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"The primary attraction of Negril is the unbroken beach-line. Allowing the development of jetties or any other structures that protrude above the water will have a dramatically negative impact on this natural treasure."
There is a petition on FB seeking to stop this from being built. Any thoughts?
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savethenegrilbeach/
Money talks, expansion will not stop on the island.
First a jetty, then a breakwater, then a cruise ship dock, then maybe a casino boat too. Attachment 2015
The future might be closer than most think. Just imagine a wind farm off the beach Attachment 2016 or maybe a nuke plant in the morass !
You could also look forward to this possibility Attachment 2017
This could be the future, depressing for some, exciting for others -->
Bigger-Better-More-More is what most of society wants. Personally, I would love to turn off the lights and regress to the '70's.
Respect
I like the wind farm idea, much better than burning oil for light.
Back to the 70's? Maybe, but no disco, okay?
As to building a jetty - The biggest problem will be sand shifting. Small groin constructions have already caused major shifts in sand build up and erosion along the beach in some areas. I'd be concerned about the type of construction they propose and how that will impact the beach area around it. Many examples can be seen along the northern part of long bay beach where compounds have already messed things up with groins and small boat docks. The erosion issues they face after each storm should be reason enough to leave it alone.
Sandals has been steadily losing its beach front over the years...a jetty may or may not help that.
Ever hear of the term http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longshore_drift "littoral drift". It is the effect that tide, waves and prevailing winds have on the direction of water moving against a beach and the movement of the sand. Pot a jetty in and the up current side will rretain sand while the down current side will form a cresent shaped like beach.
Where I live, on the south shore of New York's Long Island, our 100 some odd miles of south facing beaches from Montauk Point to NYC, are known for having an east to west current sweep causing rip currents and cresent shaped beaches where ever the current sweep meets a jetty. http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...LongIsland.jpg
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...chfromair1.jpg
All beaches are effected the same way
When I was first sent the petition via email I thought about posting it here but didn't know if it would be "kosher". Thank you Sweet Sue for taking the chance.
I've written extensively about this, its exhausting. Long story short - the proposed jetty PROJECT will cause more harm than good. It will negatively impact the marine life, the reef and the health of Long Bay beach in general. It will no doubt be "ugly", all the jetties I've ever seen are. I grew up around them on the beaches of Long Island. In addition to the environmental disaster they can create, they disturb natural sea/wave action causing cross currents and making it dangerous to swim in during certain conditions.
The link below will bring you to the proposal. Its 86 pages long and as you read you'll see that what they are proposing is MUCH more than a simple "jetty". It involves for example ripping out lots of seagrass which means basically anihilating an entire ecosystem. They cop to the fact that this construction will adversely affect their own guests. Its expensive (their money, but still) and it will take a long time - I wouldn't want to be a guest at Sandals or any neighboring resort while this was going on.
The ersoion of Long Bay started long ago with the first "entrepreneur" building too close to the sea, overbuilding the property and ripping out the bush. In the process of overdevelopment and exploitation of the beach that is supposed to draw tourists to Negril all these businesses, Sandals included of course, have created a monster and are now in damage of losing the one thing that they were exploiting to begin with.
Read the proposal, make up your own mind. Keep in mind that this proposal was paid for by Sandals...and even still some of it is horrifying.
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...a41833b61ebe00
Dicky: I grew up in Cedarhurst and spent my summers on Atlantic Beach. It wasn't until I first went to Long Beach that I even knew what a beautiful coastline the Long Island beaches offered. For me, at the clubs on Atlantic Beach is was miles of jetty after jetty - separating each of those private clubs (you can own beach privately in New York). I don't remember there being jetties or groynes like that in the Hamptons but I haven't been to any beach in New York in over 25 years.
When I was a kid one of the things we'd do at the beach was climb "the rocks". Our thrills came from not getting knocked off by an incoming wave and not slipping and breaking our heads open on the slick rock and concrete. There were dead marine animals everywhere - crabs, starfish - as a matter of fact my then 12 year old brother and his friends would play "Starfish Wars" - they would chuck those poor lifeless things at each other (boys like to handle gross stuff). Up until now it never occurred to me that those jetties very possibly could have been the cause of the hundreds of dead jelly fish that would line the shoreline in mid to late August every year.
Here on the Sonoma Coast as well as on the Mendocino Coast the way erosion is controlled is by planting. They have been doing this for decades, that and development of dunes and natrual grasses.
