Earth Today | EFJ, UNDP partner to accelerate climate, community resilience

ANOTHER milestone in innovative partnerships for environmental sustainability was achieved recently as the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) formalised a landmark alliance to strengthen Jamaica’s climate resilience and ecosystem restoration efforts.

The alliance was sealed through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by UNDP Resident Representative, Dr. Kishan Khoday and EFJ Chief Executive Officer Nicole Adamson during EFJ’s Annual General Meeting at the Liguanea Club in St. Andrew on March 19, 2026.

The agreement represents a bold and timely step forward in advancing the EFJ’s mission to support civil society organisations (CSOs) while driving sustainable environmental and social development across Jamaica. Coming in the critical recovery and reconstruction period following Hurricane Melissa, the five-year MoU is expected to significantly expand the scale and impact of interventions targeting some of Jamaica’s most vulnerable communities.

The EFJ/UNDP cooperation seeks to scale up financing opportunities for CSOs across Jamaica in areas of ecosystem restoration, climate resilience, environmental governance, nature-based livelihoods and inclusive community development. The new partners committed to advancing their shared goals through joint resource mobilisation and programme development, research and knowledge sharing, and stakeholder dialogues.

Importantly, the MoU emphasises the environment/social development nexus, including issues related to children and youth.

EFJ CEO Nicole Adamson underscored the strategic importance of the collaboration, noting that the partnership reflects a shared commitment to deepening impact and reaching communities in need.

“It (the partnership) fits directly into our overall strategic vision to deepen partnerships. This is just one of a few partnerships that we’ve been negotiating. It aligns with our vision, it aligns with our mission, and will help us get into the communities across Jamaica with the greatest need so that we can have a deeper impact,” she said.

Central to their collaboration is a shared commitment to empowering civil society organisations, which EFJ, as Jamaica’s premier environmental grant funding entity, has long supported. According to Dr. Khoday, building the capacity of CSOs is essential.

“As we move ahead to the 2030 targets, under Vision 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, there’s a big implementation deficit for a lot of the environmental sustainability objectives here in Jamaica, and globally. So, filling those gaps and that implementation challenge and building the capacity of CSOs in particular, is vital,” he said.

“This MoU is really a strategic piece of that puzzle to try to actually scale up and accelerate implementation of things like climate action and biodiversity protection,” Dr. Khoday added.