Peter Espeut IT IS clear that the Prime Minister wants to have a good reputation as an environmentalist, and I would like him to have it too; but you don't get that just by talking. There has to be substance to back it up - in action.
In the Financial Gleaner about a month ago, staff reporter Lavern D. Clarke asserted that when it comes to environmental matters the Prime Minister talks the talk but has not walked the walk. The following week in the Financial Gleaner, Huntley Medley, Consul-tant Advisor on Communication to Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, retorted "PM has sound record in sustainable development," and he listed a series of achievements. In my comment on Mr. Medley's piece I had no quarrel with the definition of sustainable development put forward by Mr. Patterson; in fact I congratulated him, and said "With these views the Prime Minister can qualify as a genuine environmentalist," and I meant it.
My difficulty with Mr. Medley's defence of the Prime Minister was that he stated that Ms. Clarke's "article was without facts and the opinions expressed were groundless." Nowhere did he suggest that sustainable development is a goal towards which the government strives, but they are not there yet. The rest of my article provided evidence for my assertion that the environmental record of the government is actually quite poor.
My seventh point was "The NRCA has developed numerous wonderful policy documents (on e.g. wetlands, watersheds, parks and protected areas) and action plans (e.g. on coral reefs), but does not have the budget to implement any of them! Money was found to bail out the financial sector, but no money can be found to bail out the environment. Where is the commitment to sustainable development?" My point was that having policies and plans cannot be the yardstick by which success in conservation is measured. Where Jamaica is reported to have the highest rate of deforestation in the world, and the most overfished waters in the Caribbean (if there was a world ranking we might well be in the top ten!) success in conservation can only be measured in trees protected and replanted, and fish stocks increased, and the like, not in the number of plans you have made to do that sort of thing.
Last Friday, speaking in Negril the Prime Minister again sought to defend his environmental record. Not as strident as Mr. Medley, Mr. Patterson is reported as saying that while their performance had not reached perfection, his government had done more than any other administration in Jamaica's history. He then lists a series of policies, strategies, action plans, legislation and regulations which his government has enacted towards the conservation of the environment.
This assertion by the PM confirms what I have been saying. I congratulate the government for developing an unequalled suite of environmental documents, but that is just the first step. It distresses me that the Prime Minister, who undeniably understands what sustainable development is, is insisting that success in conservation is measured in the volume of paper they have pushed, the amount of talk which they have written down. Where is the evidence in terms of policies implemented, action plans put into effect, legislation and regulations enforced? If we have done so well, why is it that of 142 countries, Jamaica is ranked 22 from the bottom by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in terms of how well we deal with environmental sustainability?
I do not say this from a distance. In my work I come into intimate contact with the environmental policies of the government, as well as the snail's pace and absence of action of their officers and agencies. More than a decade has passed since the government undertook to put a system of user-fees in place to help finance protected areas. A new Fisheries Bill has been in draft since 1996. Efforts to clean up Kingston Harbour are stalled. So many promises made to environmental NGOs who have come forward in response to the government's invitation to apply for the management of national parks, marine parks, and other protected areas, have been comprehensively broken. I will have more to say on this in due course. There is very little positive in the way of action to report.
But yet the Prime Minister wants to be known as having a good environmental record. He will have to walk the walk first!
His second point is quite correct: his government has done more for the environment than any other administration in Jamaica's history.
ABYSMAL ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD
That is absolutely true because JLP governments in our history have been dismal when it comes to the environment. Space does not permit an exposition on the abysmal environmental record of the JLP; there will be plenty of time for that in the weeks to come. But let me ask you: When last have you heard the JLP spokesman on the environment say anything about anything? Do you even know who the JLP spokesman on the environment is?
I hope no one is misunderstanding me. Having good policies, plans and legislation is very important; but with those alone not one threatened species can be brought back from the brink of extinction, not one forest will have its integrity preserved, the fisheries will not come back from over-exploitation, and sustainable development will not be achieved. I congratulate the government on putting all these documents in place over the last 13 years; we are better off because we have them; but having these on the shelves and on the Internet does not add up to environmental conservation or sustainable development! I am embarrassed that the PM should be trying to create an environmental reputation out of documents, some of which have been in place for a decade and have not yet been implemented. We environmentalists are disappointed in the government of the PNP who talked such good talk, but have failed to walk the walk.
Give up, Mr. Patterson, the vain effort of trying to prove a good environmental record based on paper. If you really want to earn your environmental stripes, it should not be hard; you have proved that you know full well what to do. It is not too late to secure your place in Jamaican history, not as a person who made plans and couldn't or didn't or wouldn't implement them, but rather as a great leader who had vision - and the courage of your convictions.
Peter Espeut is a sociologist and executive director of an environment and development NGO.
