Beach replenishment could be a costly failure
(CNS): Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan has said that bringing in sand to replace the stretch of Seven Mile Beach that is being eroded could be a costly failure for the public purse. During the Cayman Islands Tourism Association meeting last week, the Marriott hotel’s general manager asked the minister what the government was doing about the long stretch of the southern end of the beach where the sand has almost disappeared. In response, Bryan warned that replenishment might not be the answer, given that there are still hard structures on the beach.
The tourism minister pointed out that the decision lies with Premier Wayne Panton, who has responsibility for sustainability. However, while Panton has earmarked around $21 million of public cash to fund a potential beach re-nourishment project, there are concerns that it will fail and the money will be lost unless there are significant changes.
Speaking in response to Hermes Cuello, the GM of the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort, who described the issue as the elephant in the room, Bryan said he was fully aware how bad it is and the potential impact on the tourism product.
But he raised “the uncertainty” over how long a restored beach would last, given the potential significant investment. “If we were to put that sand back and another storm comes and just takes it right away, that’s a substantial amount of money that would be lost,” he noted.
Conservationists are warning against beach replenishment as a solution to erosion because research reveals that it might ultimately do more harm than good by providing a false sense of security in critically eroding areas. The process damages marine habitats and imported sand brings its own challenges. In addition, if nothing else changes, the beach will erode again even more quickly than before, given the changing climate.
Bryan pointed out the need “to start talking about the sustainability of our tourism product and the fact that we should no longer allow buildings to be built so close to the beach”. He made it clear that PACT was going to stop allowing this but admitted that future development regulations would not solve the Marriott’s current problem.
However, he committed to keeping hotel and condo owners in the area and the CITA membership abreast of government plans. “I can understand your concern,” he added.
But the minister made no mention of managed retreat and the need for properties like the Marriott to move structures such as pools, walls and terraces that were constructed on the beach itself against the advice of the Department of Environment. Speaking to CNS recently, Cuello said the Marriott owners had not even considered the need for managed retreat because, he claimed, there is no room.
The conundrum the government is facing is the need to support Cayman’s tourism product by tackling the beach loss clashing with the reality that the costly investment into this project is unlikely to work for any meaningful time. It would also directly assist the owners of some of Cayman’s most valuable real estate without them taking responsibility for their part in the erosion.
Climate and changing weather patterns and currents and the ultimate rising sea levels are partially responsible for the erosion, but as evidenced by the retention of sand in parts of the northern end of Seven Mile Beach, where development is less dense and further back from the high water mark, the structures have played a significant part.
Like many other small islands, Cayman must deal with the inevitable consequences of climate change, which means rethinking future coastal development and rolling out a plan for managed retreat now.
“We will have to face this issue head-on,” the premier told CNS earlier this year, though he hopes the government will not have to force owners to move existing structures. “I would like to think that there will be consensus across the board… and we will find a way to accomplish this together rather than having to legislate and have long drawn-out arguments about it.”
However, at this point, none of the impacted beachfront property owners appear ready to discuss the real elephant in all their rooms, which is the imperative of a managed retreat.
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Category: Business, Science & Nature, Tourism
Bryan be careful what u do to south west nay beach as it will affect north west bay beach.
PLANT TREES. ROOTS HOLD THE LAND.
Spoiler Alert, there is no plan from CIG, PACT and there never will be. When tourist see there’s no beach the Marriott will eventually close and then CIG can knock it down. 😳😳😳
Good. That’s what needs to happen.
If Mariott removed their pool deck; the beach will return; its one of the reasons they have no beach. Go back to the 90s there is photographic evidence proving it.
All the other developments along SMB that were given concessions to build…that caused the beach to dwindle….perhaps start applying those to fixing the problem?
The Public should not be spending anything on this monumental F-up by our Govt and The Owners.
On yer bike Kenneth.
Not nearly as costly as continually electing incompetent politicians.
NYT reports “just 26 of 193 countries that agreed last year to step up their climate actions have followed through”. Many of the G7 polluters have increased pollution to grandfather higher production values under IEC pledges, some of them double or triple current levels well past 2030. We are on track for 3’C+ with global fisheries collapse and widespread fresh water crisis by 2050. 20 years before these production targets get grandfathered.