Its never too late to save a beach, but not this way. Negril is in DESPERATE need of a full evaluation, working with marine biologists and sand ecologists to try to if not reverse the damage, contain it and prevent more from happening.
This is unacceptable. PERIOD! AND as Dickylobster emplied. a jetty will alter the natural migration of sand, causing more damage further down the coast.
The new emphasis should be the return of the coast to as natural a condition as possible. Some how, a re connection of the beach to the morass, in combination with efforts to restore the reef and the replanting of vegetation along the coast is needed.
"They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot"
rastagirl777 ---- thanks for posting that! I have shared it with other owners in our strata. It will take a while to fully digest. What they propose is reasonable at first glance. I am glad to see that a lot of thought went into beach modeling. They do suffer a lot of erosion and there is always chopped up grass along their part of the beach (or so it seems when I'm walking there).
Rasta Crab - I'm not sure I know what a "strata" is...a buidling? Unit? Cluster of buildings? No matter, do spread the word. Are you at Point Village? If so, your property, where you just made an investment, will definitely be affected. I'm sure there are other condo owners who have signed that petition, folks that live there full time.
Ah Negril dat, fi tru!!Quote:
Originally Posted by 7milelover
Yes, you are right, money does talk and expansion is an ongoing process BUT wouldn't it be a shame to just allow the destruction of what it was that made Negril so beautiful and special in the first place?? We should not allow such mindless greed to wreak havoc on that which we hold dear without some sort of a fight. The world is running out of beautiful places that are as accessible as Negril. If I want an overbuilt, make believe environment I can go to Disney. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney but it is not what I go to Jamaica for. And it definitely cannot replace the pristine, natural beauty of the Northwest Coast.
Once it is gone, it's gone! There are moves towards green energy being made on the island, which relects the worldwide trend - as slow as that may be. Sandals won an award for being "green." Plus this is not the first time they have made this proposal. The reasons for which it was denied years ago, still apply. Some things should be protected. Make that MUST be protected.
Much Respect & Peace.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dickylobster
Thanks - I feel very strongly about Negril. I think it is important to save our natural resources and keep them accessible for the general population. At the rate our world is going, only the uber-rich will be able to know the pleasures of a pristine beach and sunsets on the water. And the world will suffer irreparably for the loss of our ecosystems. Once it's gone, it's gone!
Thanks, Sweet Sue! I will certainly sign that one! I can't beleive they would do that .... I thought Jamaica was dedicated to rebuilding it's shoreline and protecting it - like th national park off Mobay? Or am I just reading the wrong stuff. Do you know of a petition in Negril for this? I'll make a beeline for it Sunday morning, too! Thanks!
That's terrible! I will for sure sign the petition. Is there one in Negril for this? I'd sign that too .. make a beeline for it Sunday morning. I thought Jamaica was protecting their coastline and rebuilding and restoring it ... like the National Marine Park off Mobay? Or do I need a reality check? I can't beleive that they would do this, but would bet big bucks that Rastlobster is right on the money with "this will be just the beginning". When will we learn to re-define "progress"?
Rastagirl777 seems to know more about this than I do. But if I can find out more, I will surely post it here.
It would be awful to have something like this happen. I signed the petition and shared it so others could do likewise on facebook.
Rastagirl777 - A strata is like a condo association you'd have in the States. We are part of the Point Village strata, live there most of the year, and have a great interest in what goes on down the beach. I am still studying the proposal. My background as an engineer (retired) makes me want to take some time to fully understand what they are proposing and to check for any mistakes. So far, I must say that I am impressed with the depth of thought that has gone into the proposal.
I am not convinced the barriers they propose will have the desired effect of controlling sand shifting. The problem with any engineering study of this type is that it is based on historical data. All it takes is one odd storm to mess things up pretty fast. However this seems like a good idea. The jetty is not an open door to cruise ships or other 'over improvements'. It fixes a problem Sandals has currently. The other choice for them is to relocate and let that part of the beach return to natural (like that will happen).
Now perhaps I should qualify that I am not against improvements in the Negril area. Too often such studies have been neglected. They are needed and it is important for many to review them. Just recently, we had a small craft operator try to dump stone into the sea to build a private boat ramp at Point Village. He thought he could get away with it on a Sunday. He did not do any sort of analysis of the effect of his dump. Unfortunately most of the stone was dumped before the police could be summoned to stop him. Now we have a small pile of gravel and a questionable coast. I suspect most of the stones will just displace towards the deeper channel over time. The weight of the stone will cause the sand/coral underneath to shift etc...
