Having recently snuck past those forbidding gates regulating entry to what has been the Petroleum Company of Jamaica's extensive beach & property holdings at Font Hill, the beauty and calm after a trudge along the fringe road, threading through some hugging mangroves, tearing off clothes to swim ecstatically alone in those blissful sea waters, was a treat worth savoring...for now & hopefully for the future.

There hasn't been much overt news about the government's divestiture of the Font Hill property, favouring the Fiesta Group and plans for an inordinately large tourist hotel complex, patently in contradiction to professed Sustainable Tourism goals.

To remind those not familiar with the Font Hill Project, here is an excerpted summary:
In Jamaica, there is much controversy over a large piece of property on Font Hill, located near Black River in St. Elizabeth and comprising more than 3,000 acres of land, which is now being considered for massive development.
Although the area has a protected status, the government has found a way to sidestep ecological protection issues to divest the Font Hill property for the development of a major Spanish-owned hotel. Jamaicans interested in preserving the country’s natural resources have led a push for sustainable development. Quite a few articles have been written against this decision as well as a “Save Font Hill Jamaica” group that is now circulating on Facebook and gathering more and more members daily.
The question most often posed is, “Will ‘yet another gem in the Caribbean’ be destroyed in the name of tourism.”

...“Owned and operated by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), the property is poised to herald in unprecedented development on Jamaica’s South Coast, with such possibilities as the construction and establishment of an airport, hotels, public beaches and a golf course.”

Peter Marra, writing for the Island Resources Foundation, reports on serious concerns about the development of Font Hill:

“For those of you who don’t know Font Hill, it contains remarkable pristine habitats including Black Mangrove Forests, scrub and beaches. It should be a world Natural Heritage site! It also has a spectacular population of endemic Jamaica species, as well as Crocodiles, Whistling Ducks and large populations of various migratory birds.
It has also hosted a large and productive research program for US and Jamaican scientists for the last 25 years that has resulted in over 100 scientific publications on the non-breeding ecology of migratory birds as well as several papers on Jamaican habitats and other wildlife. The research on the winter ecology of migrant birds has no parallel anywhere in the world. We need your help in developing a strategy to try and combat the destruction of yet another gem in the Caribbean.”
--Green Antilles Blog

Perhaps if our community-environmentalist friend, Diana McCaulay, from the Jamaica Environmental Trust, is dropping in to this Forum, she may enlighten us on the latest developments & Planning stages/studies...in yet another controversial David vs Goliath battle.

Video Link:: Font Hill-Jamaica's Gift to the World & A JET Link To Voice Objections:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Houc0PgAQCQ

Blue Carbon: 2-Minute Science Refresher on Sea/Ocean Ecology--Advocacy for Mangroves:
www.bluecommunity.info/video/view/176226/?topic=75629

Blue Community Videos: Ocean Stresses & Marine Extinction
www.bluecommunity.info/articles/view/167685/?topic=75629

Thank you for this pot. I was recently wondering what was going on,and noticed it was closed when I passed by last week.

http://www.travelsinjamaica.com/2013/04/a-stop-at-font-hill-st-elizabeth.html