Newell pushes sweeping environmental overhaul amid transparency concerns

OPPOSITION spokesman on environment and climate resilience Omar Newell has called for a sweeping reform of Jamaica’s environmental governance system, arguing that stronger safeguards are needed to ensure public confidence in how major environmental decisions are made.

Making his contribution to the sectoral debate in the House of Representatives Wednesday, Newell argued that Jamaica’s current environmental framework is no longer adequate for a country facing intensifying climate threats, growing development pressures and increasingly complex environmental disputes.

“One of the most important reforms Jamaica must confront is environmental governance itself. Because recent controversies have exposed structural weaknesses in the way environmental decisions are made in this country,” Newell said.

Whilst not dwelling extensively on the case, the Opposition spokesman referenced the controversy surrounding Bengal Development Limited’s proposed mining and quarrying project in the Dry Harbour Mountains of St Ann, where the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) had originally refused the application in 2020 over environmental concerns before the decision was later overturned.

The Constitutional Court has since ruled the permit unconstitutional, and the Government has indicated that it intends to appeal the ruling.

The issue has remained a source of debate among environmental advocates and governance groups who have questioned the extent to which technical recommendations within Jamaica’s environmental approval system can be altered through political authority.

Newell argued that the broader issue extended beyond any one permit or ministerial decision and instead raised serious questions about the independence and transparency of Jamaica’s environmental oversight framework.

“The bigger question is, can environmental science and technical expertise be overridden by political discretion without sufficiently transparent safeguards?” he asked.

Newell also linked those concerns to the recently passed National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) Act, warning that certain provisions appeared “ominously similar” to past controversies involving ministerial override powers.

“This argument is not anti-development, it is not anti-investment. It is pro-transparency, pro-science, pro-accountability, Mr Speaker, and pro-Jamaica. Because investors deserve certainty, communities deserve fairness, and the country deserves confidence that environmental decisions are being made objectively and transparently,” Newell argued.

Central to his proposal was the creation of an independent environmental protection agency established by statute and insulated from political and economic pressures.

Newell argued that the current structure of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) continues to create the perception that environmental protection is subordinate to development interests because NEPA remains under the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development despite the creation of a stand-alone environment ministry.

He proposed an extensive package of reforms including the modernisation of the NRCA Act, a modern environmental permitting framework, mandatory publication of technical recommendations behind approvals and refusals, codified rights of appeal, statutory timelines for decisions, enhanced scientific monitoring capacity and the establishment of a specialised environmental tribunal.

“What better way to have science lead the way than to have permit appeals be overseen by a transparent, competent authority and not one political director?” Newell asked.

The Opposition spokesman also suggested that the governing board of any independent environmental agency should be appointed through a transparent process similar in spirit to the Integrity Commission model, with fixed qualifications, broad stakeholder consultation and protection from arbitrary removal.

“It must include broad stakeholder consultation, fixed qualification requirements, protection from arbitrary removal, and representation from environmental science, engineering, planning, law, climate science, and civil society,” he said.

Beyond governance reform, Newell painted a wider picture of what he described as mounting environmental neglect across Jamaica, pointing to worsening flooding, illegal dumping, repeated infrastructure failures and weak enforcement of environmental laws.

The Opposition spokesman argued that climate resilience and environmental protection could no longer be treated as secondary policy concerns, particularly as Jamaica approaches another hurricane season.

“We cannot continue building 20th century infrastructure for 21st century concerns. The collapse of roads and bridges during periods of heavy rainfall should remind us that climate resilience is not theoretical. Too many roads repeatedly fail, too many drains repeatedly overflow, too many retaining walls repeatedly collapse,” Newell added.

He also renewed calls for updates on the controversial Fort Rocky development in Port Royal, accusing the Government of remaining largely silent about rehabilitation efforts after state agencies bulldozed sand dunes and mangroves within the protected area.

He maintained that Jamaica was approaching a defining moment in determining whether long-term environmental protection would be prioritised over short-term convenience and political interests.

“The Jamaica we hand over to our children is being shaped right now by the decisions we make, by the laws we pass in this honourable House, by the systems we tolerate. The environment is not a luxury; it is life itself, and if we fail to protect it, history will never forgive us,” he declared.