The fight for Caribbean beaches

The Caribbean can boast some of the world's most beautiful beaches but for many of its population access to the sea and sand their island nations are famous for is getting harder.

Beach privatisation, where land is sold to multimillion-dollar developers building resorts for their exclusive clientele, has "become normalised throughout the Caribbean", reported The Guardian in June. This is "leaving citizens' access to public spaces threatened as the region's natural beauty and cultural birthright is jeopardised".

Jamaicans are among those fighting back. Earlier this year two of Bob Marley's children, Ziggy and Cedella, joined the grassroots campaign group Jamaica Beach Birthright Environmental Movement (JaBBEM), which wants to make unconditional access and use of Jamaica's beaches a constitutional right.

JaBBEM and other campaigners are taking legal action against companies and government agencies to protect beaches such as Bob Marley Beach in Bull Bay near Kingston and Little Dunn's River Beach near Ocho Rios on the north coast, reported The Voice. JaBBEM has three active cases in the courts and plans to file 17 more.

Local advocacy groups say less than 1% of Jamaica's coastline is accessible to the public. "We should be able to use our beaches. We are a beach community. We are beach people. We are a small island surrounded by water," one local told Al Jazeera's AJ+.

While the nation gained independence from the UK in 1962, "many laws from colonial rule remain intact", said the site, including the 1956 Beach Control Act. It states that the crown "maintains all rights to the foreshore", with the public having "no inherent right to access it". 

Many question whether "remnants of the colonial mindset still prevail" in legislation that impacts citizens today, The Guardian added. 

But just as an old colonial law prevents access to beaches, another historic law may help Jamaicans achieve their aim. The 1882 Prescription Act allows the public beach access if "they can prove that they've used it for fishing, bathing or recreation for 20 years without interruption", AJ+ said.

Beaches are woven deeply into not only the culture but also the livelihoods of the Caribbean people. 

In Steer Town, near Little Dunn's River Beach, lifelong fisherman Norris Arscott previously accessed his nearest beach in 10 minutes. But now he is "forced to bike at 4.30 every morning along a busy highway" after developers built a cement wall "cutting off surrounding communities from the coast", AJ+ said.

"We have no choice but to go where they push us," the 70-year-old told the news site. "This colonial system is coming right back at us."

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