In Jamaica, it has been announced that a plot of land at Font Hill, St. Elizabeth, is being made available for tourism development:
The Font Hill property located near Black River in St. Elizabeth and comprising more than 3,000 acres of land is now being viewed for massive development, which would impact positively on the parish as well as on the overall economy of the country.
Owned and operated by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), the property is poised to herald in unprecedented development on Jamaica’s South Coast, with such possibilities as the construction and establishment of an airport, hotels, public beaches and a golf course.
The Island Resources Foundation reports on serious concerns about the development of the Font Hill site, expressed by Pete Marra of the Migratory Bird Centre at the Smithsonian Institute:
For those of you who don’t know Font Hill, it contains remarkable pristine habitats including Black Mangrove Forests, scrub and beaches. It should be a world Natural Heritage site!
It also has a spectacular population of endemic Jamaica species, as well as Crocodiles, Whistling Ducks and large populations of various migratory birds.
It has also hosted a large and productive research program for US and Jamaican scientists for the last 25 years that has resulted in over 100 scientific publications on the non-breeding ecology of migratory birds as well as several papers on Jamaican habitats and other wildlife.
The research on the winter ecology of migrant birds has no parallel anywhere in the world. We need your help in developing a strategy to try and combat the destruction of yet another gem in the Caribbean.
Read more at the Jamaica Information Service website and at the Island Resources Foundation blog.
[Photo: Google Maps/Island Resources Foundation]
When I heard about this development, I felt sick! I’ve been going to the beach at Fonthill since I was a toddler, and I’m now in my 40s. Sometimes we would have to use a machete to clear the roadway so we could have acces to the beach.
It seems that ordinary Jamaicans will soon have very limited access to our own beaches. I hope that somewhere in this deal there is a clause that guarantees beach access to the thousands of Jamaicans who are presently able enjoy Fonthill.
I’m also disappointed that this is the path being taken for tourism in St. Elizabeth. I thought there was a plan for tourism in this parish to be more community oriented, and eco friendly.
I have to ask myself, “Where next?” Bluefields, Hellshire?