but also early warning information systems etc. In the Bahamas another just comparative example that's useful is um you know in the years after Dorian we decided to support uh climate risk finance scaleup um in the Bahamas and so this is specifically around climate based insurance products. So in addition to the support from a CRF or CAD bonds etc there's more to be done to actually bring that social protection adaptive uh social protection as it's called to those communities and so this initiative is going to be focusing on um some of the farmer communities and some of the family islands uh in Bahamas to uh bring those insurance products to smallcale farmers that may not be eligible otherwise for you know larger scale uh insurance often um informal sector, you know, not everybody's always um eligible or easy to access climate insurance. So, this is again looking at that connection of climate and and inequality. And this builds on this important uh photo down here on the right, which is uh was just launched late last year, which is a new category 5 hurricane shelter community center that we launched in Abico through the valuable support of India. Um and that's able to withstand above category 5. actually it went to the higher ranges of category 5 in case another Dorian comes uh their way and so this is also something we had very good discussions with MEG ID also about um you know what would uh infrastructure that can withstand category 5 in terms of shelters look like whether it's centralized examples like that um in community centers or decentralized approaches at the community or household level so that's an important piece of the puzzle in terms of recovering and building those things in a climate resilient ecological resilient way, those facilities in terms of water use and energy use, etc. And that concludes a quick snapshot. I hope I did justice to Mr. Gordon's uh call to action in terms of uh shaving off the sermon, but um I hope that was useful and provides a bit of insight to bolster the amazing insights from uh Mr. Francis and Mr. Gordon earlier. Thank you.

Thank you so much Dr. Caday for your insightful presentation. We are now going to move into a section where we all have the opportunity to participate. It's a question and answer section and Dr. Cadet, I'm going to have you please. Um, of course, um, he would provide responses to the questions posed. Is this the Roving mic or is there a Okay, great. Okay, you can just indicate. Don't be shy now.

And

Angela Hamilton. Um, Nepo, I was just wondering about the shelter that you Oh, sorry. So, the shelter that you mentioned that was built in the Bahamas, I think, what do they do with it when it's not being used as a shelter? So, look like a very extensive building. So, I was just wondering. Definitely an extensive building. um not many category 5 plus shelters in the Caribbean at the moment. So, it's really a landmark. It actually won a global award for for a climate resilient infrastructure um you know as a disaster resilience measure. So, it's next to a school. It's in a community center nearby the school nearby other community center um activities. And so, when it's not in use, which is the vast majority of the time, it's used as a general community center. So it's actually titled the Abico Community Center um and it functions as a disaster shelter as needed. And so what we integrated into it was um um a large IT facility I mean digit digital access facility for the community um but also for monitoring I mean when when disaster threats come ahead. So actually they you can do that in the shelter itself in the community at the community level. So that's uh with with the relevant connections and equipment in there. Um you have a a kind of medivvac center. Um and so you have a a nice size medical center to be able to treat probably three or three or four people at a time. Um with all the other facilities of you know the ambulance port and all these kind of things helport etc nearby. So there's that. There's a large kitchen and other other facilities in there. And of course there's a large ground around for for sports for the kids from school and in the community center. So it's actually it was designed in a way to be a community center from the get-go uh especially given the investment of a few million US dollars. So it was it's a good support to the community recovery you know in addition to preventing uh helping reduce the risk of future when future disasters come. Right. Thank you so much. I see another question. I'm going to ask please um Angela you started right and thank you that you state your name and the organization that you represent and then pose your question. Uh good afternoon everyone. I'm Danellia Ages and I'm from the National Conservation Trust Fund of Jamaica. I think I wanted to ask more around lessons learned for the debris removal and the component on circular the circular the circularity or the circular economy and if there's any lessons learned as that's something the trust fund is looking to scale. Yes. Yes. No. Definitely a um important platform for the green recovery needless to say the the trust. So I mean um our work on around the debris hasn't been so much about the big trucks and the the big items as as Mr. Gordon was talking about. So we we focused our initiatives at the community level largely at um cash for work. So in terms of again building back that community income and resilience. So we we had a number of cash for work initiatives where the community members that might be having less income or even out of work because of the because of the hurricane um are then given this kind of employment opportunity through that initiative. Um and so that involves cooperating uh partnering with also um um recycling initiatives to actually recycle some of some of the materials um which partly could include of course the wood chipping example but it's beyond that uh reuse recycling um approaches. So for us it's that combination of uh supporting the community in terms of those those kind of uh needs income needs etc but also achieving those green goals at the same time. So it's worked out to be quite interesting in terms of cases successes in a few parishes and communities where the program has been active and we'll be happy to share those for possible scale up through the trust. That would be great I think. Yeah,