I think that any replenishment should be equal. They get 1 ft of sand for 1 ft of managed retreat. No managed retreat? No sand.
Why would anyone with a lick of ‘Common sense’ even consider Importing sand? It is the one natural resource that CAYMAN has plenty of!
The sand has not disappeared, it has simply migrated to deeper water. We can recover this sand and use it to replenish the beach without any major impact to the environment because it would eventually be ‘lost’ as it migrates to deeper water.
The most important fix is to REMOVE the structures that have caused this issue in the first place. Wave energy is dissipated on the natural gentle slope of the beach. When we build retaining walls and structures too close to the shoreline, we interfere with the natural ebb & flow.
Finally, Beaches are dynamic, there will ALWAYS be erosion, movement & recovery. What we need to do is manage our impact and not over-think solutions. If something we have done causes a problem, then the fix is to REVERSE that action.
Lets go down to the Caymans and build our hotel, don’t worry about the regulations and rules, everything there is for sale including the politicians!
The Caymans?……..Where is this place of which you speak?
Google it Bobo. U will find.
Google is not real Bobo bobo
Bringing in sand to replenish the sand? Three times stupid and stuck on dumb!! That is all I have to say.
This is a kick in the teeth for the people traveling from East end in a morning who have o endure 2hrs of commute
If the govt spends $21m replacing the beach … will the Marriott and the condo owners handover some of their room / rental profits? If not, what’s the point of the country subsidising their purse?
Tear down Plantation Village!
Tear down Marnie Turner’s wall!
Knock the Marriott down and develop across the street.
Not expensive at all! Simply have the Marriott pay for it. If they can charge $500 a night for a glorified Holiday Inn room and KYD20 shots of tequila at their lobby bar then they can pay for bags of sand to replenish their beach.
Marriott ignored advice from DOE, built way too close to the beach, and now wants government to bear the costs of their mistakes. Marriott is not a very good tourist product anyway with no beach so paying the astronomical costs of replacing their beach with each passing storm would be an exceedingly poor investment. Marriott needs to move the pool over to their center courtyard and pull everything else back at least 30 feet from mean high tide.
Probably the most over-rated hotel on the island. The council house cousin of the Kimpton/Westin/Ritz.
I don’t think the Government should “fix” this issue. I would not spend a penny adding sand or other material to the beach. The hotel was built close to the ocean, and Mother Nature took the sand away. Tough luck, mate. Why is this now the government’s problem?
Kenneth’s new self appointed portfolio now Environmental Expert.
So the 3 to 9-million-dollar condo owners can’t afford to scrape together 20 million to pay for sand, but the public must?
As 31 years old I still can’t afford a house under 500K in Cayman, as a Caymanian.
This shit has to stop too many wealthy folks bought out the island and the politicians. Some of these people have 20-40 properties in Cayman, all tax-free ‘investments’.
20 to 30 properties and no Trade and Business license. Imagine. How is that even a thing given our various laws and the principles underpinning them?
Gotta thank Alden. It is great having laws no one has to follow. Ever. A blind Attorney General, obedient civil service and confused Governor all help.
Don’t blame the people that bought. They were allowed to. Look inward my friend.
Interesting how quiet our styrofoam overlord is on this point considering royal palms is the site for the 4 seasons mega hotel (no beach!) and his house has a lovely wall and structure in the sea
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
a costly failure
An apt description for many people and things in Cayman.
It does not make sense to bring in sand, the sea will always reclaim it in some areas and bring it back in other areas. The problem with beach erosion is caused by persons being allowed to dig up and build on the seashore over the years. Please do not spend our money on pandering to these rich people who are responsible for the destruction of the beaches- if they want the sand replenished let them pay for it themselves. That is why the older generations preferred to build on the landside.
Often assured, rarely hypothetical.
Start clearing beach side of all buildings…rebuild on the other side of WBR. Nothing else will work in the long run.
Plant trees.
Beach owners don’t like leaves on their sand….