Studies like that done by Sandals, with a full environmental impact analysis is exactly what is needed. Sandals property has a problem - just walk that part of the beach (we do it several times a week) and you will see what I mean. Especially after a strong storm. Most of their beach near the north end washes out exposing the sand bags or they get filled up with sea grass. Will the barriers help? I suspect they will be doing more dredging than sand bagging to maintain the geometry they propose however it is intriguing.
Related cartoon: http://www.rastacrab.com/index.php?name=RastaCrab050
The proposal by sandals is in great detail & if anyone does their homework instead of just insinuating & jumping to conclusions they will find that it was done with as much respect to the environment & Long bay as possible..
Welcome to Negril.com TR.
RastaCrab - I look forward to hearing more about what you think based on your knowledge and experience. As someone who has an engineering background who also lives part time on the beach I am sure you are very interested in this project and its outcome.
I'd love to see another report done by someone without a vested interest in commerce there - like the NCRS for example, done by marine biologists and sand ecologists and the such. I read that there's actually been a proposed plan in the works regarding "fixing" the beach on Long Bay for several years. I'd love to see that plan.
Not sure what "fixing" the beach implies. Beaches typically form where fresh water and ocean meet.Quote:
Originally Posted by rastagirl777
Getting another party to conduct a study will still involve engineering (ecologists and scientists may be tapped for specific information). The problem is who pays for that work - someone like Greenpeace? In the case of the USA, the money wins. I'm sure we will see the same in Jamaica whether it is for a small jetty and beach protection barriers or something really bad. Sandals has done the homework and from what I'm seeing so far, done it well. Now they have to sell it to NEPA and their neighbors.
Fixing is a broad term. Taking measures to prevent further beach erosion would be more specific.Quote:
Originally Posted by RastaCrab
As far as paying for a scientific study by a group that has no commercial interest in the beach - yeah, exactly - who pays for that. While the Sandals report does appear very well done and researched we must remember that Sandals payed for it. There are reports from Chevron and BP concerning the environment that also come off very "friendly".
Dear god, now a comparison of a sandals beach retaining project with the likes of an oil companies damage control.
Actually no, you missed my point.
Big Oil is always paying for environmental impact reports on all sorts of things from off shore rigs to franchised gas stations. And when they pay for those reports the reports tend to "favor" that company's point of view or immediate need. THAT'S the comparison. Money can buy you just about everything. NCRS doesn't have as much money as Sandals so for them to put together an environmental impact report will be a lot harder...but I hope they can do it anyway.
The term often used in the engineering world is "optimistic" when it comes to these reports. Kind of works like this - a client commissions a study, the study produces a variety of results, the client likes the most "optimistic" one, it gets written up with caveats alluding to the less "optimistic" results. Generally the real details are buried in the appendices as they are in the Sandals report showing potential beach erosion results from various known storms. Most of the executives that review an engineering study rarely get past the open paragraphs and summary.Quote:
Originally Posted by rastagirl777
In the States, the EPA takes on the task of doing the counter study looking closer at the alternative solutions. It appears the same will hold true with the Jamaican system. The report is a revised report based on input from NEPA engineers.
The truth of this issue is no where near as sinister as some apparently want to believe. Sandals is not against the Negril environment. In fact, they have been the host to many of the United Nations Environment Programs here in Negril. I have attended them and speaking from current, firsthand knowledge in Negril, some of the statements being made here seem more knee-jerk reactions and are far from the reality.
The UN started a program to help with environmental issues world wide, and Negril was chosen for the pilot program for their Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Methodology Development Project. The results of the pilot project can be read here:
http://www.grid.unep.ch/product/publ...oad/RiVAMP.pdf
There is no possible way that Sandals in not taking the recommendations from the United Nations into account. I promise you that NEPA is....
I seem to have been the only one thus far that has been trying to be the voice of reason since this was 1st frantically broadcasted over the Internet. That however was like trying to break up a mob that grew larger that was attacking a person in the streets that was falsely accused by the first person.
All have tried to say from the beginning is that what they have planned doesn't look as if it will impact anything that it has been so quickly accuse of nor do I think Mr Stewart would want any eye sore along his beach front or look to create any future issues otherwise.
The Sandals Foundation is so involved in preservation & funding of environmental projects that I have to think that anything that they undertake is going to be done with great consideration and a lot of research to weigh in any pros and cons.
NEPA is the Jamaican Government Agency just as the EPA is an American Government Agency. I am not sure why you think they are different.
