JAMAICA
Trading Ecology for a Highway

By Zadie Neufville

KINGSTON, Oct 26, 2010 (IPS) - A construction project in Kingston's protected Palisadoes wetlands is pitting Jamaican environmentalists against the government in a showdown activists say will end up in the courts.

Scientists and local environmentalists accuse the National Works Agency (NWA), which is responsible for the construction, and government's environment watchdog the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) of ignoring likely impacts of planned coastal improvement work in the protected wetlands. The area is said to be home to more than 300 species of plants and animals, including six native species of cacti.

The public is outraged at what many see as government's haste to start coastal protection works along a 2.5- kilometre stretch of the 14-kilometre-long peninsula. Environmentalists are calling for an Environmental Impact Assessment study (EIA) and the requisite public consultation process. In the absence of details about the planned development, many are sceptical that a three-year old EIA for similar work in the area is sufficient.

The Palisadoes peninsula links Jamaica's capital city Kingston to the historic town of Port Royal and the larger of the island's two international airports.

The development area lies within 13,000 hectares of cays, reefs and mangroves that is also a National Heritage Site and a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. Decades of development in the capital has severely denuded the mangrove forests, polluted the waters, destroyed its once considerable fishery and rendered Kingston's only bathing beach useless.

University of the West Indies scientists Mona Webber and Karl Aiken are mindful of the benefits of the improved roadway but remain concerned.

In a recent joint article they wrote: "We feel that the ecological damage that is being wreaked on the environment in this special area is considerable and rather risky and may have significant medium-term negative effects."

Work to elevate the roadway began in earnest nearly two months ago with the NWA and NEPA resisting renewed consultations even though current works vary significantly from the 2008 plans. Engineers have questioned the cost of the project, estimated at $65.7 million - almost twice 2008 estimates. And since the plans were also well outside the original scope of work, environmentalists wanted a new EIA.

The works will destroy two years of mangrove replanting, intended to restabilise and minimise damage to the sand dunes during bad weather. In recent years, extreme weather events such as Hurricanes Ivan in 2004 and Dean in 2007 have inundated the roadway. There is also concern that the tombolo sandbar, which makes Kingston's the world's seventh largest natural harbour, is at risk.

Transport and works minister Michael Henry has promised that the project will "protect the airport and infrastructure inside the Kingston Harbour", but Webber and Aiken believe it could "cost us (Jamaica) dearly in the ecological sense".

"Impacts are really uncertain, which is the whole point, as the area is a specially sensitive area," Aiken told IPS in a written response.

At a public meeting on Oct. 5, NWA's head Patrick Wong, in an attempt to soothe angry environmentalists, explained that only two lanes with soft shoulders and not the four lanes previously announced are being built.

Despite variations that include an elevation of additional 0.4 metres that make it "less susceptible to flooding", an additional one kilometre of development and the removal of several sand dunes, both NEPA and NWA believe there is no need for a new EIA.

Marine biologist Peter Wilson-Kelly agreed. In addition to the EIA, he said NEPA would have been informed by its own extensive research of the area.

"The problem is that the public at large may not know what currently pertains…or the mitigation measures being put in place to minimise the impact on the local environment," said Wilson-Kelly, whose firm carried out the original study.

The Palisadoes project is part of a five-year Jamaica Road Development Infrastructure Programme to rehabilitate more than 570 kilometres of roadways across the island. It is funded a $465 million loan from the Chinese Export Import Bank and a 10-cent per litre tax on petrol.

Besides taking NEPA and the NWA to task, environmentalists point out that a parking area for construction vehicles had been built inside the habitat of the extremely rare Opuntia tuna, an endemic species of cactus. On Sep. 7, within days of the commencement of work, NEPA served the NWA with a Stop Order to "facilitate the demarcation of the working foot print, and repair a damaged sand dune".

But also at issue, explained Aiken, a life sciences lecturer, is the "loss of much of the smaller biota, mainly insect and fungi which live in the top few centimetres of sand which…are usually forgotten in these projects as they are tiny and out of sight, but whose activities 'run' the ecosystem".

There is all-around agreement that the roadway should be improved and that the Palisadoes should be protected. Few are, however, confident that agencies like NEPA are able to carry out their legislative mandates because of sometimes conflicting legislation.

The Palisadoes Port Royal Protected Area is managed by NEPA, a role many see as contradictory to the agency's responsibility of overseeing development approvals. In its defence, NEPA's CEO Peter Knight explained that it is the boards of the Town and Country Planning Authority and the Natural Resources Conservation Authority for which it carries out regulatory functions that approves development and environmental applications.

The Palisadoes peninsula is described as a "relatively unique portion of the Jamaican environment". Classified as a semi-desert, it is made up of several tiny islets, which up to the start of the 20th century were separated by water. It is these passageways, scientists say, that allow water to flood the roadway during the strongest storms and which must be maintained to preserve the narrow strip of land.

Knight is confident in the mechanisms his agency has instituted to monitor the construction and protect the environment. He told journalists at a press conference on Oct. 1 that his agency is satisfied that the construction work would not significantly affect the harbour's plant and animal life.

"It is not true that there will be destruction of endemic plants, and it is not true the issue of turtle nesting... because the area is not a turtle nesting site," the island's chief town planner said. He noted that existing plants including mangroves would be removed and replanted when construction was completed.

But even as discussions continued, the bulldozers rolled and despite assurances, few are confident that NEPA will be able to hold its own against a government bent on development - in the words of one activist, "at whatever cost".