I agree with Kenny Bryan about imported sand being a waste of public funds. We should be grateful that it is recognized. My concern is, why Minister Bryan didn’t rebut Mr. Cuello of the Marriot with facts – their construction is largely responsible!
Is Minster Bryan old enough to remember when beach was there?
Folks this could have been avoided from day one . I remember when they started clearing the land for the the then Radisson hotel , and I stopped by to speak with the architect of record and blessed memory , and I asked why were they destroying the seagrape and cocoplum’s on the the beachridge and his reply was o” oh the tourists love to see the white sands” I replied to him that they would come to regret it and today so said so done .
There is absolutely no need for Government to waste our money on bringing imported sand, to build more beach for the the next greedy developer down the road(beach).
What we need first of all is to have members of planning who understand development and honest politicians who keep their noses out the appointees, and then these members follow directives of the sister voices who have the guiding experience,wherein the environment of these little islands are concerned.
The other thing is like the politician , our planning members ,seem to only be able to say know to certain elements of our society , but when it come to the big man everyone tucks their tails between their legs and afraid to say no.
just so everyone knows these big developers come here because they know they can get away with it here , where as in other jurisdictions they cannot .
I recently overheard one say to someone not too long ago ” he should have mentioned to me as my partner is the minister”
This my Fellow Caymanians is how it goes , and too many of us are so NAIVE to the outside world and its ways , and like the crabs in the bucket we allow this to go on .
I will close for now but next time you go to the polls think extremely carefully about the type and quality and background of the person your voting for, and hopefully OUR PACT GOVERNMENT will see the need for a NATIONAL ELECTION and get rid of this stupid system of one man one vote , or else we will never get any better .
This bunch will never agree to National elections.
They are too dependent on their ghetto garrison voter base.
Costly failure is nothing new to government. The solution to this problem is reversion to sensible structures, but no one wants to do that either.
Yes, higher and setback further from the sea.
Yes – there used to be a beautiful beach at the Marriott site; Yes – Marriott (or previous owners) proposed structures that DOE and EIAs said were supremely stupid/unwise. BUT. Presumably CIGs planning department overruled the objections and approved the planning permission (something Planning continues to do to this day, so not a one off error that they have learned from…). So the culpability of the current predicament does sit with CIG to an extent. But that doesn’t then hold that CIG should fund a rescue program that will not work. CIG MUST commit to a proper development plan, and must give the environmental agencies the proper authority to enforce their remits.
*Radisson vs JW Marriott. A foreign Marriott monetization committee BonVoyed all sensible local considerations, and presented a deeply flawed rejuvenation plan to a PPM/complicit Planning Board, all too willing to accommodate. Even now, CIG is trying to accommodate the hotel group that disregarded DoE and EIA best practice, and all the surrounding stakeholders bear the consequence. CiG should be suing them, not accommodating them further, but don’t even have the sense to realize that we are the wronged parties, and corporate victims, or that there is recourse. Children.
the absolute nerve of these people. they destroy the beach then requesting tax payers fix it.
People need to learn that corporations are the biggest welfare queens of them all. Not poor people trying to survive and need help.
The southern end of SMB is now a disgrace. Royal Palms (or what’s left of it) is an embarrassment to the island. No sympathy whatsoever for the Marriott or any other condo owner there. Suck it up buttercup!
To charge the prices these hotels are charging at the southern end is also a disgrace. When tourists get down and see there is no beach at all and they just plunked down $$$$, they will never be back and they will tell all their friends. They should be priced adequately to what they are.
Marriott caused the problem… Marriott can suck it up and fix it. They know what needs to be done, they just want to get us to pay for it. Tell them to read the children’s fable of “Killing the goose that laid the golden eggs”; something nice and simple that they might understand.
#saveoursquabs
Marriott is an easy solution, knock that bad boy down…
Allow them to rebuild on the car-park up to 12 stories.
Everyone benefits.
But also need to redo all the condos in the area and this would get very messy very quickly.
give the job too certain locals with the balls. maybe they will know exactly what they must do.
Locals have sold us out.
12 story hotel with no car park. WOW. All current car parks are already inadequate but no-one will change the Planning law.
