It's not just Jolly Harbour.

Unfortunately, more and more beaches around Antigua are becoming increasingly difficult for ordinary people to access as tourism development expands.

Our own Minister of Tourism recently warned that we cannot simply replace the old sugar plantation with the modern “hotel plantation.” That warning is important, because tourism cannot be considered successful if the very natural resources on which it depends are gradually being separated from the people of Antigua and Barbuda.

Look at what has happened around Shell Beach.

I attended the meeting dealing with the dredging issue and heard the relevant officials myself. The Chief Fisheries Officer and the head of Town & Country Planning made it clear that the Port Authority did not have Development Control Authority permission to carry out this dredging in the protected marine area. I also heard firsthand the concerns about the enormous environmental damage being done.

This was not some minor disturbance. Huge areas of seagrass beds, soft corals and even hard corals were dredged to accommodate large LNG tanker vessels.

Material produced by that dredging was then deposited around Shell Beach, including over marine habitat, to create new land and beach areas. The photograph accompanying this post shows a critically endangered hawksbill turtle dead on the newly created beach/island.

And here is where the contradiction becomes extraordinary.

The Prime Minister recently held a ceremony publicizing this new beach, which he named after his daughter. Concrete coral structures have now reportedly been placed around it to “enhance” the marine environment. The lady who did the environmental impact assessment study for this new beach and coral reef is the same lady who did the environmental impact assessment study for the golf course along the beach in Barbuda and the same lady who did the environmental impact assessment study for the new Nikki Beach development which is taking place partially on the Jolly harbour parking lot leaving us without traditional access to beach.

Think about that.

Government dredges a protected marine ecosystem without DCA permission, destroying seagrass and coral to produce the material used to create an artificial beach — and then places artificial coral structures around that beach in the name of enhancing the marine environment.

We don't need Government destroying natural ecosystems to manufacture new beaches.

We need Government protecting the magnificent beaches, reefs, seagrass beds and coastal ecosystems we already have — and protecting the public's ability to enjoy them.

And this isn't only about Shell Beach.

Whether it is Jolly Harbour, Dickenson Bay, Runaway Bay, Long Bay, Palmetto Point or anywhere else, development must put THE PEOPLE, public access and the protection of our natural resources at the forefront of planning and policy.

Jolly Harbour should be a warning.

We have already seen a situation where even EMS reportedly experienced difficulty reaching the beach. CDAL says public access exists, yet people continue to report being turned away. Those two things cannot simply be brushed aside.

Tourism and investment are enormously important to Antigua and Barbuda. But development cannot mean that ordinary Antiguans gradually lose practical access to the coastline and natural resources that generations before us enjoyed.

If we accept it in one place, it becomes easier to do it somewhere else.

The Minister was right when he warned against replacing the old plantation with the modern “hotel plantation.”

If we allow development to push our people away from their beaches while our protected natural resources are sacrificed to facilitate private development, then that warning becomes more than a metaphor.

Our beaches and natural resources must remain part of the inheritance of the people of Antigua and Barbuda.

We have decided to extend this petition until Independence Day when we will deliver a printed copy to all media houses and the prime minister. 

On Independence Day, November 1st we will also celebrate our independence by swimming freely at the Jolly Harbour South Beach. Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy our widest and longest beach. Come and see if for yourself. In the meantime, share this petition. Anyone with an email address can sign it. WhatsApp it to people. Encourage people who are not on social media. Help them sign it. It's time to take a stand.