Sounds of Jamaica
Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), an NGO focused on "environmental education and advocacy," has expressed concern that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was not performed prior to recent offshore oil exploration. However, according the Jamaica Observer, the country "has apparently been relying on the view of international experts that the country's environmental standards for oil and gas exploration seismic surveys meet and, in some instances, exceed international standards."

A Canadian environmental consultant described Jamaica's standards for seismic surveys as "a very cautious set of precautions that reads like a list of best practices from around the world."

A senior JET official acknowledged that the group "was ‘reasonably satisfied' with guidelines issued by the state-run National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA)..." but were primarily concerned with enforcement, "because you can make all the rules in the world, but if they are not adhered to they mean nothing."

Winston has not had a chance to evaluate the Jamaican guidelines but he likes the idea of countries adopting a best practices approach to environmental protection that is based on sound, reliable scientific data. Countries around the world are increasingly relying on international data quality standards established by organizations such as the World Health Organization, the IMF, and the OECD to help achieve their domestic policy goals. Yeah mon.