Sundoc

Copyright 2007 Marie Dixon Frisch

Runaway Bay PO

Box 6425

St. Ann, Jamaica

Tel. 876 406 7595

Email: mdsun001@yahoo.com

2582 Words

For The Ecologist Essay Competition 2007

Not "What Future?" but "Where?"

By Marie Frisch—and friends

Every expedition takes off from a point of origin. Experts claim the famous seer Nostradamus peered from his 16^th Century PC (Portent Cup) into the 21st to predict the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre, the US invasion of Iraq, and even create an acronym connecting the names of George Bush, Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Although clairvoyance runs in my family, I'm nowhere near as impressive as Nostradamus. For me, the more relevant question for a philosophical excursion into the future would be "where on earth are we heading?" not "what" specific future events might occur. Rather than dabble in speculation about our planet's destiny, I prefer to explore options using familiar examples, starting down the road at a place called Pear Tree Bottom, Jamaica, close to home.

Point of Origin

In the beginning were the Tainos. Before them were the fish. Actually, in the very beginning there was either a slushy organic soup, or the Word, but that story requires several volumes. The Tainos, formerly known as Arawaks, were the first known human inhabitants of the island of Jamaica. They probably immigrated to the Greater Antilles from the Orinoco basin in dug-out canoes. The Spaniards arrived in 1494, claiming discovery, conveniently disregarding the existence of the natives. Soon after the Spanish conquest, the Taino population disappeared, leaving the legacy of the island's name: "Xaymaca—Land of Wood and Water". 500 years later, a new breed of conquistador appeared wearing Armani suits and proffering contracts instead of cheap baubles. They began to re-invade Caribbean coasts.

What Story?

History, we are told, repeats itself. Hence some people attempt to use history as a predictor for the future. But a story takes different twists each time it turns a curve of the spiral, and it's often more a question of whose-story rather than a matter of fact. At Pear Tree Bottom the second coming of the Spanish was met with misgivings by the less trusting natives who awaited them onshore. While government interests pressed for the so-called development of a 1916-room resort in the area, many people had other ideas.

The Northern Jamaica Conservation Association (NJCA) had been lobbying for years to have the Pear Tree Bottom ecosystem at Runaway Bay, the last semi-intact wetlands on the island's north coast, declared a protected area. Thomas Goreau Jr., president of the Global Coral Reef Alliance, claims Pear Tree Bottom once had “the most spectacular vertical coral covered canyons, nearly a hundred feet deep with some of the largest and healthiest corals on the island…containing unique blue hole springs and remarkable wetlands, as well as Jamaica’s best reefs until the beaches attracted the cupidity of developers who destroyed almost everything.” But that's all history now; development efforts have dramatically changed the face of the earth and sea at Pear Tree Bottom. I wonder if any Taino medicine man ever dreamt the lush bay would one day be obliterated by a concrete castle like a fat, white pimple? Small wonder the Tainos disappeared in the shadow of that future path.

Future Paths

A participant at a Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) workshop on environmental law at the Runaway Bay HEART hotel in March 2005 had attended the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Conference in Barbados in 1992. He pointed out: “They told us it’s folly to build hotels directly on the coastline. Evidence shows it’s better to build [hotels] inland; otherwise, they ruin the resources that attract visitors and undermine their own economic base in the long run."

There was a climactic public meeting at the Runaway Bay United Church on April 28, 2005. Residents and environmental activists were bombarded with tactical information by what one activist calls the "devil-opers". There was little opportunity to voice questions and concerns. Representatives from national agencies ridiculed those concerns or dismissed them outright. Another meeting was promised to appease the disgruntled crowd. But instead of a second public meeting, a few selected individuals were invited to a low-profile gathering reminiscent of the kind of ‘divide and conquer’ technique applied by clever strategists over millennia.

Clearing of the site began prematurely, without permission from the local council, but with the blessing of then acting CEO of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA). ‘Selective clearing’ of rare species for replanting turned into a massive razing of the site and burning of huge trees at a crucial time for the fledglings of protected indigenous birds. The Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) gave no response to queries and complaints. Citizens began to suspect they were being bamboozled.

NJCA and JET had collaborated on a review of the project’s flawed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) with the help of the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide. They filed a judicial review action against the government agencies for the decision to grant the environmental permit to the Spanish developers.

