Minister warns beach access policy lacking

Omar Newell said on May 20 that Jamaica’s new Beach Access and Management Policy does not go far enough to secure public entry to the shoreline, adding to criticism that has followed the document since it was tabled in Parliament in March. The opposition lawmaker said the policy acknowledges a problem but still treats access as something to be managed rather than guaranteed. Prime Minister Andrew Holness had presented the policy as the first step toward replacing the Beach Control Act of 1956 and its amendments. Civil society groups including the Jamaica Beach Birthright Environmental Movement, or JaBBEM, have also said the framework needs revision. ### What exactly did Newell say is missing? Omar Newell, the opposition spokesman on the environment and climate resilience, said the policy “still approaches beach access as a managed permission rather than a fundamental public right.” He said Jamaicans are not only asking how many public beaches exist, but how much coastline ordinary people can reach “freely, safely and affordably.” (jamaicaobserver.com) Newell said the policy should include guaranteed public access corridors, legal protection for traditional fishing communities, protection of public easements, national mapping of access points, limits on coastline privatization and updated legislation. He said beach access affects whether fishermen can launch boats and whether families can use coastal areas that had long been part of community life. (jamaicaobserver.com) A separate criticism from Newell was the scale of current access. He said “less than one per cent” of Jamaica’s natural beach resource can be freely accessed by the public, though he did not provide a source for that figure in the remarks reported by the Jamaica Observer. ### What has the government said the policy is supposed to do? Andrew Holness tabled the Beach Access and Management Policy in the House of Representatives on March 19, saying the existing legal framework no longer fits current conditions. (jamaicaobserver.com) He said the Beach Control Act of 1956 and amendments in 1973 did not adequately address access issues and would have to be replaced. Holness said the policy sets out a modern definition of a beach, foreshore, backshore and watershed; describes how the government plans to improve access; identifies legislative changes; and changes how new developments are assessed. He also said the framework covers man-made beaches and is meant to ensure access in an “orderly, safe, equitable and sustainable way.” (radiojamaicanewsonline.com) The government’s policy paper says one of its goals is increased physical access to the foreshore, the sea floor and the water column above it by all stakeholders. The document also lists goals covering beach-related recreation, pollution control and safety, protection of traditional access rights of fishermen, and implementation and review. ### Why are advocacy groups also objecting? (radiojamaicanewsonline.com) JaBBEM said in March that it “formally and unequivocally rejects” the policy after reviewing the framework outlined by Holness in Parliament. The group said the proposal reinforces, rather than dismantles, historical barriers that have restricted Jamaicans’ access to the coast. Dr. Devon Taylor, JaBBEM’s president, said the government was offering “qualified rights” rather than protection of rights. (megid.gov.jm) He said the group wanted “full and unfettered rights,” even while welcoming the move to replace the Beach Control Act. Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, chief executive officer of the Jamaica Environment Trust, said on Radio Jamaica that the policy was a step in the right direction but that its language was weak. (jamaica-gleaner.com) She said it still did not fully address access in places without traditional Crown land entry points. ### What does the policy paper itself show about the dispute? (radiojamaicanewsonline.com) The Beach Access and Management Policy paper says Jamaica’s constitution guarantees the right to a healthy and productive environment and describes beaches as national assets with social, environmental and economic value. It also says the Beach Control Act is the principal law related to beaches and notes that the act vested ownership of the foreshore and sea floor in the Crown. (radiojamaicanewsonline.com) Those provisions help explain why the dispute has centered on whether public use should be treated as a right attached to the coastline itself or as access arranged through regulation, licensing and designated public spaces. That distinction was at the center of Newell’s criticism and the objections raised by JaBBEM. ### What comes next? (megid.gov.jm) The March 19 tabling in Parliament positioned the policy as the government’s starting point for legislative change, with Holness saying replacement of the current law would follow. The published policy paper includes sections on implementation, monitoring and proposed legislative amendments, making that document the next reference point for lawmakers, advocacy groups and coastal communities pressing for revisions. (radiojamaicanewsonline.com) (jamaicaobserver.com)