Discussion Forum Unit 1 (ENVS-T3) - 2022 PDF

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Greetings! I am from the beautiful island of Jamaica located in the Caribbean Region on the continent of North America. Based on the information that I have seen on the UN Statistics Division, I would say the statistics is a little flawed and outdated. There needs to be more recent and conclusive data as I believe the overall conditions of the country ranging from GDP, Land and Agriculture, Energy and Waste have dramatically changed over the years (2017 - present).

1. What environmental concerns in your local area did you learn about?

An s = currently, a major environmental concern is the poor management of the natural resources of the country. The government is currently selling different parts of the country to private investors for millions of dollars. One example of this is the mining of the Cockpit country. Often regarded as Jamaica's most inhospitable region, the Cockpit Country is a hilly and dense area with limestone denudations traversing three parishes and covering over 500 square miles. The so-called “cockpits” are caused because limestone, the predominant soil in the area, does not retain water. The government wants to sell these minerals to foreigners. The Cockpit country is home to a wide variety of different species of plants, herbs and fauna.

2. Did they surprise you? Why or why not?

Ans = to be honest, they did. I really thought the current administration would have done more to protect the country’s natural beauty and preserved it’s richness. Why? When the current Prime Minister just came into power, he pledged to plant three million trees in a three year period to cut carbon emissions in the country and that initiative started off well

and is still going well. So, to hear that he planned to mine a section of the country for its minerals which could possible kill hundreds of flora and fauna, I was surprised.

3. What do you think can be done to improve this (these) situation(s), hazard(s), problem(s), or concern(s)?

Ans = various discussions are needed on the matter. It is not a one man says and the argument is over situation. There is a lot at stake and so various groups need to come on board to direct this controversial topic on the right path. The different environmental agencies are needed along with private and governmental agencies.

4. Give two interesting facts that you learned about your country from the Environmental Snapshots page at the UN Statistics Division link.

Ans = didn’t really find anything new because as I said before, the information is fairly outdated.

5. What other thoughts would you contribute to the topic?

Ans = Sensitization, Negotiation and consideration is of utmost importance in these types of discussions, environmental ones that is.

References:

1. The Jamaica Environmental Trust (JET) (2020). Video link, retrieved from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ__v4S5xK0 2. The Jamaica Gleaner Facebook (2020). Video link, retrieved from:

https://fb.watch/aR4iK2KWA6/ 3. TVJ Xtra (2021). Bauxite Mining in the Cockpit Country in Jamaica RJRGLEANER

Townhall. Video link, retrieved from: https://fb.watch/aR4iK2KWA6/...