In a country reputed to ‘go slow’, the resort development at Pear Tree Bottom proceeded at— literally—breakneck speed. Groundbreaking was celebrated on Friday, October 7, 2005, the official Tree Planting Day. By the time the judicial review hearings commenced in April 2006, the hotel's construction was far advanced. But it had a lot of problems (violent worker disputes, site accidents, deaths) and kept falling down. Nonetheless, by January 2007, the resort was welcoming five star guests to the halfway hotel. The marketing strategy, at least, appears flawless.

Outcomes

The Pear Tree Bottom case attracted the attention of community and environmental activists all over the region. There was talk of forming a regional network for the defence of Caribbean coasts against the ‘new invasion’ by Spanish hotel chains. Out came the stories of similar questionable developments happening in other island states.

Vigorous public debate characteristic of true democracy surrounded the case. When Jamaican Justice Bryan Sykes ruled to quash the environmental permit for the development at Pear Tree Bottom, reactions ranged from elation to dismay. The judge found the government agencies had failed in their statutory duty, and breached their own standards of consultation. Some lauded the decision as “a triumph for the rule of law and democratic governance.” Others expressed alarm and concern, fearing the judgement might jeopardise foreign investment and development.

The Spanish ambassador to Jamaica defended the development, describing the 1918-room resort as “an excellent model of environmental protection and sustainable development in Jamaica.” His statement was passionately refuted by an archaeologist and spokesman for a local tourism and environmental movement in the Dominican Republic. In an email message, this activist described the developers as “shameless individuals who go to the Caribbean to indulge in acts which, in Spain, would be quite unthinkable, causing the destruction of protected nature reserves of immense ecological value, merely to satisfy their own financial ends.”

Early on, my good friend had questioned the developers’ motives. She suspected they came to Jamaica because “they mashed up their own coastline and now nobody wants to go there any more.” An article from The Guardian on May 11, 2006, reporting Spanish authorities’ intentions to buy a half-built hotel complex and blow it up in an effort to protect Spain’s blighted coastline, seemed to support her suspicions.

Not surprisingly, the developers claimed hardship, having invested over 63 Million US dollars and completed 85% of the construction work by the time the environmental permit was quashed. They were granted leave to complete phase one of the development.

Whose Future?

All the outcomes dreaded by the community gradually became reality. It wasn't so much clairvoyance that allowed observers to predict what would happen, but previous experience and uncommon sense. Garbage disposal became a problem as illegal vendors sought to profit from the construction site, as they had months before at another hotel project, supplying all manner of goods and leaving unpleasant refuse behind. The local police force was stretched beyond capacity with its sole patrol car and 16 officers, as criminals followed the migration of workers to prey on vulnerable hotel staff travelling home late in the evenings. North Coast Highway Robbery became rampant between the coastal towns of Discovery Bay and Runaway Bay.

A marine scientist from Baylor University has been monitoring Pear Tree Bottom since 1974. She reported from a May 2006 dive on the bad condition of much of the deep reef where “…the corals are bleached and sediment covered at depths from 60 to 90 feet.” Humans aren’t the only inhabitants to suffer and perish at the site. A friend suggests the place might later be marketed as a haunted hotel.

One environmentalist wondered whether Runaway Bay would be left with the same kind of squatting problem as the resort areas in Negril, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay. We now know the answer to her question is, "Yes!" My friend's no fortune teller. She merely followed a line of reasoning and came to correct conclusions about the level of planning and consideration that goes into developing infrastructure in Jamaica. But is squatting really the problem? From a Taino perspective, don't all so-called modern Jamaicans already live on "captured land"?

A study by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) warned about “wasting natural, human, cultural and fiscal resources” because of “numerous failures of communication, participation, and enforcement” which have rendered the legal framework “largely ineffective in decision-making”. Yet, recognising foreseeable negative consequences of their actions is not enough to make some people stop, or even modify their behaviour.

The PIOJ study said Jamaica will be unprepared to provide workers required for the 14,515 jobs expected from the expansion of the tourism industry. This may result in importation of cheap labour and managerial staff from other countries. Workers from the Dominican Republic and Europe already occupy positions that apparently Jamaicans cannot fill at some Spanish hotels in St. Ann. In 2005, St. Ann was Jamaica’s poorest parish. Why create jobs in economically depressed areas with high unemployment if the residents of the area are unable to benefit from those positions? Exactly whose future are we planning for?