Here is the overview, mission statement, legislative mandate and policies of NEPA:
Overview
The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is an Executive Agency that became operational on April 1, 2001.
NEPA represents a merger between the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA), the Town Planning Department (TPD) and the Land Development and Utilization Commission (LDUC). The Agency results from the work of the Government of Jamaica Public Sector Modernization Programme (PSMP). The aim of the merger is to integrate environmental, planning and sustainable development policies and programmes and to improve customer service.
Our Mission
To promote sustainable development by ensuring protection of the environment and orderly development in Jamaica through highly motivated staff performing at the highest standard.
Our Vision
That Jamaica's natural resources are being used in a sustainable way and that there is broad understanding of environment, planning and development issues, with extensive participation amongst citizens and a high level of compliance to relevant legislation.
Our Core Values
Integrity: We earn our reputation by adhering to the highest ethical standards, conduct and moral principles and at all times act in ways to preserve our integrity.
Accountability: We hold ourselves accountable to the public, accept responsibility for the decisions and actions that we take and will submit ourselves to the scrutiny that attends our decisions and actions.
Justice & Fair-play: In valuing the diversity in human nature and circumstances, we apply the principles of justice and fair-play in all our dealings within and outside the Agency to ensure that equity always prevails.
Customer Service: We acknowledge our role as a provider of services and will always strive to satisfy and exceed our customers’ expectations.
Teamwork: We foster collaboration and teamwork among staff while maintaining individual accountability.
Health & Safety: We strive to create and maintain a safe and healthy work environment.
Empowerment: We aim to create a learning organization where all our employees are empowered to achieve excellence, and high levels of performance are recognized and rewarded.
Respect: We treat our team members, clients and partners with mutual respect and sensitivity, recognizing the importance of diversity.
Legislative Mandate
NEPA operates under the following Acts:
The Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act;
The Town and Country Planning Act;
The Land Development and Utilization Act;
The Beach Control Act;
The Watersheds Protection Act; and
The Wild Life Protection Act
Endangered Species (Protection, Conservation and Regulation of Trade) Act
Policies
The work of NEPA is guided by the following policies and plans:
Jamaica National Environmental Action Plan (JaNEAP) 1999-2002
National Physical Plan
Policy for Jamaica's System of Protected Areas - 1997
Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (Draft)
Watershed Management Policy (Draft)
Beach Policy for Jamaica (Draft)
Environmental Management Systems Policy and Strategy (Draft)
Didn't mean to imply anything sinister. As an engineer I was trained to think critically. And all engineers appreciate it when another engineer looks over their work. That is a combination of pride of work as well as having someone check the work. Generally when a report is released from a reputable engineering consultancy (such as was used by Sandals) you can expect it was peer reviewed and is believable. This report is very believable.
What can go wrong is any number of things. I can offer conjectures and so on but, really, this is an interesting approach to solving a very real problem faced by the Sandals property. I wish them the best of luck and am quite impressed. Much engineering respect to the authors. Would love to see the computer model in operation, but that's simply because I'm a geek for that sort of thing.
The only negative I can see so far is that it will disrupt my (and others residing at Point Village) regular walks while the construction is progressing.
:eek::cool:
Quote:
Originally Posted by rastagirl777
RG,Quote:
Originally Posted by RastaCrab
It looks like RastaCrab already answered your question. If you would like to reach out to NEPA, you can find all the contact
information you could possibly want by googling "NEPA Jamaica".
If you take the time to read the links that have been posted, especially from the United Nations Environment Program that has the entire Negril area as its pilot project focus and the full Sandals proposal, you would see all your questions from your second post answered as well.
For further information, please feel free to contact NEPA.
I, too, have signed the petition. But after downloading and reading the actual report commissioned by Sandals - I am not nearly as worried as I was when I heard the word JETTY. I pictured a huge rock pile extending out from the beach at the southern end of Sandals's property - one, ruining the unbroken view of beach/sea - and two, just blocking the flow of sand down the beach - and selfishly depriving their neighbors of their sand. But that is NOT what they are proposing.
