Will Jamaica Self-Destruct?

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Will Jamaica Self-Destruct?

Jamaica is an island paradise, located in the northern Caribbean, approximately 145 km south of Cuba and 160 km west of Haiti, with a population of about 2,553,600 million people in 1997 and a land area of 11,000 km/sq. The country has had a low and steady population growth rate of 1.0 percent in 1997. Tourism is Jamaica’s most important industry besides the mining of bauxite (accounts for more than half of exports). It is the country’s largest foreign exchange earner, (generating approximately US$965 million annually) and is still one of its fastest growing industries. These profitable service industries depend on the island and its natural beauty–pure air, abundant sunshine, and clean sandy beaches. This industry is evidence to the close relationship between economic well being and the quality of the natural environment.

"You ain’t gonna miss your water, until your well runs dry.

No matter how you treat him, The man will never be satisfied." (Bob Marley, 1980)

Tourism is both Jamaica’s largest foreign exchange earner and one of its fastest growing industries. A recent environmental study commissioned by the Organization of American States (OAS) surveyed the natural resource base (which supports tourism) and concluded that this base is "heavily stressed" in and around the three main tourist centers (Negril, Montego Bay, and Ocho Rios). The problem is that these areas now support large populations of tourists with high-income lifestyles and these impacts harm both the environment and the people of Jamaica. It could also spoil Jamaica and lead to its own destruction of the land and its deeply engrained culture and roots.

Jamaica’s natural resources–tropical temperatures, unspoiled beaches, clear C...

... middle of paper ...

...conomy, R 062059Z, July 1994.

Government of Jamaica, Organization of American States, Economic Analysis of Tourism in Jamaica, September 1994. Also, visit the web sight http://www.oas.org

Health Analysis, Country Health Data of Jamaica, last revised10/19/99, http://www.paho.org/english/sha/prifljam.html.

Myers, Fletcher & Morgan, A lawyers Guide to Jamaica, no date, http://hg.org/guide-jamaica.html , 4/2/00.

Seagrasses Policy and Regulation natural Resources Conservation Authority Coastal Zone Management Division, April, 1996, http://www.nrca.org, 4/6/00.

Water Resources Authority, March 10, 2000, http://www.wra-ja.org/index.htm , 4/2/00.

U.S. Department of State, Background Notes: Jamaica, March 1998. Released by the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs. No author, U.S. Department of State, March 1998, http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/jamaica_0398_bgn.html

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