<em>“De Beach Belong to We!”</em> Socio-economic Disparity and Islanders’ Rights of Access to the Coast in a Tourist Paradise

Authors

  • Christine Toppin-Allahar Independent

Keywords:

Caribbean, Tourism, Beaches, Access Rights, Social Inequality, Caribe, turismo, playas, derechos de acceso, desigualdades sociales

Abstract

The Caribbean islands share a history of plantation economy in which the "1%" not only controlled the natural resources and economies of the region, but also owned the majority of the "99%" who were enslaved. This disparity in wealth approximated a racial divide in the society, as the wealthy minority was predominantly "white" while the dispossessed majority was mainly non-whites. While the coastlands were always of importance in these export-oriented agricultural colonies, beach and backshore lands unsuitable for agriculture were less so, often being utilized for boatyards/fishing depots, cemeteries and "tenantries" or squatter settlements housing the landless.

Since World War II, and particularly since the Cuban revolution in 1960, beach-oriented tourism has become the leading economic activity in most Caribbean countries. Competition for coastal resources has generally been resolved in favour of foreign currency, transferring much coastal property to foreign ownership and increasingly shutting off the local population's access to the sea. As the majority of foreign investors and tourists are white, this also has racial connotations. This paper examines the legal and administrative responses to the challenges that this situation presents which have been adopted by the Anglo-Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), with particular reference to the islands of Jamaica, Barbados, Tobago and some of the member countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

Las islas del Caribe comparten una historia de economía basada en plantaciones, en el que el 1% de la población controlaba los recursos naturales y la economía de la región, y al 99% restante, que vivía esclavizado. Esta diferencia en la riqueza traía consigo una división racial en la sociedad, ya que la minoría rica era principalmente "blanca", mientras que la mayoría desposeía era principalmente "no blanca". Mientras que las tierras costeras tenían siempre importancia en estas colonias agrícolas orientadas a la exportación, las playas y terrenos inadecuados para la agricultura lo eran menos, utilizándose muchas veces como astilleros o almacenes de pesca, cementerios o asentamientos ilegales para los sintierra.

Desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y en particular desde la revolución cubana de 1960, el turismo de playa se ha convertido en la principal actividad económica en la mayoría de los países del Caribe. La competencia por los recursos costeros se ha resuelto en general a favor del capital extranjero, transfiriendo muchas propiedades costeras a dueños extranjeros y, cada vez más, cerrando a la población local el acceso al mar. Como la mayoría de los inversores extranjeros y turistas son blancos, esto también tiene connotaciones raciales. Este artículo analiza las respuestas legales y administrativas a los desafíos surgidos por esta situación, que se han adoptado por Anglo-Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) (Pequeñas Islas y Estados en Desarrollo Anglo-Caribeños), con especial referencia a las islas de Jamaica, Barbados, Tobago y algunos de los países miembros de la Organización de Estados del Caribe Oriental (OECO).

DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2571281

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Author Biography

Christine Toppin-Allahar, Independent

Barbadian Attorney-at-Law and former lecturer in environmental and land use planning law at the University of the West Indies. P.O. Box 1375, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago cta@caribsurf.com

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Published

02-02-2015

How to Cite

Toppin-Allahar, C. (2015) “&lt;em&gt;‘De Beach Belong to We!’&lt;/em&gt; Socio-economic Disparity and Islanders’ Rights of Access to the Coast in a Tourist Paradise”, Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 5(1), pp. 298–317. Available at: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/440 (Accessed: 29 March 2024).