go ahead. She's come at the microphone.

Thank you. Winnie Bry with an interest in education. Yes, I was so impacted I think by your first slide that showed the contrast between the 20th century ocean warming and the 21st century. What impacted me was that at exactly 2000 the year 2000 I saw a stark increase. Talk about stark realities increase in ocean warming. It's like up to the 20th century in the '9s and so on. And I mean it's what would account for that? Um we know that we have had global warming. We know we have been having ocean warming. We know what some of those impacts have been. But what happened in 2000 that could speak to that? almost at the end of a century. It seems so significant and seem in my mind out of man's capacity. The fact that at the end of a thousand years, at the end of a hundred years, at the end of a hundred years exactly, we see a major shift in global warm. If you could put that slide back up, then maybe my colleagues here would have a look and maybe they may be as shocked as I am. Let's do that. So, we'll go back to the first slide, right? Is the just so I remember also what what that one is. So,

that's that's it. This one, right? Look at that. Look at that, colleagues. Mhm. Blue as against red and we're we're looking on that x axis. Correct. Correct. So I mean when when from a statistical perspective I mean the line is set the zero is set at that at that level. So I mean when something would cross the line would then change to another year if you were to change the the the zero point. So that that's kind of a critical point for ocean heating. So that's now the reason why it would tip into the 2000s and beyond. Well, one factor could be the buildup. So basically when it comes to that kind of carbon um deposits into the ocean and the impacts then the turnaround impacts and the heating effect there's a lag factor. So it wouldn't be that something happened in 2000 to cause that. It would be a lag factor where it would have progressively during those other years increased the let's say reserve of carbon that's and the impact and the overall you know heat that's that's getting into the oceans uh the overall planetary heating. So that's one. The other thing is that of course we know that there's there's a curve to carbon emissions. So even though for hundreds of years it's been going on for a couple I mean the the the industrial um emissions have been going for a couple hundred years um you know it was at a relatively modest increase until um it starts to shift of the century. Exactly. So there's so about half of the carbon half of the emissions that we have seen in recent times So about half of the emissions growth that we've seen in recent decades happened with the rapid expansion of globalization. So you'll see the rapid expansion of globalization in the '9s onwards. Um you know there were some important things that happened in the 80s early 90s and so you had this rapid expansion of globalization in the in the 90s onwards. um you have some major uh economies uh joining things like World Trade Organization and really scaling up 90s onwards um um their industrialization and and emissions. So the larger emerging economies but even even the OECD countries. So you do see an expansion and it's not just about carbon. You see this when it comes to the extractive sector in general you see a lot of more pressure on resources and a lot more um intensity of consumption globally as uh modern era of globalization really kicks off 90s onwards. So, I don't want to say that's the reason for this graph because I'm not an oceanographer or or really a climate scientist, but I'm just giving some possible uh background issues. Thank you very much. My name is Conrad Douglas. I am the head or CEO of Conor Douglas and Associates Limited and its subsidiary Environmental Science and Technology Limited. First, let me commend you on your excellent presentation. Thank you, sir. And I'm pleased to see that such great strides have been taken in recent times to address a number of problems in Jamaica and the Caribbean and the world at large. I've had a great privilege and pleasure and honor of working with the United Nations system for many many years. I don't care to mention a number of organization but including UNDP itself and I must commend my colleague and the excellent question which he has raised. The fact of the matter is simply that there are several things that are just coming to the four at the present time. And one of the things that we ought to bear in mind is that most of this was predicted from the 1880s. And Zanti Arenius, a Swedish noble laureate, wrote elegant equations about this. And he said essentially that what they're experiencing now will take off exponentially. Right? And I believe that this is something that still eludes right most of us. And what we see as an incremental minuscule or minor change in the previous year or even decade or century is now taking off. And that is what the graphs are showing. In addition to globalization, we also experienced a serious situation of a major increase in global population. And the fact is that in the early part of the 1900s, the world's population was just about 1.3 billion and it has increased to almost 8 billion at this time. So when we have to provide all the needs of the people of the earth, food, clothes, shelter, transportation, healthcare etc. then invariably the need for energy is going to increase and traditionally we have been using and consuming fossil fuels. Hence carbon dioxide and all the other greenhouse gases their emission rates are going to increase. So those are some of the fundamental causes. Now you mentioned for example El Nino in your presentation and how it exacerbates the situation. The fact of the matter is we should prepare ourselves for even worse situations and act very swiftly. We have with us the vice president international of environment, health, safety and quality, Mr. Scott Plattz, one of the sponsors of this program. Yes. And I must tell you that Jamaica has had a lot of foresight in these things for many years. And we had one of the finest energy mixed policies including the non-renewables, coal, oil, gas. And thank God we had it and of course the renewables. And the fact is that LNG, NG, natural gas was among them. And we must commend ourselves and people like Mr. Platz and his company that we have moved swiftly in just under 10 years to make natural gas power 66% of the demand for our energy. Thank you. Right.

