DR Horace Chang, the new minister with responsibility for the environment, has hinted that he would not sanction any development of the iconic Pellew Island in Portland without assurances that the area would not be compromised.
"The current regulations (say that) development at a certain level stays at the parish council. There are other things that will have to come to the NRCA (Natural Resources Conservation Authority), and I can only say I will work within the framework of the law. But there are areas in Jamaica, especially along its coastline, where development should not take place; it should remain in its pristine condition," he told the Sunday Observer in an interview last week.
"And where development takes place, it should be very controlled and regulated because if you damage those areas, you actually do not only damage the environment — as may happen, because you can do things to mitigate against that -- but there is also a wider public good, even where a private company is concerned. The entire coastline of Portland, I think, is a peculiar kind of environment in Jamaica which needs to be examined and the Government manage very closely," added the minister, who also has portfolio responsibility for housing and water.
"It's kind of a wild, rocky coastline with coves. It can become a major economic asset to Jamaica and if we literally just allow a free-for-all on it, we are really damaging the future of the country. That is what I say at this time," Chang said further.
The minister's comments come even as the Portland Parish Council considers a revised application to develop two villas — one of them reportedly with four bedrooms and the other with three — at the location, which is also known as 'Monkey Island'.
An earlier application had proposed the development of one seven-bedroom villa and one four-bedroom villa, according to the 2008 environmental impact assessment report prepared by consultants Caribbean Ecosystems Limited.
That application, submitted to the council in 2007, was turned down by the local authority on grounds of the accessibility challenges presented by the steeply sloping gradients, as well as the increased risk of slope failure due to the development works proposed at the time.
The objections were noted by the Mines and Geology Division (MGD), which also indicated that, in light of the island's terrain and the requirement for "hard engineering works", the development would be an "unacceptable intrusion in a pristine and sensitive marine environment".
With the development now scaled down, the MGD has changed its tune. In a letter dated May 2 this year, the division said "based on our review, the MGD is satisfied that the recommendations stated in our letter dated September 27, 2010, have been included in the amended building plan. We, therefore, have no further objection to the building application".
Still, environmental lobbyists remain averse to the development of the island, which supports biodiversity. Some 23 plant species, including shrubs, trees, vines, ferns and epiphytes (plants that grow on others) — four of them endemic — can be found on the island.
There are also, according to the EIA report, 14 species of birds, including two endemics — the Jamaican Woodpecker and the Black-billed Streamertail — that have been identified in the vicinity of the island. In addition, there are hermit crabs, rats, ants, corals, sponges, macro algae, and fish.
Danielle Andrade, legal director for the Jamaica Environment Trust, has insisted that the island should be left untouched.
"We maintain that Pellew Island should be preserved as a part of the patrimony of the Jamaican people," she told Environment Watch in July.
More recently, environmentalist John Fletcher has echoed her sentiments.
"Has nobody considered the effects of climate change on this fragile piece of Jamaica, whether this year or in 20 years time, a hurricane and/or rising sea levels will strip it bare, along with any structure that some foolhardy owner has put on it," he said.
"To offer this site for sale as a house site is as criminal a piece of deception as Olint or Cash Plus, and it should be clearly (the) responsibility of Government to prevent people from building in unsafe areas. They now realise that gully banks are risky, and one day will learn that Portmore is also. If hoteliers choose to ignore international standards for set-backs from the seashore when constructing their hotels that is their business risk, but Pellew Island should be off limits to any construction," added Fletcher, who is a past president of BirdLife Jamaica.
Meanwhile, Joy Douglas, general manager of the Urban Development Corporation and a sitting member of the Town and Country Planning Authority (TCPA), has cautioned that in any consideration of whether to grant approval for the development of Pellew Island or the Blue Lagoon -- another sensitive and hotly debated attraction in Portland — the rights of the landowners must be taken on board.
"I would inform that the matter at the Blue Lagoon is not a straightforward matter because people have certain rights and certain rights are endorsed on title," she told the September 26 meeting of the Observer's Monday Exchange, noting that the Blue Lagoon and Pellew Island were being dealt with as one unit.
According to Douglas, the TCPA is currently working out a methodology to provide the country with "the best solution" they believe can be had to resolve the controversy over the development of the two sites.
"In that regard, we are preparing some guidelines in conjunction with some persons that we have brought on board to NEPA (National Environment and Planning Agency). We have an architect, a botanist, we have an engineer and also we are liaising with the JNHT (Jamaica National Heritage Trust). But we are also looking at the rights of the property owners. They have rights," she said.
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