Beach policy to be revamped

Locals should not be barred from enjoying the island's shores

'While there have been incidents of tourist harassment and drug pushing, the problem might be better solved by regulatory measures better monitoring and educational campaigns than by denying Jamaican people access.'

Claudia Gardner, Hospitality Jamaica Writer

In all islands of the Caribbean, there are open foreshore policies, with free access to all beaches, where residents and visitors meet a nd interact in harmony. But there remains one exception - Jamaica.

According to the last draft beach policy document prepared by the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA), with increased tourist and residential development along the coastal strip demanding exclusive use, fewer good beaches are being left available for public use and the erection of fences on some hotel properties has reinforced the impression of exclusion of Jamaicans from certain coastlines.

But government officials in other Caribbean islands say access to the beaches is a right of all citizens and visitors alike.

no private beaches

"There are no private beaches in St Vincent and the Grenadines," said Glen Beache, minister of tourism for St Vincent and the Grenadines, to Hospitality Jamaica last Tuesday.

"You must provide access to every beach within St Vincent and the Grenadines. You cannot chase anybody off a beach at all. If we were ever to put something like that (restriction) in place, I can assure you that there would be an uprising within St Vincent and the Grenadines. It is ridiculous. It's ludicrous and I would never support anything like that. No way!" he stressed.

Osmond Harewood, senior field officer in Barbados' Rural Development Commission, told Hospitality Jamaica that there is not a single beach that is off-limits in that country.

"Our laws speak to the whole question of access and public access, so all our beaches are free and accessible to our locals," Harewood said. "We don't have any private beaches in Barbados. Based on the town and country planning rules and regulations, residents must be able to walk around the property without any sort of barriers.

take local people into consideration

"The general population just would not accept it (restrictions). By law, whether you are an investor or not, you cannot block anyone from accessing the beach. I believe that developers should take the local people into consideration when they develop the beaches or the property on the beaches. You recognise there is a security concern with all property and hotel owners, but you can do all those things without denying locals access to their own beach because at the end of the day, the locals are the ones who live here and they should benefit from whatever resources the country has," he added.

Terestella Gonzalez Denton, minister of tourism for Puerto Rico, told Hospitality Jamaica that the situation is the same in her country.

As for the island of Tobago, Orville London, chief secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly, said that the founding fathers of the island had mandated that there be "no tourist enclaves throughout the country".

"The policy is that there should be access. It is an open policy," he said.

In the case of Dominica, that country's Director of Tourism Steve Bornn stated that no one could be barred from any of the country's beaches, or natural water bodies such as rivers and waterfalls.

Jamaican beach policy document

The Jamaican beach policy document, which is still at the 'green paper' stage, also stated that, "while there have been incidents of tourist harassment and drug pushing, the problem might be better solved by regulatory measures better monitoring and educational campaigns than by denying Jamaican people access".

Prepared in September 1997, the document's aim was to remove any vestige of real or implied discrimination against Jamaicans in the use and enjoyment of their national heritage; expand beach-related recreational opportunities for both local residents and all segments of the tourism market and protect the traditional rights of the fishermen to access the foreshore and the sea.