The Jamaica Environmental Trust (JET) has released a Public Service Announcement to advance its Save Goat Islands Campaign through which it, and other concerned environmental groups/individuals, are calling upon the Government of Jamaica to (at a minimum):

• Respect and adhere to the national plans and national and international laws for the area
• Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the options for other locations
• Make public the plans for the proposed port
• Conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment of the proposed port to assess all likely impacts
• Involve all stakeholders in the decision-making process

In August 2013, the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) revealed that China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), had selected the Goat Islands as their preferred site for a proposed transshipment port, part of a larger plan for a 'logistics hub' in Jamaica.
These two small islands lie about 1.5 km off the south coast of Jamaica within the waters of a large, open and shallow bay called Portland Bight. This bay and the lands surrounding it form part of the Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA), created in 1999 under the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) Act.
PBPA is Jamaica's most protected area of land and sea (1,876 sq. km). Hundreds of species of plants have been found in PBPA and several species of animals have been found that exist nowhere else in the world.

The area is protected under four laws, has two forest reserves, six game sanctuaries, and three fish sanctuaries.

JET PSA: "Don't Sell Out Jamaica...Save Goat Islands"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DEN2G_pLUE&feature=youtu.be

VIDEO: Jamaica's Logistic Hub--The GOJ's Non-Environmentally Slanted Projected SCOPE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAMRJMRWR8A

VIDEO: Goat Island-"All Angles"...Joining The Situation
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HY8Uonzh08

In the forums of decision-making, the impacts of climate change seem to be just a "whisper" when pitted against the FORCES of Development. Why: because of the complexities, counte-intuitives, & "unknowns" of overall global warming on the planet, while freezing polar expresses are dipping into the southern US?

Should we not put some trust in our local experts/scientists, who are putting out the early warnings of what Climate Change vagaries portend for our home-island:

Regarding the prospect of the Logistic Hub in the vicinity of the Goat Islands, as imagined:
Not only would the project destroy livelihoods in the PBPA, it would increase vulnerability to natural disasters.

Portland Bight is already the most disaster-prone area of Jamaica. Floods, storm surge and hurricane damage have caused massive and widespread damage to property, infrastructure (including ports) and livelihoods. In 2007, during Hurricane Dean, the people of Old Harbour Bay had to moor their boats to the upper parts of their houses. The problems come from a combination of storm surge from the sea and flooding from the land on a scale that could not be reverse-engineered.

C-CAM recently commissioned a risk assessment of the impacts of climate change in the PBPA was recently commissioned by from the Climate Studies Group at the University of the West Indies. They predicted that climate change would increase the vulnerability of the area to natural disasters. "Many of our neighboring countries, including Cuba, have recognized the implications of climate change and are moving settlements and infrastructure away from their coasts and restoring mangroves," said Dr. Ann Sutton (Treasure Beach resident), "But Jamaica is moving to destroy the best remaining mangrove areas."

LINK: Jamaica Caves Organization
www.jamaicancaves.org/portland-bight-press-release.htm

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, the World Bank Group president officially expressed the debilitating effects climate can have on developing countries, which have none of the financial reserves of the richer countries to withstand the onslaught of Nature's crippling forces.

It's also significant that when the CEO's of such major corporations, as Coca Cola & Exxon/Mobile, which have been "conservative" in their political support of "climate-change denier" beliefs, anticipate disruptions from climate-events to their profit streams, they are becoming very very concerned & changing some minds of those benefitting from their success!

World Bank Link:
www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/01/23/davos-world-bank-president-carbon-p ricing

JET Press Release
GOJ not dealing with public in good faith re Goat Islands port...what JET "considers an unacceptable response from the GOJ to our Access to Information (ATI) requests for the proposed transshipment port at Goat Islands."


The Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) made Access to Information (ATI) requests in October 2013 to the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) for the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd. (CHEC); as well as any technical proposals describing the work to be undertaken in the Portland Bight Protected Area.
We made no request concerning the broader matter of the logistics hub. JET’s request for these documents were denied, an internal review was requested, and the denial was upheld.
JET therefore filed an appeal to the Access to Information Appeals Tribunal to challenge the PAJ’s refusal to provide information. We were awaiting a hearing date.

On February 4th, 2014, JET received the attached letter and Exemption Certificate, the latter signed by the Minister of Finance. The Port Authority claims that these documents are exempt under the ATI Act for the reason that “premature disclosure would or could reasonably be expected to have a substantial effect on the Jamaican economy.” The reason given continues: “The logistics hub initiative is a central plank in Jamaica’s growth strategy. The GOJ’s growth strategy influences the monetary policy.”

JET rejects this argument in its entirety. Our ATI request concerned the MOA with CHEC for the purposes of building a port in the Portland Bight Protected Area, in the vicinity of the Goat Islands, not the entire logistics hub. We do not see and neither was it explained in the Certificate how release of the documents requested could have a “substantial effect” on the Jamaican economy, nor how it could affect monetary policy.

There is an overwhelming public interest in the details of this project and if the Government of Jamaica is serious about its commitments to openness and transparency, aspects of these documents could and should be released. The Access to Information (ATI) Act also allows the Government to release such documents with sensitive information redacted, but the PAJ has not done this.

JET believes that to issue the Exemption Certificate while the matter is before the ATI Appeals Tribunal has denied the organization of its right for its appeal to be heard.

JET is considering other legal avenues at this point and calls again for an end to the secrecy surrounding the proposed port in Jamaica’s most protected area of land and sea.

CONTACTS:
Diana McCaulay
Chief Executive Officer, JET
469-1315

Danielle Andrade
Legal Director, JET
392-7341


In an extended PSA from the Save Goat Islands Campaign: Learn more about Goat Islands and the Portland Bight Protected Area, and hear from fishermen and friends of Old Harbour Bay in this recently release production. Check it out on YouTube here:
http://youtu.be/KvFs1wqZrAM

For ways you can help with the campaign visit:
http://savegoatislands.org/how-you-can-help