Agency Profile
Protecting Jamaica's environment through excellence, innovation and dedication
History And Development
The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation. The Agency became operational on April 1, 2001 as a Executive Agency under the Executive Agencies Act. It was founded to carry out the technical (functional) and administrative mandate of three statutory bodies, the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA), the Town and Country Planning Authority (TCPA) and the Land Development and Utilisation Commission (LDUC).
NEPA is the lead government agency with the mandate for environmental protection, natural resource management, land use and spatial planning in Jamaica. The Agency's operations are financed by recurrent budget allocations from the Government of Jamaica (GoJ) Consolidated Fund through the Ministry of Finance; and Appropriation-in-Aid through (50% of) Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) fees derived from permits and licences. Projects are financed by budget allocations from the GoJ Consolidated Fund under Capital "A" and "B" and from technical assistance grants and project financing from NRCA funds, and various international donor organisations.
Meet our Past Chief Executive Officers and Acting Chief Executive Officers
Our Mandate
As the lead government agency, NEPA serves as the principal authority responsible for environmental management and land use planning in Jamaica. We operate under the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, ensuring that development projects align with environmental best practices and national sustainability goals.
Mission & Vision
Our Mission
To promote sustainable development through effective environmental management and land use planning that ensures the protection and enhancement of Jamaica's natural and built environment for present and future generations.
Our Vision
A Jamaica where sustainable development is achieved through effective environmental stewardship, ensuring a healthy environment and improved quality of life for all.
Strategic Objectives
- Strengthen environmental governance and regulatory frameworks
- Enhance environmental monitoring and assessment capabilities
- Promote sustainable land use and development practices
- Build institutional capacity and stakeholder engagement
- Foster innovation in environmental management solutions
Core Values
Our core values guide every aspect of our work and define our organizational culture:
Customer Focus
We are proactive in our effort to determine and meet customer requirements so as to achieve customer satisfaction.
Leadership
We use opportunities, innovation, responsiveness, proactivity and risk tolerance to empower us to embrace and leverage change towards continuous improvement.
Accountability
We are accountable to our stakeholders, accept responsibility for our decisions and actions and submit to the scrutiny that attends our decisions and actions.
Integrity
We adhere to high ethical standards and moral principles and apply integrity equity and the rule of law across all stakeholders.
Motivation
We inspire and empower our staff to perform at their greatest potential and provide training to maximise productivity and innovation within a safe and healthy work environment.
Impact
We seek to be evidence based and results driven in our decision making and to make a positive and visible difference in fulfilling our mandate.
Teamwork
We foster and encourage collaboration, cooperation, communication, respect and trust to achieve more together.
Our Core Functions Are:
Policy And Programme Development
Research and proposals for national environmental and planning policies, legislation, regulations, standards and programmes.
Conservation And Protection Management
Management of species, habitats, and ecosystems; protected; watershed; coastal and marine areas management; wild fauna and flora protection, rescue and relocation.
Environmental Management
Pollution prevention and control; pollution monitoring and assessment; Pollution incident investigation and reporting.
Spatial Planning
Development of a strategic framework for orderly and progressive development of the rural and urban areas of the archipelago and the territorial waters, the preparation of development orders and Spatial and development plans.
Application Management
Receive and process applications to provide recommendations for decisions on licences and permits for Planning, Subdivisions, Beach licences, Government, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Hazardous waste export, import or transportation; Hunter's licence; exemptions under the Wild Life Protection Act; provision of pre-application assistance.
Public Education And Outreach
Corporate communications; documentation management; information library services; Access to Information (ATI) management; public awareness and outreach initiatives; facilitating public consultations; developing and maintaining partnerships with stakeholders - community groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private companies in support of environmental and planning requirements and education.
Compliance And Enforcement Management
Monitoring for compliance with planning and environmental requirements; responding to complaints; investigating incidents of non-compliance; undertaking enforcement actions and legal proceedings.
Quality Policy
The National Environment and Planning Agency is committed to providing service excellence to customers and stakeholders to promote sustainable development, protection of the environment and orderly development. This will be accomplished through professional staff who perform at a high standard and a management system that meets relevant statutory and regulatory requirements and international standards and which is continuously improved.
To achieve this NEPA will:
- Align activities with international agreements and national objectives
- Employ competent and professional staff at all levels
- Maintain effective management systems and processes
- Ensure continuous improvement in service delivery
- Engage stakeholders in meaningful consultation
- Utilize best practices and innovative approaches
- Monitor and evaluate performance regularly
- Provide transparent and accountable services