Future Options

DJ Ron Muschette from former pirate station Irie FM once commented that “them all collect fi dem pay off already and dem nuh bisnis wid nuhbody else;” a grim but realistic allusion to the corruption plaguing Jamaica. In a country where the person entrusted with upholding the law might be accepting “compensation” to undermine it, people have grown cynical, but not all have lost hope.

Some see a jingling future for tourism development and are investing heavily in massive shoreline construction and road improvement. They expect to reap big profits. Perhaps they know something I don't. I'm terrible at economics and ever cognizant of Chief Seattle's words. I'm don't fancy eating money, and know this before we've lost all our trees, meadows, fields and drinking water. But what options do I have?

At a recent community action meeting, my Taino spirit suggested replanting the shade trees destroyed by highway construction to improve the micro-climate and for the many benefits associated with trees. The argument of the majority in rejecting my proposal was that people will eat under the trees and leave trash. Fired by my green ideas, participants expounded theories about how "bush" causes criminality (thieves can hide there) and waste management problems (people dump their garbage illegally there). Thankfully, this action committee's saving grace is its inaction. It may be a while before they get around to clearing the bush. "Bush" is not my favourite term, but my soul appreciates the value of green space.

"Only in Jamaica" my best friend laughed when I told her the story. But, I don't think so. I'm choking already as I observe the direction human development is taking on our home planet. Sometimes, I have the irresistible urge to flee. I feel I belong to an endangered species.

Doomsday Profits

I'm not the only one feeling uncomfortable with humanity's current chosen path. People who bank on Revelations and foresee the End of Days argue convincingly. Their predictions for our future instil fear in feeble hearts and augment the flow of cheques towards time share plots in a place they call Heaven. But considering who claimed mansions there, I'm not sure I'd belong; I might upset the neighbours. And I'm not fond of gated communities. My nomadic spirit likes to come and go freely. The option "fit for the birds" is more my style.

My Choice

My German mechanic husband teasingly calls me an alien. I'd like to hop on that Traegheitsmassenbeschleunigungsrueckstosssystem (TMBRS for short) he hopes to invent and fly away into deep space. But if the engine fails, where will I be then?

Why head for outer space? Escapism isn't the answer. There are many uncharted regions close at hand. I can explore options without leaving the confines of my home.

Let's consider some options. Concrete is good for graves, but I'd prefer cremation, or to be fed to the John Crows on a mountain, if I may. My idea of "luxury" has little to do with air conditioning, fake beaches, or all inclusion that means to exclude. Give me a tiny flower defying asphalt any day. My ideal future may not be the same as yours, but nature thrives on diversity, so that's okay. However, the main reason more yellow snakes are appearing in car engines and back yards is because humans invaded their habitat first, and systematically continue to destroy it. Snakes aren't part of the all-inclusive concept. I may sign the petition to protect our Cockpit Country from mindless mining, but what influence can one small mortal like me have on the future of the world?

The future is not a static destination, but a range of probabilities. The future is choice. Chaos theory teaches us about patterns and the interconnection of everything. Have you heard the effect a butterfly has the moment it unfolds its wings?

"Everything that has a beginning has a beginning," my husband says. He dislikes endings. But death comes to us all. My question is how have I lived? I consider "end" as the equivalent of change. Matter and energy, I've learned, can neither be created nor destroyed (by us). They are merely transformed. Change is the only constant, it seems, going back and forth, one form to another, for infinity. But what future is there in infinity?

The poet Philip Larkin wrote: "I take you now and for always, for always is always now."

I won't "carve tomorrow from a tombstone" as songwriter Paul Brady describes it. Nor will I build on the shifting sands of speculation. My future is here and now. And as I work steadily, clearing away musty thoughts and rotten attitudes, I begin to perceive a shimmering glow. Suddenly, it looks like a very bright future: right here in my heart!

Beginning again at the end

What of concrete places like Pear Tree Bottom? My psychic mom and I both have premonitions of it being engulfed by a tsunami. And recently my good friend refused to attend an event there saying, "Mi nah go deh. Mi fraid o' eart quake." That's probably more wishful thinking than true precognition.

But there may be something to be learned from the past. In 1655, the Spaniards were chased out by the British; a new culture developed on Jamaica and grew to have international impact. What will Pear Tree Bottom look like in 160 years? At the present rate of global warming, our luxury hotels and other Spanish monuments might just become spectacular aquariums.

But hey, I love fish!

--END?—

Signed: A Butterfly ;-)