Sandals to build a JETTY on the 7 mile beach?

[Nick]

That "Land Mass" that separates 7 mile from Bloody Bay is a filled in mangrove swamp. That Mangrove was important to the ecology of the beach and it provided shelter for many small animals that later would move out to the reef as they matured. The mangrove also acted like a jetty. The large exposed tree roots in the swamp would slow the migration of sand but would not block it entirely, effectively slowing the movement of sand. Clearing and filling the Mangrove may have started the problem of beach loss, if in fact there is any sustained loss and not simply the natural undulation of the beach. Maybe an effort toward restoration can help.

PS Rastacrab....Loved the cartoons

[SweetSue]

I think the point is simply that it is not an "unbiased" report.

[SweetSue]

I still see people calling this a JETTY project and objecting how the unspoiled beach view will be ruined.
Was my first thought too, based on the title of the Thread, and posts on this board and others.
But that was before I read the proposal from the Sandals' consultants.

In a nutshell, here is the situation.
Because of where they are located on the beach, just south of a huge, natural sand-flow blocker (the Point Village land mass that separates Bloody Bay and Long Bay compounded by Booby Cay Island) it is as if they are on the downward side of massive natural jetty and the sand-flow to their beach is not as good as other areas of the beach.
Because of this, sand they have replenished their beach with in the past simply eroded away way too quickly.
They don't think they can run a multi-million dollar beachfront mega-resort without a decent beach and they can't wait possibly years for mother nature to swing their way and deposit it naturally.
So they either have to move to a better beach location - or find a longer term fix to the situation than just continually transplanting sand.

In a nutshell, here is their solution.
The plan is to put in off-shore underwater wave-breaks to keep the sand they are going to transplant from an off-shore site from being eroded away so quickly.

This is way better than the simplest solution - a huge jetty at the south end of their property that would essentially "steal" the sand flow from their downstream neighbors and ruin the view to boot.

To me, this seems like a minimally intrusive way for them to do it. I think we're lucky they have the money to spend to do it in a responsible way. A smaller resort without their resources would have probably gone with the cheap fix of a huge jetty we all THOUGHT they were planning.

When I started this thread, you will note that the title ends with a QUESTION mark (?) and I put the petition out there along with the request for "ANY THOUGHTS?" Well, plenty of those were presented, some of which did give me food for thought. It is unfortunate that some people felt the need to denigrate others and I don't think anyone should be put down for signing the petition as a "knee jerk reaction." I read the proposal and as I am not an engineer, I am not ashamed to state that I do not fully understand all of the ramifications of the proposed actions. However, I do understand enough to be concerned. LARGER CORPORATIONS can afford to have things written up in a way that sounds friendly but might not really be. Also, chances are the biggest beneficiary of the proposed action will be Sandals Resort - obviously that is the plan, it's their money. BUT is what is good for the resort necessarily going to be as good for all of its neighbors? I don't see any harm in asking questions and encouraging oversight.

I have been coming to Negril for a few years now. I often travel alone. That gives me a lot of opportunity to observe and to meet people in a way I would not have if I was part of a group or a couple. I have befriend people who work and live there full time, i.e. native Jamaicans - that too serves to give me different perspectives. One thing that always bothered me from day one was when I would take a tour and as other participants were picked up from the various all inclusive resorts, they would be shocked to see me alone and would tell me that the resort management had cautioned them against leaving the resort property unless on an approved tour or properly escorted. I have met many couples who were afraid to leave the properties to explore the local culture and cuisine because of what they were told at the all inclusive resorts. In addition to the other feelings this gives me, it causes me to suspect that there is an attitude that is not conducive to really caring about their host country or anything outside of their own corporate interests. Hence my tendency to go along with the petition and to encourage further discussion so that more people are aware. Of course I am glad to read all view points and hope that the discussion will continue in the places it needs to.

Peace & Blessings to All.

[Rob]

...I don't see any harm in asking questions and encouraging oversight.

...One thing that always bothered me from day one was when I would take a tour and as other participants were picked up from the various all inclusive resorts, they would be shocked to see me alone and would tell me that the resort management had cautioned them against leaving the resort property unless on an approved tour or properly escorted. I have met many couples who were afraid to leave the properties to explore the local culture and cuisine because of what they were told at the all inclusive resorts. In addition to the other feelings this gives me, it causes me to suspect that there is an attitude that is not conducive to really caring about their host country or anything outside of their own corporate interests. Hence my tendency to go along with the petition and to encourage further discussion so that more people are aware...

The wording of the petition:
"Sandals Negril has applied to build a major jetty on their beach. This will negatively effect the entire Negril Beach and disrupt the eco-relationship between the beach/morass & reef. Please sign if you would like to prevent this."

Sue,

I think some people's opinion to this is situation is that an unfair, overly simplistic "knee jerk" reaction was what created the original petition in the first place. The petition did not call for discussion or oversight, but presented only a straightforward "prevent the jetty" position.

After many read the actual proposal, which IS being overseen by Jamaican environmental groups including NEPA, some people realized that there was no "major jetty" being proposed by the Jamaican owned Sandals Resorts.

While large corporations can have "things written up in a way that sounds friendly", it is equally true that a petition author can write things up in a way that it very sympathetic to their cause without necessarily giving a truthful positioning of the facts. The facts in this case include that there is no major jetty being planned by anyone and there are Jamaican environmental groups overseeing the proposed plans from Sandals. That was not stated in the petition wording which you can read above.

Contrary to what many believe, Sandals is indeed a Jamaican owned company so in this case their "host country" is their home country. If you do a bit of research you will find that Sandals does much for the communities where they have their resorts. If you lived here in Jamaica you would see and hear about all their programs to help out the local communities, the environment and the education for the youth.

One of the reasons I created Negril.com back in 1995 was to help visitors realize that there are many places outside their resort to enjoy. Jamaica is an amazing island to explore while on vacation! But even from that perspective, it is only legal common sense that makes a resort like Sandals have their resort management caution guests against leaving the resort property unless on an approved tour or properly escorted tour. They are in a high liability area at that point and can be sued should an incident occur. This is just an unfortunate truth. It only makes sense they want to minimize this risk. There is no grand conspiracy here, just simple legal logic based on the real world in which we live. Anyone who operates a successful business knows that legal issues must be taken into account and can dictate policy at times.

To further the efforts I began in 1995, I do invite all those who are staying at any of the Jamaican or foreign owned All Inclusives to feel free to leave the resort and experience Negril. The webcasts events that RealNegril.com has are a great starting point for seeing some of the sights and sounds of Negril. Hope to have everyone stop by and say hi at any of the live webcasts.

[lanetop]

i think rob did a good job on wrapping this thread up...bravo rob

[NegrilIrene]

What happened to the law that stated they can't build anything higher than the tallest palm tree?

[Rob]

Nothing as far as I know.. Last I heard that is still the Westmoreland Parish Council guideline for buildings... And nothing has been built over the height of the royal palm trees...

[Patty Sather]

Good job Rob! You make our vacation better with things that are on here.. Knowledge is power..