At the same time, a skirmish has been brewing between the government and the conservation lobby over the proposed port to be developed by state-run China Harbour Engineering Co on the uninhabited Goat Islands in a swath of Portland Bight, the island’s biggest protected area. Environmentalists argue the port would have a devastating impact on a coastal zone that was shielded in 1999 to safeguard reefs, mangroves and fish nurseries.
Diana McCaulay of the watchdog group Jamaica Environment Trust has called for more public consultation about the Chinafinanced port but requests for more information have been denied. Without knowing specifics of the deal, she said it’s impossible to assess the benefits.
“I don’t understand those who are uncritically accepting that there will be sufficient benefits to destroy one of our protected areas,’’ she said, adding that her environmental group ‘’is not opposed to a logistics hub in Jamaica but is fighting against a big transshipment port in the Portland Bight area.’’