Eleanor Jones (right), environmental professional, greets Shawn Rowe (left), director of planning at the Manchester Parish Council, at the launch of the Jamaica Institute of Environmental Professionals (JIEP) Regional Focal Point in Mandeville last week, while Denise Forrest (second left), president, JIEP, and Peter Reeson, immediate past president, look on. - Contributed

MANDEVILLE, Manchester:

The Jamaica Institute of Environmental Professionals (JIEP) has extended its islandwide reach with the establishment of its first 'Regional Focal Point' in Mandeville.

The JIEP, a professional association formed in 2002 for qualified persons working in the environmental field, includes among its membership natural scientists, engineers, consultants, social scientists, lawyers, educators and economists.

Speaking at the launch of the Mandeville chapter last week, Denise Forrest, JIEP president, welcomed the new members into the organisation which she said was "working in earnest to encourage the application of professional standards throughout Jamaica's public and private sectors, and to provide a network for communication and support of environmental professionals."

Ms. Forrest said the mission of the JIEP was "to maintain high standards of professionalism among JIEP members in order to improve the environmental management capacity and practices in Jamaica."

The Mandeville Focal Point, Ms. Forrest said, will be the JIEP's pulse in the central and western regions of Jamaica and will be key in recruiting and organising members and bringing regional environmental issues to the wider JIEP membership for discussion and resolution.

Various key projects

Ms. Forrest noted that the JIEP membership has already been involved in various key projects including an islandwide environmental awareness programme, implementation of environmental codes of practices within the private sector, establishment of the Environmental Information Network, serving on a task force to establish a national plan, implementation of environmental management systems in eight companies and formation of the Caribbean Association of Environmental Professionals.

She said an expanded and strengthened JIEP was even more critical now as the country continues to experience deterioration of towns and increasing disorder, increased squatting, inappropriate land use and disregard of zoning ordinances, deterioration in beach quality, climate change and global warming and other threats to Jamaica's natural and cultural heritage.

The JIEP hoped that widening the reach of the organisation, expanding its membership and its range of influence in central Jamaica will help them "make a difference in our country's development," Ms. Forrest said.

Eleanor Jones, environmental professional and guest speaker at the event, called for "a partnership combining the best of Government, best of business and the most pragmatic of civil society organisations are critical to the achievement of sustainable prosperity".