The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) will host a Distinguished Lecture on Friday, 5 June 2026 - World Environment Day - at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel as part of its 25th Anniversary celebrations and in observance of National Environmental Awareness Week (NEAW).

The lecture comes against the backdrop of the passage of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in Jamaica on 28 October 2025 and caused severe damage to the built and natural environment in St Elizabeth, St James, Trelawny, Manchester, Hanover, and Westmoreland. Other parishes were also affected, though less severely.

In response, NEPA is staging this high-level forum as a platform for policymakers, environmental planners, academics, development partners, community leaders, and the private sector to share knowledge and discuss recovery planning and national development strategies.

The lecture will be delivered by Dr. Kishan Khoday, Resident Representative, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Multi-Country Office in Jamaica, under the theme: Recover Stronger, Recover Greener: Integrating Ecosystem Solutions in Post-Disaster Planning.

Commenting on the importance of the lecture, Dr. Khoday said, “As Jamaica rebuilds in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, we have an important opportunity to place nature at the centre of recovery efforts. Ecosystem-based solutions can help to reduce future disaster risks, protect livelihoods, and support a more resilient and sustainable path to development. As this year marks the 50th anniversary of UNDP’s Multi-Country Office in Jamaica, we build on our successful cooperation on this agenda over the years, and stand shoulder to shoulder with Jamaica as together we chart the path forward for more resilient ecosystems and communities”

NEPA’s Chief Executive Officer, Leonard Francis, noted that the Agency’s Distinguished Lecture is intended to deepen national dialogue on environmental stewardship in the face of growing climate and disaster risks.

“This Distinguished Lecture is both timely and necessary. As we mark 25 years of NEPA’s service to the people of Jamaica, we must also look ahead and strengthen the link between environmental management, national planning, and disaster recovery. Hurricane Melissa underscored the vulnerability of our natural and built environment, and this forum will help to advance the conversation on how Jamaica can recover stronger and greener,” Mr. Francis said.

The Distinguished Lecture is envisioned as a platform to reflect on Jamaica’s progress in environmental governance and management, highlight national and global environmental priorities, and explore the intersections of environmental stewardship, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable development.

The event forms part of a coordinated programme of activities marking NEPA’s 25 years of service in environmental management, protection, and national planning, and the 50th anniversary of UNDP’s Multi-Country Office in Jamaica.

Attendance at the venue is by invitation only. The lecture will, however, be live streamed on the YouTube channels of the Jamaica Information Service’s (JIS) and NEPA to allow for wider public participation.

NEPA is encouraging Jamaicans to tune in and join the national conversation on building a more resilient and environmentally sustainable future.

Credit: NEPA Press Release