The belief that what currently exists must necessarily exist is the acid that corrodes all visionary thinking.
– Murray Bookchin

In the cobalt depths of the Caribbean, an insidious force gnaws at the soul of this jewel-island. A monstrous, concrete Un-Dream slouches, ravenous, towards pristine lands from Jamaica and Javas fabled shores. The specter of soulless Miami rises – all glass and steel; an ecology of greed. Cities are humanity’s greatest creations. Yet when we speak of sustainability, there is still surprisingly little discussion of how our cities are designed as integrated living systems. I write to you, my fellow citizens of this beautiful, fragile planet. As we, the people of Montego Bay, are witnessing firsthand the devastating consequences of a development model that prioritizes profit over people and planet.

To envision an ecocity, one must understand how it differs from the traditional human habitat. An ecocity is born of a clear comprehension of ecological principles – which are then woven into its design, its functions, its essence. But it is the ecological thinking itself that can reshape how its citizens perceive conservation, healing, and their own role as custodians.

An ecocity transcends urban plans and transport grids. It is a synthesis of energy, water, waste flows, the currents of money and data and ideas, the echoes of history, the murmurs of socio-economic potential. Yet its greatest resource remains the people who reside within its embrace. When people love their place, it ignites a blaze of custodianship, engagement, innovation – to nurture the city into something greater still.

It is time we reconstructed Jamaican society along ecological lines. We must anchor our urban visions in the understanding that all environmental problems spring from social ills. Global climate change, pollution’s toxic spread, deforestation, mass extinction – all are human-born. Taken as a whole, we simplify the environment on a countrywide scale, pursuing that global capitalist intent – to undo evolution’s achievements, to render our world an inorganic husk.

The chill tide of so-called “development” laps at beaches hallowed by the ancient treading of sea turtles and lovers. Behind hoardings blazoned with “luxury,” “world-class,” “groundbreaking,” bulldozers disembowel the land. Where once sea grape trees swayed in rhapsody with the wind, now cranes entwine like grotesque, tulip-headed robots in metallic rut. It’s a vision of progress that fails to recognize the soul of our community, the spirit of our land, the very essence of what makes Montego Bay, Montego Bay.

Montego Bay, St James, Jamaica’s tourism mecca, is reeling from the ongoing deleterious effects of climage change. The Jamaica Environment Trust raises a lonely cry – Where is the Environmental Impact Assessment for The Pinnacle, those tottering twenty-eight-storey idols to the cult of wealth? “According to the development’s website, all government approvals were received,” laments JET CEO Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie. “This highlights Jamaica’s flawed environmental decision-making…JET has long argued for mandatory EIAs for high-risk projects.” Their glassy reflections will strobe the eyes of dugongs and parrotfish who have known these waters for aeons before us. And what of the spills, the effluents that will leach, unseen, into Montego Bay’s fragile marine haven?

Coral reefs are already facing impacts from climate change, which are thereby affecting reef fisheries … If we took Montego Bay as an example, the EPA’s (Environmental Protection Agency) Coral Reef Health Index, which measures live coral cover, among other indicators, gave Montego Bay reefs a ‘poor’ rating of 2 out of 5 in 2013 and ‘fair’ rating of 2.7 out of 5 in 2017. Ongoing threats to the reefs in Montego Bay include poor waste disposal, heritage clearance of hotel development, overfishing, hurricanes and bleaching events.

The high density of tourism development and infrastructure in coastal areas and tourism’s dependence on climate-sensitive ecosystems, such as coral reefs, make tourism in Jamaica highly sensitive to climate variability and change impacts.

Further east, the Roaring River remonstrates against the outrage of an 800-unit housing Behemoth bulldozed into its watershed by the China Harbour Engineering Company. Its defiant song echoes the People’s National Party’s warning – to harm this sanctuary “jeopardizes the delicate environmental balance of the region.”

And looming largest, Harmony Cove – that grotesque supercity of metal and glass, reaching in gluttonous frenzy for the azure sky. Its 26-storey immensity would gaze with disdain upon anything as quaint as Jamaica’s fabled natural beauty. Let the mangroves wither and die, those whisperers of the mother-tongue of the sea. Let the endemic life that is Jamaica’s truest luxury be crushed under the merciless boot of “progress.”

All so foreign investors may dine on crab cakes and smirk over Bahama Mamas, gazing out at their conquest – another patch of Earth bludgeoned into the ubiquitous non-place of capital. What of the true Jamaican vibe, the lilt and sway of a culture that has danced and sung through centuries of imperial rape? It is sold once more, for a golf course.

This is not just a Montego Bay problem; it’s a global crisis. From the Maldives to Madagascar, coral reefs, vital to coastal communities and biodiversity, are facing existential threats due to warming waters, pollution, and unsustainable fishing practices.  The tourism industry, often touted as a driver of economic growth, is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The high density of tourism development along our planet’s most precious coastlines, coupled with its dependence on fragile ecosystems like coral reefs, renders it exquisitely vulnerable to the accelerating climate impacts worldwide.

How many more such obscenities will be committed in the name of “tourism” and “jobs”? When will we learn that paving over paradise yields nothing but an air-conditioned nightmare? That true development is not economic growth, but nurturing human souls? “Jamaica has become too reliant on international investment,” warns professor Paul Golding, citing the island’s $4.2 billion in foreign inflows since 2012 – the region’s highest.

The Earth is an infinite giver, but she has her limits. If we do not shed the blinders of greed, her imperative to restore balance will turn horrifically against us. The dolphins’ joyous arcs will be the first to disappear from these waters. And we, who sold our very essence for a few more casinos, may be the last.

I implore you, my island utopia caught in the riptide of defilement – awaken! Open your arms to true development that cherishes your ecology as preciously as your culture. Or resist, root and branch, this Great Unraveling.

About the author: Yannick Nesta Pessoa B.A. is Jamaica’s first blogger,  History and Social Studies Teacher, Community Activist, Artist and Entrepreneur. Follow Yannick on X [i.e. “Twitter”] and Instagram at @yahnyk | yannickpessoa@yahoo.com.