A new application to mine sand and other materials in Great Bay, St Elizabeth, has been denied by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), which ruled that the project would cause irreversible damage to the area’s fragile dune system.

In its July 15 decision, the agency said the site sits on a paleo-dune, a rare geological formation shaped under ancient climatic conditions. Once destroyed, it warned, the system could never be restored — and quarrying would likely trigger wider degradation along the coast. The dune is said to be around 5,000 years old.

“The dune system in this locality, if damaged or destroyed, cannot be recreated under present-day geological or climatic conditions. The proposed activity, if permitted, will result in an irrevocable loss of that portion of the dune and, with time, may potentially lead to degradation of other sections of the wider system,” NEPA said.

Great Bay’s conservation status added weight to the refusal.

This is not the first time Great Bay has come under scrutiny. In 2022, then minister with responsibility for water, environment, climate change and the blue and green economy, Matthew Samuda, led a multi-agency inspection at Great Bay following community reports of illegal sand removal. The team, which included NEPA and the Mines and Geology Division, confirmed extensive dune damage. Samuda warned that the extraction had proceeded “without permit” and declared that “NEPA will be taking enforcement action for this illegal activity”.

Local tourism operators and conservation groups have also argued that unchecked sand mining threatens not only ecosystems but the sustainable value of Treasure Beach as a destination. Marketed globally as one of the island’s more untouched retreats, the area’s appeal could quickly erode if its coastline continues to degrade.

The area is currently zoned for protection under the St Elizabeth Parish Development Order, and in 2023 Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness identified it for “enhanced protection” as part of Jamaica’s draft Protected Areas Policy — a framework that permits only low-impact projects such as ecotourism, tightly regulated to safeguard biodiversity.

In its July decision, NEPA also stressed that the dune acts as a natural shield for nearby ponds and supports migratory birds and Jamaica’s national tree, the lignum vitae. Quarrying, it said, would strip away those defences and upset the ecological balance that sustains both wildlife and the community.

“The biodiversity of the area may be negatively impacted by the quarrying activities as the dune system, as well as adjacent ponds, supports a number of flora and faunal species such as migratory waterfowl and lignum vitae,” the agency noted.

— Karena Bennett