JaBBEM president wants clarity on Flanker/Providence Beach development plans

WESTERN BUREAU:

Dr Devon Taylor, president of the Jamaica Beach Birthright Environmental Movement (JaBBEM), is hoping that several concerns relating to the potential environmental impact of the development plans for the Flanker/Providence Beach in St James will be satisfactorily addressed in a community meeting slated for today.

In an interview with The Gleaner last Thursday, Taylor said consideration must be given to the rights of the residents regarding the disputed land, which Sandals Resorts International is seeking to develop.

The property is currently the subject of a lawsuit being heard in the St James Parish Court, scheduled for continuation on May 5, with the commissioner of lands, Le Cap Riviera Estate Limited, and the Airports Authority of Jamaica as the respondents in the suit.

“We do expect clarity on these issues because the response that has come concerning this matter does not equate to environmental justice and the protection of communities and the nation, or social and economic justice,” said Taylor. “What we see here is an attempt by the State to cede to capital interests and sacrifice the environment and its people in an area that is under stress from these kinds of developments that are not sustainable.

“The issue of sea channels and the privatisation of the sea have not been fully addressed.

“The questions of how much is being paid for this, and what are the terms that were negotiated with the Government, these must be part of the environmental impact assessment.

“The issue is not only access, but also protection of fishing and other forms of livelihood. The land rights of the community, and protection of endangered species in the sea, are not fully addressed.”

Unrestricted access

JaBBEM has argued that the Flanker/Providence Beach is a community beach to which residents have had unrestricted access for approximately 60 years. The wider issue of public access to beaches that the Government of Jamaica has reportedly sold to private investors has been a recurring source of conflict over the years.

According to Section 4 of the Beach Control Act, the owner or occupier of any land adjoining any part of Jamaica’s foreshore (the shoreline between the water and cultivated or developed land) shall be entitled to use that area for private domestic purposes. Section 5 forbids encroachment on the foreshore for any public purpose or commercial intent without the requisite licence.

Under Section 4 of the Prescription Act, if any beach has been used by the public for fishing, bathing, or recreation for 20 years, and any road or track adjacent to that land has been used by the public to access the beach over the same 20-year period, the public will thereafter have the absolute right to use such beach and access points as stated, unless it can be shown that consent or agreement was given for that access by deed or in writing.

Taylor said that conservation of the Flanker/Providence Beach’s natural flora and fauna, and protection of the livelihood of fisherfolk and other residents who make their living from the area, must be upheld.

“The space requires conservation, and it should be an open-air environmental school and cultural space where environmental rights, and cultural and social expression co-exist and thrive with continuation of fishing. Fishing is the only source of wild food in most of Jamaica, and particularly in this area,” said Taylor. “We must empower the space to be a protected space for the community to thrive. Nature and the community must be protected.”

Meanwhile, People’s National Party Senator Allan Bernard, a native of Flanker, said that the residents’ resistance to the current development plans at the Flanker-Providence Beach should not be taken to mean opposition to Sandals itself.

“During a previous meeting, we wrote some questions, through JaBBEM, and asked the developers to respond to them. Once they respond to the questions, I think we should be good, but the truth of the matter is that we are not giving up our beach,” said Bernard. “I grew up in Flanker, and I grew up with Sandals, and Sandals was good to the community and to the people. We hope to continue on that path, because Sandals is our friend, and if things are done the right way, we can all get what we want.”

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com