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Things must be pretty bad in Jamaica
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13841862
20 June 2011 Last updated at 12:54 ET

Immigrant being deported 'tries to slash throat'

Virgin plane The flight to Kingston, Jamaica, has been postponed for 24 hours


An illegal immigrant being deported to Jamaica tried to slash his own throat on board a plane at Gatwick airport, it is understood.

The man has been returned to immigrant custody after being treated for "superficial injuries" at hospital and discharged, a UK Border Agency spokesman said.

An investigation was being launched into the incident, he added.

The Virgin Atlantic flight, VS69, has been delayed until 1245 BST on Tuesday.
Counselling offered

The man, who was being deported to Kingston, Jamaica, was reportedly treated by paramedics who "glued" together his throat wound.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said on Monday: "There has been an incident today involving a Jamaican individual being removed from the UK on a flight from Gatwick airport.

"The individual was taken to hospital with superficial injuries. An investigation is under way."

It added later: "The man was returned to immigrant custody after being treated and discharged at hospital."

A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: "The safety and welfare of our crew and passengers is Virgin Atlantic's top priority.

"Virgin Atlantic is co-operating with the authorities in their investigation of the incident and is offering counselling support to passengers and crew."

The 449 passengers are being put up in local hotels pending the delayed flight on Tuesday but Virgin said passengers would be permitted to switch flights.

Virgin Atlantic thanked the passengers for their patience.

It is not immediately clear if the authorities will try to deport him on the same flight on Tuesday.

In October last year a 46-year-old man, Jimmy Mubenga, died after becoming ill while being deported.

He collapsed on a British Airways plane bound for Angola at Heathrow Airport.

Mr Mubenga's family have claimed force was used on him and have called for an inquiry.

let me engage the juvenile Atabey in this interesting article. firstly, things in Jamaica are not easy. the economy sucks, and the violence is mind numbing. i myself do not relish the prospects of visiting, any time soon. however, what have we here? we have Atabey, what else?. this is his adolescent attempt to get back at me for daring to criticise matters in the DR. sad thing is, he is true to form. this is a guy with a minus IQ, who thinks he is professorial. so, he copies and pastes an article, and goes on to offer a conclusion, without analysing other possibilties. things must be bad, he says, for the guy to attempt suicide. well, genius, what if his motivations had nothing to do with the actual conditions in the country? what if the guy has a mental condition, such as chronic chemical imbalance, which makes him suicidal with each circumstantial tailspin? what if he was depressed that he had to leave family in England? what if he was depressed because some toughs are waiting for him back home?. Atabey, as i have told you before, you are a guy of very little intellectual acumen. actually, you can be considered, by all standards of measurement, to be a common dunce. you are good at being cheesy, low brow, low class, and backstabbing. thinking is not your forte.

"Why cant we all just get along ".......Rodney King

i try. in certain cases, it is not worth it.

"superficial injuries"?
He couldn't have been very serious about suicide
.
I'm more worried about the effect of the roadwork on the environment.

In Australia they have started putting new freeways in tunnels rather than through environmentally sensitive environments. It costs more but most Australians (including myself) feel it is worth it.

the part about ¨superficial injuries ¨went over Atabey´s head like the space shuttle. mainly because he does not know what the phrase means.

Honestly Dread, the scenario isn't that different here. One have to be mentally strong to survive the retardities of the every day life on this island some days. I'm honestly surprised that you have chosen to stay here for such a long time.

Well, you know Dread we Americans have to be concerned about guys from Jamaica seeking to commit suicide aboard an airplane. He just might have more than his own life in the mix

Suicide bombers' 'ordinary' lives
[URL]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4678837.stm[/URL]


Three of the four men behind the UK's first suicide bombings on 7 July last year were British and the other a Jamaican-born British resident. Below are profiles of the young men who went on to kill 52 people and injure hundreds.

GERMAINE LINDSAY, 19, FROM AYLESBURY, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
[IMG]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41311000/jpg/_41311879_lindsayg203.jpg[/IMG]

The fourth suicide bomber was identified as Jamaican-born British resident Germaine Lindsay, who lived in Aylesbury.

Lindsay spent his teenage years in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, like his fellow bombers.

He moved there in 1999 with his mother and sister, and moved away in 2003.

During this time he changed his name to Jamal Lindsay and began attending after-school classes to improve his knowledge of Islam.

Lindsay was 'the outsider'

Lindsay was married to Samantha Lewthwaite, with whom he had a young boy.

Since his death, Ms Lewthwaite has given birth to a daughter by Lindsay.

In a statement made just after Lindsay's death, Ms Lewthwaite said she "never predicted or imagined that he was involved in such horrific activities".

"He was a loving husband and father," she said.

"My whole world has fallen apart and my thoughts are with the families of the victims of this incomprehensible devastation."

In a subsequent interview with the Sun newspaper, in September 2005, she condemned his "abhorrent" Tube attack.

She said she wanted to remember the man she loved, but added: "The day will come when I'll have to tell [our children] what he did."

Trips to radical mosques had "poisoned" the "innocent, naive and simple" 19-year-old's mind, Ms Lewthwaite said.

A statement issued by his relatives Andrew, 49, Sabrina, 28, Allan, 25, and Carly, 21 said Lindsay "had a kind, caring and calming presence about him".

"He was a good and loving husband and a brilliant father, who showed absolutely no sign of doing this atrocious crime.

"We as a family had no idea of his plans and are as horrified as the rest of the world."