MINISTER without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation Daryl Vaz is calling on Jamaicans to protect the country's biodiversity in order to build long-term environmental sustainability.

“For us here in Jamaica and other small island developing states, effective action may be as simple as planting a tree, recycling our waste, conserving our water, properly disposing our garbage, eliminating the use of plastic packaging and other materials that are harmful to wildlife and their habitats,” the minister said, in a virtual panel discussion on International Day for Biological Diversity, yesterday.

Citing the latest World Economic Forum's Global Risk Report, the minister, who has responsibility for the environment, pointed out that the top-five environmental risks likely to occur in the next decade are extreme weather events, the failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation, natural disasters, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, and human-made environmental damage and disasters.

The use of solar panels, rainwater harvesting technology, green walls or roofs are some popular international responses to sustainable environmental management, which require significant time and investment.

As we celebrate International Day for Biological Diversity, let us pledge to do all we can to preserve our biodiversity and to embrace the solutions that nature has to offer us as we rebuild our economy and our country,” Vaz said.