THERE IS no magic wand to ‘build back better’ after the experience of COVID-19; what will help is the prioritisation of food and water security, together with improved air quality and attention to education and living conditions for all Jamaicans. So says Eleanor Jones, a development professional who sits at the helm of the consultancy firm Environmental Solutions Limited (ESL). “Poor living conditions, including poor housing and inadequate sanitation, leave you exposed to the disease and morbidity, but also to climate impacts,” she told The Gleaner.

“How are you going to do social distancing, for example, if you have many people living together (in cramped quarters), as we have in many households in Jamaica?” Jones added. Social distancing of up to six feet is among the prescriptions to contain the spread of COVID-19, an infectious respiratory illness that has infected more than eight million people and killed more than 440,000 globally since it emerged last December.

“Food security and water security are key, because we are talking about the sustainable supply of quality food and water, which is fundamental because you need water for everything. How are you going to tell people to wash hands, and so on, if you do not have a sustainable supply of water,” she said. As for air quality, the ESL boss and member of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica said that its importance goes almost without saying, given early research showing that poor air quality may contribute to less-than-optimal health outcomes for persons infected by COVID-19.

“One of the factors that affect air quality is transportation. Cleaning up air emissions is one way we can tackle this, and we have been talking about this for a very long time,” she noted. Tackling the air pollution caused by the transportation sector also holds climate-resilience benefits, since carbon dioxide emissions fuel global warming, with results of not only temperature increase, but associated impacts.

 To view full presentation by Mrs. Jones on Building Back Better: Inserting environmental considerations  at FST Mini Conference on COVID and the Environment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxplDq1x_wk (go to time 2:49:30)

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