No, thanks for that addition. Definitely I think that was very important set of points including the national climate plan the NDC which was successfully submitted um to the United Nations um before the last COP and so the new national climate plan the enhanced national climate plan of Jamaica the NDC 3.0 as it's called, really ramps up some of the measures for climate resilience. And a big congratulations to Emek um and all of society, everyone that was part of that development because you see there the goal for rapidly increasing renewable energy in Jamaica, which of course makes so much sense in terms of energy independence and uh decentralized solutions, the benefits of that. Um so, but thanks for that. Definitely. Thank you, Doc. Thank you, Doc. Is there any other question? We have room for another one or two. Okay, we're going to take these hands up as the two last questions. Remember to say your name, please, and the organization that you represent.

But it's this way. It's not this. Oh yeah. All right. So it it's not really a question, right? It's it's really a suggestion. Um I spent a lot of time in the disaster era after Melissa doing some geotagging and being under the debris management um project. Okay. And one of the things we realized we we we note the the UN's effort to have um the residents participate in pay for removal of debris. But one of the things that we learned that while we were in the disaster era, Petersfield, Bessel Town up in the hills, is that when we went to go for some of these debris, we couldn't touch it. And we realized we realized that the the UN had had this initiative on the ground, but the fact is that the people were saying that unless the government the government agencies come and do the assessment first that they can get money, you couldn't touch a debris. So regardless of the less of cyrosis and whatever health impacts, you just could not touch the debris until they know that they got an assurance that they're going to get money from Ministry of Labor. Yeah, that's one of the things that we learned. Second thing that we learned that is that we went to some schools and they were throwing out furniture. Now I know that there's a a big gap in terms of furniture in schools. Now the the top of the desks were damaged by water, but the rest was better. They can reuse it. But they were chewing a lot of these these desks out for for collection. And we know that we can recycle because there are some maybe not at the primary schools but some of the technical schools have workshop that could just replace the top of these desk basically recycling them. Right? So these are some of the things we we learned during during our time in the field. So you might pay them to remove the the debris but on until they know that they're going to get money from government debris. Yeah, I know it's complex uh locally as you're alluding to, but I'll definitely defer to my colleagues at MLSS or Ministry of Education, etc. in terms of some of those situations or um challenges um in terms of government policy, but we definitely uh as a United Nations system, we definitely provide support to to the children that have been affected, schools. UNICEF of course is um you know the lead in our team um in terms of cooperating with schools on the recovery um so I'll definitely mention that to them because that's an important feedback also for and we have a rep representative from Ministry of Education. Yes. Um I don't know if I heard all I was a little distracted but I think I heard um you say something about them not being be able to appreciate yourself. I think that's the essence of what I heard. Yes. I want to share with you though that the ministry has a policy of recycling. We have actually had schools right across the seven region invest in what? Making their own furniture. I'm just using that example. And also in making their furniture they are using um materials that were depleted within the schools. Some of the schools are able to do it better than others. And so schools that show highest potential in reproducing these they have been producing them and the ministry and we pay them the schools to do it. So there is a policy with us on board together. Um when you have those concerns of course you can always bring it to us because I'm sure we can improve what is happening. But there is a policy of recycling using old materials to improve um future materials. But we do have a problem too with vandalism in our schools in terms of the care we take of some of the resources around us. Stewardship as we speak about here of our environment is key because we know for many of these furniture we have