Below is pic from the report that should help crystalize the discussion. It shows the locations recommended for Sandals to add the various structures to keep the replenished sand from eroding away. Almost everything is OFF-SHORE and UNDERWATER.
a)The main one is an underwater breakwater 175m long made of large boulders running parallel to the beach about 140m offshore. It is designed to be about 0.3m below mean sea level (MSL) in water about 2m deep. It should be underwater except at very lowest tides.
b)The other two are underwater artificial reefs at 58m and 178m length, made of something called BioRock. They are also roughly parallel to the beach about 170m and 250m offshore, respectively. They are in water about 2.5m deep and designed to be about 1-1.5m below MSL. They are less of a breakwater because they are not solid and farther under the surface of the water.
c)The final one is a 26m extension to the existing so-called northern groyne. It will be a typical jetty, but covered with timber so Sandals can use it for a dock for their water sports toys. It appears to be very minor.
d)They had also originally planned for 5 groynes (labelled A-E in the pic) along the beach that would be UNDER THE SAND, not the water. But their study found that the sand movement was the same with/without these. So in their final recommendation to Sandals, these sand groynes were removed from the plan.
Attachment 2080
Some further thoughts...As I said, I signed the petition and wish they weren't going to add man-made stuctures. But now my mind is way more at ease.
I had thought this was going to be a small, not very well thought through, proposal consisting of a short statement about Sandals plans and a few pictures and diagrams showing where a jetty would go. They typical Jamaican building project.
I also had thought they were talking about a typical boulder-rock jetty starting on the beach and extending out into the sea the approx 175m everyone has been mentioning. Beside destroying the natural ocean view, I thought this jetty would simply block the flow of sand south to other properties, selfishly.
Instead, this seems to be a very professional study done by experts making a recommendation to Sandals after looking at many options. Also, most of the proposed structures will be underwater and therefore out of sight.
Also, it seems to take into account many factors I thought they would ignore. For me, the main one being the affects on the rest of the beach properties - seems they will not be affecting them adversely. They also propose, just for one example, that the sea grass in places where the structures are to be built, be relocated to other areas in front of Sandals that are now barren of sea grass. So no net loss of any more sea grass.
I would bet this proposal will probably get approved. So my thoughts are that we should concentrate on demanding that the actions they propose that Sandals take to mitigate the affects of this project on the environment, and neighboring properties, are enforced. There is a whole section on this covering many things.
What they are proposing as mitigating steps won't be easy or cheap, and in Jamaica things like that can easily be skipped over at construction time. To me, it seems like that has a more likely chance of success.
Just my 2-cents.
The only link I have been able to find to the actual proposal has expired. It seems alot of people are signing the petition without reading or even looking over the proposal since it does not seem available anymore for some reason.
This one is the only one I have been able to find and once I get there there download link says the document has expired.
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...a41833b61ebe00
Does anyone know where I can find a valid. working link to a copy of the actual proposal?
Thanks for any help!
Dave
Dave, that link was sent to me last week I think through a personal friend - using a site like "yousendit" (i.e., a drop-mail site) it's only "up in the cloud" for a certain period of time. I'll ask my friend if he'll be willing to send it again.
A lot of people actually DID read the proposal when the link was posted here and other places originally, plus my friends in Negril had access to it as well, so many of those signatures probably did come from folks who read it. Can't speak to all of course. There were 250 signatures on the petition before I personally got the link to the proposal.
I had downloaded it to my PC.Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveC
I just put a copy up in my Google Docs and shared it out. First time doing that, so may have to tweak the permissions if doesn't work.
Try this link and let me know how it works.
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B0U...thkey=COPOrccI
Perhaps the people who signed this petition could find some more worth while causes that truly affect the world.
I am kind of surprised that no one has yet pointed out that according to the historical shoreline comparison photo in the Sandals proposal (Figure 1.1), the shoreline of the beach in 1968 (earliest year shown) for the property in question is nearly identical to what it was in 2006 (the last year shown).
The beach shoreline was larger in the 1980. Using the 1991 shoreline, there are places that this was larger than the 1980 shoreline, and places that this was smaller than both the 1968 and 2006 shorelines.
According to this very basic information, it seems that the beach in this area will recede and expand at various rates as time goes on. Since the Negril beach has been here for literally thousands of years, and our minimal data goes back an amazingly short forty years, perhaps the erosion being mentioned is nothing more than nature doing what it naturally does.
While the current state of the beach in some areas is blamed on the usual suspects, how can it be explained that the beach in this area was smaller prior to commercial development and the climate change (1968 shoreline) than it was in 1980?
Just food for thought.
I agree Rob. I did post an article from Yahoo Travel (that doesn't appear to be here anymore)that spoke about the use of a Jetty on another island in the Caribbean that ruined the beach by halting the natural migration of sand
Nick,
It is illegal to post copyrighted content that is not yours..