Peter Espeut NOT EVEN the May/June flood rains during the build-up to the election campaign, nor the flood rains of Tropical Storms Isidore and Lily during the high season for politicking, have forced the environment onto the political agenda.
Neither of the two major parties offering themselves to us, care much for the environment. They will say that this is because they are democratic; they do not believe that the voters care much about the environment, and they are responding to the wishes of the voters. And they support hanging because they are democratic: the majority of Jamaicans want hanging now! And they don't support human rights and an end to police brutality because they are democratic: they believe that the voters want the police to shoot first (aiming or not) and ask questions later, because crime is out of control. And they support the system of political Dons and garrisons because they are democratic: large numbers of Jamaicans prefer to trust the Dons to protect and defend them rather than the police. And both parties practice politics as the fight for scare benefits and spoils because they are democratic: a majority of Jamaicans want a share in those scarce benefits and spoils, and they are simply responding to the wishes of the people.
The politicians have a point. As a group, Jamaicans support hanging and flogging and the sort of action the police took at Braeton, and have low human rights and environmental IQs. Those of us with other views have failed to convince the electorate of the correctness of our positions, and therefore we will get the government we deserve. We have been using the power of reason and logic to try to persuade, but not everyone is operating at the level of reason and logic; and some will never be persuaded.
But some people feel it where it hurts, and views are changing. Every time the police are involved in an extra-judicial killing, another few dozen people get converted. Every time a garrison Don seeks to exert his Right de Signeur over one of the community girls, some more people see the light.
I hope that the same thing happens every time it floods. Have you ever seen such consistent and widespread flooding in your life? The May/June rains caused severe flooding in St. Catherine, Clarendon and Manchester; the rains of 'Isidore' caused flooding in Westmoreland, and 'Lily' caused flooding in St. Thomas and St. Elizabeth. We Jamaicans are used to rains, but not to this level of damage. Why have the recent rains caused so much flooding and damage?
I have seen roads built 'under politics' which mash up in less than a year at the first drizzle; both material and workmanship are poor. I have seen government construction projects take no account of soil conservation, pushing soil into rivers and gullies - setting up mud flows with the next rain. I have seen squatter settlements in low-lying areas 'baptised' into legitimacy, and official housing schemes built on flood-plains.
I have seen sand-mining so erode the banks of major rivers that they guarantee that the rivers will 'break their banks' causing flooding. I have seen government-approved construction projects change the water flow through an area, reducing the capacity of the channels to carry heavy water. I have seen drains go uncleaned for decades, setting up big flood trouble. I have seen private dwellings and shops and churches built in flood-prone areas, and no government agency make any effort to stop it. In the drive to provide housing for political gain, the government has sacrificed quality for quantity.
Agencies like the Town Planning Department, the Natural Resources Conservation Authority and the Parish Councils are supposed to examine building plans and to make recommendations that will minimise the threat of flooding. It seems to me that there is a reluctance to refuse permission to build on the grounds that the environment should not be an obstacle to development. The recent dredging of Kingston Harbour is a case in point, done with all the permissions from all the agencies; look at the predictable damage that has been done? I hope these fisherfolk have now become converts to environmentalism.
Why is it that so many newly-built or repaired roads, bridges and housing schemes seem to be seriously affected by the rains? Why has the road leaving the first bridge on the Old Harbour Bypass (going west) already fallen by several inches? Why was the headquarters of the Highway 2000 work site flooded out last week? Why was the newly-built Angels Housing Scheme flooded during 'Isidore?'
I am faced with a serious case right in my backyard. "Kennedy Grove," a government housing scheme, was built on the site of "Kennedy Pond." My wife and I viewed the pond rising in the middle of the housing scheme in May, and after 'Isidore,' and after 'Lily.' How did they get a permit to build houses? Who is going to stand the loss of the cost of those three houses which are under water? Who is responsible for compensating those householders whose driveways are under water and whose cars are marooned in their yards? When government agencies frivolously grant permits like this, people suffer. I hope the householders and onlookers become converts to the environmental movement.
And then there are the thousands of buildings constructed with no permission at all even applied for! And when "Stop Orders" are issued and ignored, there is nothing done about it! And when illegal structures are built, there is a reluctance to knock them down.
And then there is the lack of monitoring and enforcement. When permission to build comes with conditionalities, it is so rare that the project is monitored for compliance. And even rarer is anyone prosecuted or fined for departing from the terms of the permit. When licences to mine sand from riverbeds are given, what sort of monitoring takes place to ensure that proper procedures are followed and that the mining does not stray into unapproved areas?
Peter Espeut is a sociologist and executive director of an environment and development NGO.