we still have wooden furniture that come from the hugging trees right um and so on. So stewardship all around if we look at how where we get our resources and so on that is part of the education to fix the minds as to how we care and also to how we recycle. You spoke also to solid waste and how we we um how we utilize our solid waste or dispose of it and that again is critical. parenting association, not the schools. What they do and how they plan to utilize their waste, what they put back in the soil or burying the soil to improve the quality of the so is all part of the education of what we do. So I'm not strain recycling is something we do but perhaps not enough and with you on board with us, we can reinforce that. Thank you. Thanks. I just want to commend also the the youth CEO program because it looked really quite an amazing initiative. So and uh you know we look forward to working with NAPA possibly on that. I mean there's there's space for having youth UN representatives I suppose. Um we look forward to working with the trust on some of the um local actions with Emick on some of possibly the loss of damage work or other tracks of work um and with many people here today. So just as a follow-up, you know, I think that was quite amazing. That was what was presented, you know, before the keynote, before the the distinguished lecture, but um there's a lot of opportunities out there. So we really stand ready to just work with uh with all of you on many of these priorities. Just want to say that. Okay. So we're going to take our final question in the interest of time. All right. Good afternoon everyone. My name is Kadisha Croni. I am a master steam chemistry teacher as well as an adjunct lecturer and I'm representing the association of science teachers of Jamaica. Okay, Dr. Deonish said I should stand and my question is centered around resilience building in communities through education. So I want to know a little bit more on how the UNDP across the globe or your regions involve students in your resilience building process not just as volunteers but in the education process itself. Yes, excellent question. Um so youth generally is a major priority for UNDP and for other UN agencies. So whether it be UNEP, FAO, UNICEF across the house um youth is really a priority. um because in many countries it's such a significant share of the demographic. So and also as we're looking to the future leaders um and future you know actors stakeholders. Uh so we really try to engage youth through dedicated youth uh climate programming. So we have globally uh what we call the youth climate champions program um where we do provide technical assistance support youth empowerment to youth around the world um especially with the focus on the most vulnerable so small island development states um and other hotspots of climate impact. uh that's connecting to the negotiations. So bringing their voices into those cops, the climate cops, the comm conference of the parties under the climate convention every year, but also at the national level, uh bringing their voice to decision makers into policy space. Here in Jamaica, for example, four years running, we've uh brought together what we call the ready set great uh dialogue where we bring youth across the island together and they compete actually to come up with the sustainable solutions for various challenges. Uh sometimes it's on the challenge of inequality, sometimes on challenge of climate, sometimes on challenge of digitization, etc., etc. And then they are they it's competition. So there's similar process to the UCO and of course they get awards, they get grants, they get internships at UNDP if they're interested in pursuing a UN career eventually. Um but you know that's a that's a process um where we also bring in thought leaders uh some of the for example the leaders from the business community in Jamaica whether based outside of Jamaica or here and they provide them mentorship and advice on things like startups since so many of them are are eyeing startups. So a big focus is on you know those startupmemes for the green transition because there's a big space there formemes to really play a role as leaders. So that's been a specific element of it is entrepreneurship, youth entrepreneurship for green solutions. And so that's something uh so stay tuned. Um our focal point is here with us today from UNDP Jillian Scott for that youth initiative. And so stay tuned for the next ready set great initiative with youth and um and maybe the theme will be on ecosystem restoration this year probably rightly so. Um but thanks for the question. Yes. And thank you doc for responding.

