The Goat Islands Debate: ‘There is none so blind as those who will not see’

As I have noted recently, government representatives – one in particular who seems to be the chief propaganda man for the proposed transshipment port on Goat Islands – have led tame private sector representatives and media on 2 occasions to the area to try to prove there is “nothing there.” I am sharing this blog which includes a letter from the organization that, for years, has worked on the ground with local communities to create sustainable living in harmony with the environment, and the preservation of what STILL is a Protected Area (so designated by the Jamaican Government).

Green Seeds

I take the opportunity to use this space to share a letter shared with Jamaican newspapers from the Caribbean Coastal Area Management (C-CAM) Foundation’s Ingrid Parchment on the Goat Islands and their value — beyond what may be immediately evident, or not so evident, to the naked eye.

It comes even as debate rages over whether the development of a transshipment port should be allowed at the islands which are located inside a protected area — the Portland Bight Protected Area, also a key biodiversity area as identified in the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund’s (CEPF’s) Ecosystem Profile: Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot.

It has been fascinating to me, the experience of how relentless and vocal civil society actors — influenced by key stakeholders, such as the Jamaica Environment Trust and C-CAM, as well as enablers such as my very own NGO Panos Caribbean through its communication project supported by the CEPF…

View original post 677 more words