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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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'Dissing' the environment
By Peter Espeut, Executive Director of the
Caribbean Coastal Area Management (CCAM) Foundation,
writing in the Jamaica Gleaner, 13 April 2000
EVERY DAY, news of threats to the world's environment reach
my desk, usually through the Internet. There are big multinationals which are
building themselves deserved reputations for environmental care and concern,
and these should be congratulated. Unfortunately there are also multinational
corporations which have not yet fully taken on the importance of protecting
the natural environment as corporate policy.
Some years ago, Cable and Wireless laid a fibre-optic cable from the Cayman
Islands to Montego Bay to carry international phone calls. There was a time
when it seemed that submarine cables would have been eclipsed by satellites,
but immediately after Hurricane Gilbert, the only international telephone traffic
in or out of Jamaica was through the trans-Atlantic cable, as the satellite
dish had been put out of alignment. And so a new cable was laid right through
the Montego Bay Marine Park. There had been an Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) to guide the exercise, but it was not followed. The laying of the Cayman-MoBay
international cable led to serious coral reef damage. Despite complaints, nothing
was done to correct the difficulties, and no action was taken against the company.
Now Cable and Wireless wants to extend their submarine cable system around the
island in three segments: from Montego Bay to Negril, to Black River, to Old
Harbour Bay. I am happy to see that they are being required to correct the original
problem as a part of the negotiations for the new cable. I am disappointed that
Cable and Wireless did not see fit to correct the situation years ago on their
own initiative because of their care and concern for the environment, in particular
the coral reefs in the Montego Bay Marine Park.
However I am told that Cable & Wireless have said they will
correct the situation only after the new cable is laid because of the disruptions
which would result, and they need the new cables to be in place to provide alternate
routings for the international calls. I am not a telecommunications engineer,
but I do not see how extending a local network can provide alternate routing
for international calls. Come now, Cable and Wireless! Stop "dissing"
the environment! Fix the problem which is damaging our coral reefs! It is long
overdue!
As is to be expected, the new submarine cables will bring their own problems,
and an EIA will have to be done. The segments will pass through the Negril Marine
Park and the Portland Bight Protected Area, and there is concern that the debacle
with the previous cable in the Montego Bay Marine Park not be repeated. The
main concern is that where the cable route is in less than twenty metres of
water, it has to be buried in a trench to be dug by a sort of underwater tractor.
Any underwater ecosystems in the path of this tractor will be disturbed. It
is important that the precise alignment of the cable should be agreed upon and
followed to minimise the damage.
Unlike the north coast which has deep water fairly close to shore, the south
coast of Jamaica has a relatively wide shallow shelf. At Portland Bight the
shelf is at its widest, which means that the burying of the cable will require
a trench more than 10 miles long, with all that that implies in terms of high
cost and increased threat of damage. Thankfully, Cable and Wireless has not
yet received permission for the cable to come ashore at Old Harbour Bay, as
the EIA has not yet even begun. In my view there are alternative landfall sites
which should better suit both the company and the environment. An analysis of
alternatives would form a part of any EIA which is conducted.
At various times, all the NGOs involved (from the Montego Bay
Marine Park, the Negril Marine Park and myself from the Portland Bight Protected
Area) have met with Cable and Wireless Jamaica Ltd. and have discussed these
and other matters with them. They have not got back to me on any of the points
I raised with them, and none of the fears which I expressed to them have been
addressed.
It is about time we develop a new business culture in Jamaica where concerns
for sustainable development and the environment are a little more at the forefront.
Cable and Wireless has no monopoly on damaging the environment, but they could
set a better example.
Peter Espeut is a Sociologist and Executive Director of an Environment and
Development NGO.
For more information, please contact:
Peter A. Espeut,
Executive Director,
Caribbean Coastal Area Management (CCAM) Foundation,
7 Lloyds Close,
Kingston 8
JAMAICA, W.I.
Fax: (876) 978-7641