Thank you everyone for participating and for the thoughtful questions raised and the responses provided. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure that you'll agree that we really can't thank Dr. Cadet enough. So, can we just get one more round of applause for him?

Doc, your remarks have reinforced the importance of integrating ecosystem based solutions into planning decisions. Something that we know and we try to practice. But it's always good to hear it and then to hear the ways in which you are practicing it. Some of your solutions in Jamaica, the Caribbean, and the wider world. We thank you. The perspective shared today provide valuable guidance as we continue to strengthen our approaches to disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, sustainable development, and environmental stewardship. On behalf of NEPA and all those who are gathered here today, we extend our sincere appreciation for your contribution to this very important discussion by way of your distinguished lecture. Ladies and gentlemen, as Dr. comes for a brief token of our appreciation, we thank him once more. We invite Italy Partison or Chanel to give Doc a special token of our appreciation.

And so as we bring excuse me today's program to a close. It's my pleasure to offer a few words on behalf of NEPA. This afternoon provided an excellent opportunity for reflection, learning, and engagement as we continue to celebrate NEPA National Environmental Awareness Week 2026, especially the 25th anniversary of this noble institution. Again,

thank you to our distinguished lecturer, Dr. Kishain Cadet, for sharing his valuable insights on the theme. And you know, doc, if I should just use a little bit of um chairman's privilege, the slide that got me was when you overlaid the disaster vulnerability onto the social parameters like when I saw that huge increase, I was like, "Wow, wow." I know every slide would be different for everybody, but that's the one that really like snapped to me. Thank you again. Your presentation has challenged us to think more strategically about the role of ecosystems, resilience, and sustainable land use planning in shaping Jamaica's future. We also extend gratitude to our special guest and speakers. And in the interest of time, we know who they are, so we give them a round of applause.

CEO, we have to single you out though for your initiative about the young CEO program for the day. That is an awesome thought

and it is an initiative that demonstrates the AY's commitment to leadership development and succession planning. We also thank Dr. Winnie Berry for the endorsement offered to Exhilarate Energy our major sponsor for their generous support of this event. We also acknowledge Separ Limited, Sajior Group Jamaica Limited, Juicy Beef Limited, Campari Group Jamaica, PriceMart, Hope Zoo, Nature Preservation Foundation, and Connect Services Limited for their valuable contributions and support.

Thanks also to our own Miss Angela Hamilton, the public education and corporate communication branch, administrative and technical support teams, the staff of the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel for their efforts in ensuring the success of the event. Extra thanks and can I say big up? It's okay. Extra thanks and big up to the National Environmental Awareness Week Planning Committee

and that's chaired by our deputy CEO Anthony McKenzie and team

a part of the team. So, I got some additional instructions. Thank you, Aisha. To our guest, partners, stakeholders, members of the media, and representatives of government, academia, civil society, and the private sector. Thank you for your presence and participation. Your continued support is essential as we work together to advance environmental stewardship, sustainable development and national resilience. So based on the instructions, I'm going to invite my colleagues to give token of appreciation to Dr. Winnie, Miss McLaren, and Miss Bernard. Please come ladies.

And then while they are preparing, ladies and gentlemen, as we celebrate 25 years of service by the National Environment and Planning Agency, may we continue to strengthen our partnership and collective commitment to protecting Jamaica's natural resources and building a more sustainable future for generations to come. After the presentation, it will now bring us to the end of today's program. Excuse me. For me, it was my absolute pleasure. When I say absolute, I mean absolute pleasure. Yes. To take us through the proceedings. On behalf of NEPA, thank you for joining us. You have been a wonderful audience and we saw that with the questions asked, we wish you a safe journey home. pleasant remainder of the day and an enjoyable and relaxing weekend. God's blessings all