Engineering firm selected for Negril beach study

'There are major misconceptions and assumptions about the nature of the beach system in Negril which may have serious implications for poor location of resources to manage the system.'

Claudia Gardner, Hospitality Jamaica Writer:

A section of the Long Bay Beach in Negril which has been eroded.

The Negril Beach Rejuvenation Committee has selected the coastal engineering firm, Smith Warner and Company, to conduct the proposed scientific study of the seven-mile Negril Beach, which has been experiencing dramatic rates of erosion.

The $6 million study is being funded by the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ), and is set to be undertaken over a 12-month period.

According to chairman of the committee and owner of the Charela Inn Beach Resort Daniel Grizzle, the Kingston-based Smith Warner and Company, was selected out of three groups of applicants, in a committee meeting held last Thursday.

a fairly good reputation

"They have done similar work, not only in Jamaica, but also in the Caribbean, and they have a fairly good reputation," Mr. Grizzle, who is also chairman of the Negril Resort Board, told Hospitality Jamaica.

Environmentalists in the resort town have attributed the erosion of the beach to a combination of man-made and natural factors such as storm surges and the removal of sea-grass beds, which create 37 percent of Negril's sand.

A one-year study of the problem by the Department of Geology and Geography, of the University of the West Indies, (UWI) in collaboration with the Coastal Zone Unit of the National Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) conducted between 1999 and 2000, also concluded that the northern section of the Long Bay Beach has been experiencing shoreline erosion.

The UWI report said that: "There are major misconceptions and assumptions about the nature of the beach system in Negril which may have serious implications for poor location of resources to manage the system".

The study, which was funded by the Coastal Water Improvement Project (CWIP), revealed that at times some areas of the beach fluctuate between 35 and 40 metres. It recommended that feasibility studies be undertaken to develop other alternatives to protecting the shoreline including the cultivation of seagrass meadows, (which help to manufacture sand) and the removal of plant life, which were reported to be smothering Negril's deep reefs.

This new study is expected to recommend the nature of the resuscitation work to be done on the beach, after which the committee is expected to obtain a costing for the remedial work needed there. Mr. Grizzle said the committee is anticipating obtaining funding from the Government of Jamaica as well as international funding agencies, such as the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP).

The Beach Rejuvenation Committee consists of community members and interest groups including the Negril Chamber of Commerce (NCoC), Negril Area Environment Protection Trust (NEPT), Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) and the Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society (NCRPS).