From 2013–2016, the Government of Jamaica had been negotiating with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to establish a large transshipment port in the Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA) in the vicinity of the Goat Islands.
Documents are available below for more information - Click each image to expand.
Background Information and Site Evaluations:
ALTERNATIVE SITES STUDY - Report prepared for C-CAM by Conservation Strategy Fund, funded by Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund, entitled “Economic Comparison of Alternatives to Building a Port on Goat Islands: Does Jamaica Need to Sacrifice a World Class Conservation Site in Order to Build a World Class Port?”
ALTERNATIVE SITES STUDY by Conservation Strategy Fund - 2 page brief highlighting Macarry Bay.
Briefing Notes on the Portland Bight Protected Area, prepared by JET and C-CAM.
PBPA Coral Reef Assessment conducted by University of West Indies and Atlantic Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment program.
Potential Site Options for a Logistics Hub in Jamaica, report by Smith Warner International.
Summary article in IRCF magazine by Tandora Grant - Biosphere Reserve to Transshipment Port: Travesty for Jamaica’s Goat Islands
Environmental policy and Chinese finance in the Caribbean: The tale of Jamaica's Goat Islands. Published by Danielle Edwards (2015) in Caribbean Journal of International Relations and Diplomacy 3:65–76.
2003 NEPA National Strategy and Action Plan on Biological Diversity in Jamaica.
The GOJ contracted Conrad Douglas & Associates to carry out a scoping study to “identify the biologically sensitive features of the marine and terrestrial environment, their spatial distribution and the location of rare, threatened and endangered species in the Portland Bight and Ridge area and Goat Islands”. Click the image for more information on this report and a stakeholder review of this flawed and inaccurate report.
Climate Change Risk Assessment Report: Portland Bight Protected Area. Prepared by the Climate Studies Group, UWI for C-CAM. April 2013
Paper delivered to Logistics Hub symposium by Dr Michael Whitter, Economist, University of the West Indies, 9 November 2013
Challenges to Conservation in the Portland Bight Conservation Corridor, Jamaica - Caribbean Coastal Area Management (C-CAM) Foundation: Capacité Issue 7, page 6-8.
Map of the Portland Bight Protected Area, prepared by C-CAM.
Statements in Parliament by Dr. the Hon. Omar Davies, Minister of Transport, Housing, and Works, andby Hon. Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Water, Land, Environment, and Climate Change:
"Contribution to Sectoral Debate, Parliamentary Year 2015/2016" delivered by Davies 21 April 2015
"Update on the Portland Bight/Goat Islands Project", delivered by Davies 25 Feb 2014
"Update on the Environmental Management Scoping of the Portland Bight Area, Inclusive of the Goat Islands", delivered by Davies 29 October 2013
"The Proposed Chinese Investment in the Portland Bight Protected Area", delivered by Davies 10 September 2013
"Regarding the Proposed Development of the Logistics Hub on the Goat Islands", delivered by Pickersgill 27 August 2013
CHEC Beach License Application Documents to NEPA to Conduct a Geotechnical Survey On and Around the Goat Islands, and Reviews of the Application by JET and CCAM:
Beach license application documents from CHEC to NEPA to conduct a Geotechnical Survey on and near Goat Islands - 15 Jan 2014
Implementation Plan of Geotechnical Investigation for the First-Stage Container Terminal Project in Portland Bight Port, Jamaica. CCCC Water Transportation Consultants, Co., Ltd. - 24 Jan 2014
Special license approved from NRCA, granted to CHEC, to encroach on the foreshore and floor of the sea at Galleon Harbour - 24 Mar 2014
JET's Review of CHEC's Beach License Application to NEPA to Conduct a Geotechnical Survey on and near Goat Islands
C-CAM's Comments on CHEC's Beach License Application to NEPA to Conduct a Geotechnical Survey on and near Goat Islands
Amendment Documents to the CHEC Beach License Application Concerning New Boreholes to Conduct Geotechnical Surveys On and Around the Goat Islands:
Amendment Application to Special Beach Licences for use of the foreshore and sea floor to carry out geotechnical investigation by CHEC and the Port Authority of Jamaica - 1 May 2014
Statement for Changing of Engineering Survey & Geotechnical Investigation in the First Phase of Jamaica Portland Container Terminal by CHEC and CCCC Water Transportation Consultants, Co. - 24 Apr 2014
NEPA Approval to the CHEC Amendment Application for Beach License - 5 June 2014
Comparison of original borehole drilling sites (yellow) to the new amended locations (green) - prepared by Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide.
Expanded view of mainland area that may be developed in the amended Geotechnical Investigation document - prepared by Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide.
NEPA Post-Monitoring Reports on CHEC Beach License Granting Geotechnical Surveys On and Near to the Two Goat Islands for April and May 2014, Obtained by JET Using the Access to Information Act:
April 2014. NEPA Post-Monitoring Report on CHEC Beach License
May 2014. NEPA Post-Monitoring Report on CHEC Beach License
June 2014. NEPA Post-Monitoring Report on CHEC Beach License
5 August 2014. NEPA Post-Monitoring Report on CHEC Beach License
15 August 2014. NEPA Post-Monitoring Report on CHEC Beach License
November 2014. NEPA Post-Monitoring Report on CHEC Beach License
Letters from International Agencies, the United Nations and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Addressing the Proposed Development on Goat Islands and in the Portland Bight Protected Area:
Apr 2015. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) letter of advocacy addressed to Z. Tang, CHEC Regional Director, against a transshipment port development in the PBPA, signed by Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General and Simon Stuart, IUCN Species Survival Commission Chair. "IUCN calls on CHEC to follow (China's own) Environmental Guidelines on Foreign Investment...to promptly identify and minimize environmental risks..of their host countries".
Jan 2014. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) letter of advocacy against a transshipment port development in the PBPA, signed by Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General and Simon Stuart, IUCN Species Survival Commission Chair. "IUCN agrees strongly with the collective knowledge of government and non-government stakeholders that the PBPA should not be developed in a way that is environmentally harmful and unsustainable".
Oct 2013. UN outlines commitments to ongoing efforts for sustainable development in PBPA (UN), signed by Arun Kashyap, Resident Coordinator, UN. Reiterates UN support to the Jamaican Gov't in "creating jobs, preserving the integrity of nation's environmental integrity and advancing Jamaica's profile as a leader in the area of climate change".
Jamaican Government Letter of Intent to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies, and Technical Memorandum of Understanding. June 2015 and August 2016 - essentially the same.
June 2015. Reference to the Portland Bight development - Section 27, paragraph 4, (page 18).
August 2016. Reference to Logistics Hub and Portland Bight development - Section 24, page 14.
Environmental Impact Assessment for the New Fortress Energy Marine Terminal and Pipeline Project, Old Harbour (floating natural gas storage unit and pipeline in PBPA) by CL Environmental Consultants.
Maps are shown throughout, see page 33 (page 59 of pdf)
