Letter of the Day | What is the point of environmental rules if they can be ignored?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Six environmental permits issued for projects in wetland areas in Falmouth, Trelawny have raised questions about how Jamaica manages development in environmentally sensitive areas. These permits were issued by the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) between August 2025 and July 2026, for sites located in areas zoned for conservation under the Town and Country Planning (Trelawny Parish) Development Order, 2013.

The proposed development of 18 overwater structures at Sandals Dunn’s River in Mammee Bay raises similar concerns about whether Jamaica’s environmental rules are being applied. While no environmental permit has yet been granted for this project, the developers have been allowed to proceed with the application process and an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been prepared.

The EIA for the Sandals project acknowledges that the proposed overwater rooms are within the Ocho Rios Marine Park Protected Area and within an area zoned for conservation under the Protected Area’s zoning plan.

The conservation zone provisions in the Ocho Rios Marine Park Protected Area Zoning Plan 2015-2020 state that activities that adversely affect the functioning of ecosystems are not allowed. These include the removal or disturbance of physical or biological features, habitats, flora or fauna, as well as coastal modifications and encroachments subject to the beach licensing regime. The plan also prohibits activities that contravene environmental laws or may have a deleterious effect on human safety or the environment. On this basis, overwater bungalows are not permissible in this location.

There appears to be an updated Zoning Plan covering 2022-2032 for the Ocho Rios Marine Park Protected Area, but we have been unable to locate a copy and therefore cannot say whether the provisions relating to conservation areas have changed. The EIA, however, refers only to the 2015-2020 framework.

Then there are the 2016 Planning Guidelines for Overwater Structures, which do not permit overwater structures in marine protected areas. The 2025 Guidelines for Overwater Structures, which appear to still be in draft form, take a different approach. They allow such structures where an EIA demonstrates that there will be no adverse and irreversible impacts. However, these guidelines are not referred to in the EIA.

If the 2016 guidelines apply, why is a project involving overwater structures in a marine protected area being considered at all? And, if the draft 2025 guidelines are being relied upon instead, the EIA identifies at least 30 impacts from the project, 23 of which are adverse during the pre-construction and construction phases. How, then, could the project satisfy the draft 2025 guidelines’ requirement that there be no adverse and irreversible impacts?

The two cases raise different but related concerns. In Falmouth, permits have already been issued, despite conservation zoning. In Mammee Bay, the question is more fundamental: why is the proposed development being considered at all, given the clear guidelines and zoning restrictions?

Environmental regulations are meant to prevent environmental harm by establishing limits on what development can take place, where it can take place, and under what conditions. If the rules created by the government cannot be relied upon, what exactly are they for?

ENVIRONMENT TRUST