Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Chief Executive Officer of the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), Diana McCaulay, is worried about the planned restoration programme of the Negril Beach in Westmoreland because a number of key environmental issues have not been addressed.
The Kingston-based coastal engineering firm Smith Warner, which conducted a one-year study on the beach strip, indicated that it could take up to US$54 million to restore the seven-mile beach, which has been undergoing dramatic rates of erosion.
But McCaulay said the resort town is overdeveloped and that there are other long-standing environmental issues impacting the beach, which must be addressed for the restoration to be successful.
McCaulay said Negril has surpassed its carrying capacity and there are problems of poor water quality, the removal of seagrass beds and poor run-off.
Beach erosion
"If you don't address all the problems that were listed as factors of beach erosion in the first place, the beach will erode just like the previous one."
She said improper planning and poor regulation by the responsible enforcement agencies have also contributed to the problem.
"The regulatory framework for our environmental laws has been appalling," she claimed noting that permission has been granted for hotel construction even before Negril's carrying capacity is considered.
The Smith Warner report findings:
Beach erosion in Negril has been between one to two metres per year. The erosion has been triggered by storms, unplanned seagrass removal, sea level rise, poor water quality, tourism, overfishing, agricultural runoff and coral-die off among others. Coral reef, health and fish populations have declined. Sand production is low with only 200 to 2000 cubic metres annually.Recommendations for correcting the problem:
Beach nourishment; Twelve near-shore breakwaters; Extension of the existing reefs
