Photographs by Sharon Chin Quee (right), text by Tom Goreau (second right). Dedicated to the late Lee Arbouin (second from left) who helped lead local efforts to protect the Discovery Bay Public Beach from pollution by dolphin pen operators and who tragically died swimming at the place she loved most in the world (photo by Thomas Sarkisian, 2019, showing Discovery Bay Beach days before the dolphin pens went in).
The photographs clearly show that the beach was almost entirely washed away and the sand dumped on land. The beach in 2019 had already lost around two thirds of its width in the previous 50 years. We aim to regrow the beach sand using Biorock technology, invented in Discovery Bay:
Hurricane Melissa was the strongest ever documented to hit land
JAMAICA is the latest and one of the worst victims of global warming caused by fossil fuels, as our island was battered by the most powerful hurricane on record. It is far too soon to assess the damage, or the cost of rebuilding, but all coastal areas are devastated, and with them, a major part of the economy.
Increasing damage from record hurricanes Charlie, Flora, Allen, Gilbert, Ivan, and Melissa, is caused by global warming and global sea level rise, driven by the world’s fossil fuel addiction, and by self-inflicted wounds from poor coastal planning, driven by greed.
Given near complete destruction of our natural coral reef, mangrove, and sea grass coastal defenses long BEFORE Hurricane Melissa hit, rebuilding damaged coastal infrastructure the same way guarantees far worse losses in the next record hurricane, unless our natural defenses are regenerated for future generations.
We can’t afford to repeat the same mistakes again! A climate-smart strategy is needed now to reinvigorate coastal ecosystems and protect shorelines against accelerating future climate change.
Biorock technology, invented and developed at the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, is the best method in the world for recharging biodiverse coastal ecosystems and the fisheries that depend on their health, for regrowing eroded beaches and protecting coasts.
Biorock is used in some 50 countries all around the world, but NOT in its own native land, Jamaica!
We call for the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory to be rejuvenated as a leading global centre for cutting edge research and training in ecosystem regeneration. By growing back coastal ecosystems, soils, and fisheries to protect coastlines from climate change, we aim to accelerate Jamaica’s natural recovery from Melissa’s devastation, and make it the most beautiful island in the Caribbean again, above and below water, as it was in 1494.
