The Editor, Sir:

Environmentalists have a hard time convincing average Jamaicans to join them in the saving our land, Jamaica, from further environmental degradation. Why? The short answer is that Jamaica-based environmentalists are parochial in their views, reactive instead of proactive and thus, always appear to be 'anti-economic development'.

Recently, I sent a known environmentalist what I believe were good ideas on how Jamaica could achieve separation of powers within the current Westminster model. After supposedly reading the document, the individual replied in typical Jamaican fashion by stating, "good ideas, but that is not my job". However, if the individual were a strategic thinker, he/she would have understood that by having separation of powers, single-member constituency Members of Parliament who made up the legislative branch would be emboldened to defend their constituency, parish and county interest. Thus, the current Cockpit Country episode would probably just be a footnote - government tried to disturb the area but was rebuked by Parliament.

Convince the government

Let's simplistically envisage three situations by examining a what-if question: What if environmentalists were able to convince the Government to implement public policy or political reform that give rise to: 1). Including the Kingston Metropolitan Area, three other transit (bus and rail) oriented metropolitan areas: May Pen-Mandeville, Montego Bay and Port Maria-Antonio? The positive environmental impact would be: more efficient land-use; greater efficiency in the utilisation of public resources for water and sewerage; increase use of mass transit; preservation of farmland; preservation of the nation's interior.

2).A two-tier local government system (county and municipalities) where one, the county authorities (Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey) would be responsible for zoning, maintaining the secondary/local roads, assisting local (rural) people to access clean water through a Bermudan style water system, reclaiming 'mined-out' land and reforestation; and two, municipal authorities (KSAC, Portmore and others to be established) were responsible for garbage/recycle collection (by contracting with NSWMA) and beautification? The positive environmental impact would be a greener Jamaica; more tidy towns and cities; well landscaped roadways; efficient use of water catchments; reversal in the deforestation of Jamaica; preservation of wildlife; a cleaner Jamaica.

3).The national government preserving National Heroes Park as a green area and improving National Heroes Circle as Jamaica's version of Capitol Hill (United States), Westminster (United Kingdom) or Parliament Hill (Canada)? The positive environmental impact would be a well-kept National Heroes Park; more people moving back to the city (easing of deforestation on the overlooking hills e.g. Long Mountain); improvement in neighbourhoods.

Environmentalists must understand that they cannot divorce themselves from broad public policy or political reform issues. To do so, is to commit Jamaica to more of the same, ad hoc environmental policy, which amounts to political appeasement.

I am, etc.,

MICHAEL BROWN

miguelbro@yahoo.com

Washington, DC

Via Go-Jamaica