The PNP manifesto declares that the preservation and protection of the natural and built environment are at the centre of the PNP's sustainable development strategies and that environmental issues are "of the highest priority". This is utterly untrue. Over the past 18 years, despite the passing of new legislation and the signing of international conventions referred to in the manifesto, environmental degradation has continued unchecked in Jamaica. Indeed, 14 years after signing the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol and with SPAW housed at UNEP in Jamaica, Jamaica has not ratified the protocol and is still only an observer at SPAW meetings.

Many of the 15 policies and plans developed by the PNP remain in draft - the current government's approach to the environment has amounted to little more than a list of good intentions. In fact, the hallmarks of the PNP administration are failure to enforce environmental laws or to implement environmental policies.

Parks, protected areas
The manifesto speaks to the expansion of programmes for the protection of endangered species and their habitats. Although some protected areas were declared during the last 18 years, few, if any, are adequately managed. The manifesto does not mention forest conservation or deal with the conflicts between development imperatives and natural resource conservation.

Solid waste
The environmental non-government community has lobbied unsuccessfully over the past ten years for the government to implement deposit-refund schemes, financial incentives for waste management and recycling programmes. To see these plans in the PNP manifesto is nothing short of astonishing.

Regulatory agency
The manifesto says the PNP intends to "continue to build capacity in NEPA". The environmental regulatory agencies under the PNP have proved entirely ineffective - how will this be remedied? The administrative structures currently in place for protection of the environment are dysfunctional - will they be retained? If not, what will replace them?

Climate change
The PNP intends to encourage the construction of some 15,000 additional hotel rooms in the areas most vulnerable to climate change. Recommendations by environmental groups to impose sensible setback limits for coastal construction have been ignored. Will this change in the future? How will the current vulnerabilities be addressed?

Tourism, beaches
The current emphasis on large-scale, high-impact, all-inclusive hotels is the antithesis of sustainable development. The manifesto's promise to "continue to" upgrade public beaches and "ensure access for our citizens" belies the fact that this type of coastal development is denying Jamaicans access to their own coastline, increasingly hidden behind fortress-like walls. Enforcement of environmental permits for hotels has been weak, public consultation spotty, and advance planning, including the provision of adequate infrastructure for Jamaicans, has been poor.

Squatting
Despite many promises, squatting continues to be a major problem for Jamaica. The PNP's main strategy to address squatting is to "continue to deal with issues of affordability and availability of land". The manifesto does not address the necessity for removing squatters (and preventing new incursions) in critical watershed areas.

Development approvals
As with the JLP manifesto, the PNP promises a "fast-track and participatory" approach to development. The issue of likely harm to natural resources as a result of "fast-tracking" is not dealt with at all.

Plans, development orders
The PNP manifesto states that various sustainable development plans and development orders are being prepared. However, the problem in the past has been that, where plans exist, they have generally been disregarded.

Bauxite mining
The manifesto states that "every effort" is to be made to optimise mining of bauxite, while protecting the environment and the interests of communities in proximity to mining. The health, environmental and socio-economic impacts of mining on rural communities have been totally neglected for the past 18 years and current laws regarding land reclamation and pollution prevention ignored.

Sewerage
The manifesto contains promises to build adequate sewage plants. Over the past 18 years, some 60 per cent of the plants operated by the National Water Commission have not met environmental standards and the sewage pollution in Kingston Harbour remains unaddressed.

JEAN finds that the current government has a serious credibility problem when it comes to the protection of Jamaica's natural environment. There is no honest attempt at analysis of the PNP administration's environmental record over the past 18 years, and therefore the promises contained in the manifesto are unconvincing.

The above was submitted by Danielle Andrade, Wendy Lee and Diana McCaulay on
behalf of the 38 members of JEAN, the Jamaica Environmental Advocacy Network.

Halle Berry and her picture-perfect family co-ordinate in grey

Cheating PS

'What was I thinking?' Chris Brown speaks out