{"id":2519,"date":"2019-07-08T19:41:03","date_gmt":"2019-07-08T19:41:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/westernmirror.com\/?p=2519"},"modified":"2019-07-08T20:18:14","modified_gmt":"2019-07-08T20:18:14","slug":"groynes-cheque-bounces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/?p=2519","title":{"rendered":"Groynes cheque bounces"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Clinton Pickering<\/strong> – Freelance Writer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The expectation that\nUS$600,000 (approx. J$78M) had been secured from Germany\u2019s KfW Development Bank\nin part funding to protect sections of Montego Bay\u2019s coastline, has \u201cbounced\u201d\nand washed away with the tide of time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s according to Andre Hylton, People\u2019s National Party\nCaretaker for Central St. James, in an interview with the Western Mirror<\/strong>.\nSpecifically, the money would have effected repairs to the groynes protecting\nthe Closed Harbour (Dump Up), AquaSol and Gun Point Beaches over a 16-month\nperiod ahead of the $700 million Closed Harbour Beach Park development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the dangers of climate change more imminent and the\npromise of the beach park within 24 months, government has had to turn to its\nown resources to fund the repairing of the groynes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plans for the Closed Harbour Development were launched on\nFriday, May 12, 2017, at the Sunscape Resort, with the outlining of plans to\ncarry out crucial repairs to Montego Bay\u2019s waterfront infrastructure. It was\nstated then that, \u201cAs climate change makes its mark along the island\u2019s\ncoastline, the UDC has secured USD$600,000 in part funding from the KfW\nDevelopment Bank through the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC),\nto carry out rehabilitative works to protect infrastructure along sections of\nthe Montego Bay Waterfront in St. James.\u201d \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The groynes, built perpendicular to the shoreline to reduce\nlongshore drift and trap sediments, were constructed in the 1970\u2019s during the\nUDC\u2019s development works within the city and have deteriorated significantly,\nresulting in the loss of an estimated 7.7 acres of beach over the past 25\nyears. In addition to their rehabilitation, the project included exploring\necosystem-based adaptation interventions to complement the repair works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WORD LEAKED<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Word leaked out last week at the Private Sector Organization\nof Jamaica\u2019s (PSOJ) Montego Bay Invasion forum at Jewel Grande under the theme:\n\u2018Confront Climate & Disaster Risk: Prepare or Perish\u2019, with a panel\ndiscussion on matters regarding disaster risk and climate change preparedness,\nparticularly for Western Jamaica, and what mitigation and resilience\nplans\/policies are being implemented by the public and private sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a question-and-answer session, UDC\u2019S Manager for\nNatural Resources Management and Environmental Planning, Dr Sean Townsend,\ncommented on a question regarding what was being done about coastal protection\nto prevent sea level rise and the impact on the infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we do projects and proposals, everybody gravitates to\nwork with us when it is just infrastructural work because you can put a plaque\nup, you can identify and say this is what we have done, we have contributed to\nit. When we need to do a programme that is going to result in planting of sea\ngrass or enhancing coral reefs, it\u2019s not that attractive, everybody agrees that\nit is important but the funding is not coming with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u201cWe speak a lot about public-private partnership\nbut the funding doesn\u2019t come along with the conversation. For instance, you\ntalk about the vulnerability of Montego Bay. The project for Closed Harbour Bay\nis going ahead; it\u2019s started and there\u2019s physical signs of it. Before that was\nto happen, the groynes were supposed to be rehabilitated, which would have\nresulted in significant infrastructural protection but yet still, that has been\npushed back because the funding has not come forth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NO NEED TO FEAR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When contacted, Chairman of the UDC\u2019s Montego Bay Advisory\nCommittee, Winston Dear, disclosed that the US$600,000 funding fell through\nbecause it was being made available under a special environmental protection\nprogramme and the time had lapsed. But while sharing concern that development\nof the Closed Harbour Beach Park would be under threat without the\nrehabilitation of the groynes, he said there was no need to worry as the\ngovernment had committed to providing the funds to get it done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total cost of rehabilitating the groynes is an estimated\nUS$3 million, but while the Tourism Enhancement Fund is financing the Closed\nHarbour Beach Park, it is not being called upon for additional support to\nrepair the groynes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, as Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of\nEconomic Growth and Job Creation, Dr Horace Chang, noted, the entire Montego\nBay waterfront, from the Freeport to the beach zone where the rehabilitation\nwill take place, had been earmarked for \u201cenvironmentally friendly development\nthat can become a major attraction for the entire region.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UDC General Manager, Dr. Damian Graham, stated at the\nproject launch that it was critical to the protection of the Montego Bay\nshoreline, \u201cNot just to address erosion, but also to minimize the impact from\ncoastal flooding that can and will happen as we have more erratic behaviours in\nMother Nature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He underscored that, \u201cThe repair of the groynes is paramount\nto the sustainability of a world-class multi-zoned public space which we hope\nto establish shortly\u201d, and that the undertaking was aligned with the vision of\nMontego Bay becoming a leading city in the Western Hemisphere by minimizing\nphysical and social blight, improving economic and social conditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clinton Pickering – Freelance Writer The expectation that US$600,000 (approx. J$78M) had been secured from Germany\u2019s KfW Development Bank in part funding to protect sections of Montego Bay\u2019s coastline, has \u201cbounced\u201d and washed away with the tide of time. That\u2019s according to Andre Hylton, People\u2019s National Party Caretaker for Central St. James, in an interview […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1374,1373,979,1372,586,398],"class_list":["post-2519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-caribbean-community-climate-change-centre","tag-cheque","tag-closed-harbour-beach","tag-groynes","tag-peoples-national-party","tag-udc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2519"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2524,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519\/revisions\/2524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westernmirror.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}