Jamaica is a small island in the Caribbean Sea, home to 2.9 million people. After gaining its independence, the island’s economy grew quickly. Jamaica’s economy is reliant upon tourism, hosting over 4 million visitors each year. The country also creates revenue from mining, agriculture, and manufacturing.
Due to Jamaica’s rules and regulations around pollution–especially in efforts to protect the Ocean–the country is not very polluted. This article will cover these specific areas of pollution in Jamaica:
Summary of Pollution in Jamaica
According to Yale University’s Environmental Performance Index survey (EPI) of 2020, Jamaica ranks toward the high end in terms of overall pollution. The country is ranked at 66 out of 180 countries and received a score of 48.2 out of 100 when looking at all pollution factors on the scorecard.
Download Full Report: Jamaica EPI Country Profile
Jamaica tends to rank around the global and regional averages in metrics like air quality, drinking water, and waste management. The country has decent solid waste treatment but falls behind in wastewater treatment as well as some land pollution measures like solid waste treatment.
Air Pollution in Jamaica
Overall, air quality in Jamaica is ranked at 73 out of 180 with a score of 43.6 of 100. Within air quality, Jamaica finds its worst score in household solid fuels at 42.7 of 100. This score is based on pollution from coal or wood burned within the home.
The largest sources of air pollution in Jamaica are:
- Household emissions
- Industry
- Vehicle emissions
- Wildfires
Overall, the air quality in Jamaica is moderately unhealthy due to the amount of particulate matter and other pollutants present in the air.
Learn more about air quality standards and measurement.
Water Pollution in Jamaica
Jamaica’s water is about as healthy as its air. Pollution is an issue in drinking water and freshwater, as well as the marine water surrounding the island, most pollution comes from untreated wastewater. Sources of this pollution include:
- Oil spills
- Chemical industrial waste
- Runoff from mining
Learn more about water pollution and how it’s measured.
Jamaica’s Water Quality
85% of rural Jamaicans have access to clean drinking water, and the number is close to 100% in cities. While clean drinking water is not a huge issue, wastewater management is very poor. This means that septic water from homes and chemicals from industry and mining is left untreated and runs into lakes, rivers, and the ocean.
Drinking Water
- Rank: 78/180
- EPI Score: 47.2/100
Wastewater Management
- Rank: 91/180
- EPI Score: 3/100
Wastewater management is the lowest score Jamaica has that is covered in this article. Poor wastewater management means poor water quality for the whole country, especially when the country’s economy is dependent upon industry and mining.
Land Pollution in Jamaica
Jamaica ranks around the same in land pollution compared to air and water pollution: not at the top, but not at the bottom either. However, its land pollution is in a slightly worse state than its water. Most land pollution in Jamaica is caused by the following activities:
- Poor agricultural practices
- Mining
- Destruction of habitat for urban development
More specifically, bauxite mining (a mineral used to make aluminum) causes waste that severely harms soil health and is a large contributor to soil pollution.
Solid Waste Management
- Ranking: 85/180
- EPI Score: 31.7/100
Ecosystem Services
- Ranking: 87/180
- EPI Score: 35.2/100
The solid waste management and ecosystem services metrics have similarly low scores. This means that Jamaica does a poor job dealing with solid waste, and allows most solid waste to pollute the land. Jamaica has also had a decent amount of recent habitat loss due to increasing the amount of land used for residential and agricultural purposes.
Key Takeaways
Here’s the big picture of pollution in Australia:
- Overall EPI Ranking: 66/180
- Air Pollution: Some air pollution, mostly from household burning of coal and wood.
- Air Pollution Rank: 73/180
- Water Pollution: Most Jamaicans have access to clean drinking water but wastewater is seldom treated and pollutes local freshwater and the ocean.
- Drinking Water Rank: 78/180
- Wastewater Management Rank: 91/180
- Land Pollution: Land and soil pollution are relatively poor due to recent increase in habitat loss and improper or nonexistent solid waste management.
- Solid waste management rank: 85/180
- Ecosystem Services rank: 87/180