Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller's comments last week about future tourism development appears to betray a misunderstanding of the issues of sustainable development as reported by The Sunday Gleaner.

The concerns, raised by environmentalists and tourism officials during an Editors' Forum hosted by The Gleaner, are about achieving appropriate development and expanding 'carrying capacity'. The forum participants did not express opposition to tourism development per se, as the Prime Minister's remarks seem to be suggesting.

Indeed, a study by the state-run Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) cautioned against the hurried expansion of hotels in certain resort areas ahead of the provision of physical infrastructure as well as social amenities - roads, schools, housing - to accommodate the anticipated growth in communities around resort centres. The study also warned against the depletion of natural resources and endangering the eco-system. In particular, the PIOJ researchers advised against Jamaica copying the construction of massive hotels by Spanish developers in Cancun, Mexico.

To date much of the advice by the PIOJ researchers has not been factored into resort developments. And if the protestations by tourism officials who attended the Editors' Forum are to be believed, the policy guidelines of the Tourism Master Plan are not being adhered to. Formulation of this plan was done largely under the watch of Mrs. Simpson Miller when she held the tourism portfolio.

We have seen a recent example, in the case of the Portmore toll road, of the wrong sequencing of development projects and the negative impact on the lives of residents. All we are asking is that the Simpson Miller administration approach development without ignoring policy guidelines.

Inherent in the concerns about endangering the environment is that the factors which preserve our beautiful beaches and other natural phenomena are the very elements that make Jamaica attractive to visitors. And native enjoyment of these same attractions must also not be ignored.

If, as we have reported, it is true that some government agencies have failed to adhere to the guidelines of the Tourism Master Plan because there is no single agency mandated to enforce it, then the Prime Minister should deal with that failing with the same determination she has declared she will pursue development in this area.

But she should also remember that the old cliche about the goose and the golden egg is relevant even as economic development is pursued as a central objective of government policy.