Pretty sure you could build parking into the building and have enough space…
I trust our Government is not going to take this on. Now Planning Dept can open their eyes and as I’m sure the owners of hotels and condos won’t pay, then it is what it is. No beach. Swim in the pool. whatever. Too many Caymanian people suffering. We can’t afford groceries or nearly anything else
When the Marriott Hotel operated as the Radisson Hotel there was a beautiful stretch of beach there. I operated the Water Sports business there and boat access on to the beach was perfect.
Then the hotel owners built the patio and pool on the seafront, and that is when disaster hit. I would suggest that the Marriott ask themselves “what can they do” to fix the problem, rather than asking what the Government can do.
Yes, the Radisson (now Marriott) had a huge beachfront back then. Image from around 1994:
http://www.citycliks.com/graphics/24_06.jpg
Great picture, that’s my dive shop on the left!
Wow! That picture is actually hard to believe. Just shows what a mess they’ve made of the area since then.
Wow, incredible!
Props to the planning authority, architect and developers, that really does take some stunning negligence to screw up so badly. They’ve literally made the beach disappear.
Perhaps politicians, the planning authority, architects and developers will actually start listening to environmental/conservation dept.
Hermes Cuello XXXX. Don’t let him cry to government and stir the pot triggering PACT in wasting more of the public money.
Every Caymanian over 40 should remember this happened in the 90s in the same location and the beach came back. Its a natural weather cycle. Yes they allowed building too close to the shore, but in the end its Mother Nature, El Nino. To think humans, let along our government can change that ignorant.
And Kenny, really?
any evidence to back this up?
https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-el-nino-california-20170214-story.html
https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/el-nino-and-la-nina-will-exacerbate-coastal-hazards-across-entire
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-08/la-nina-weather-coastal-erosion-beaches/101513272
https://www.weather.gov/sju/climo_enso
ridiculous. demolition of buildings too close to the sea.
In February of this year, the beach in front Marriott all the way down to Sunset Cove was beautifully wide and by the end of March it disappeared again. I have pictures taken on 23 and 25 Feb which show a beautiful beach which I enjoyed walking daily at the time. Hope it will return soon and stay for good!
I don’t know how to attach pictures otherwise I would add them to this post for readers to view.
Wow. Think about what “demolition” means. There is a billion dollars of real estate along the southern end of Seven Mile Beach. Are people really proposing destroying it and rebuilding it further inland. Who would pay for it? One billion dollars is the entire government budget. Condo owners, who have paid millions of dollars for beachfront condos are not going to pay millions more to demolish and rebuild. Remember that the vast majority of condo owners on Seven Mile Beach are foreigners that come down for a few months a year to vacation. The result of demolishing condos would be to destroy the real estate market in Cayman and the accompanying construction market. No-one would buy another condo in Cayman for 50 years. Be careful what you wish for. Venezuela used to generate enormous wealth from oil. Now, people are trying to flee Venezuela and the oil bubbles on Lake Maracaibo. Government mismanagement can bankrupt a country.
The logical solution is to buy sand and put it back and charge the condo owners. If it goes away, then do it every three years. This is done all over the world. It achieves the aim of having a large beach in front of the condos. How can anyone disagree with this?
So the Marriott wants government (tax payers) to spend money fixing the beach they mashed up and profit from that fixing until it mashes up again because of the buildings that they put up against the advice of the government department responsible for the environment?
The condo stratas and hotels at south end of the beach have been importing truckloads of foreign sand and replenishing by stealth for years only to watch it subsequently wash away or redeposit up beach. It’s a completely dumb idea, and they’ve lived it. They just want someone else to underwrite this mistake going forward, like it’s a fundamental right to be both dumb and crooked. Worth a shot with Kenny as tourism gatekeeper.
I’m taking my temperature and that’s ok then I’m checking myself into the asylum, – just in case. I’m finding myself agreeing with Mr Bryan. 🤯👍
I thought the same thing then remembered that even a broken clock gets it right twice a day.
Well said Kenny. The reality is that the Cayman public should not be wasting millions to replenish a beach they have been prevented from enjoying for a generation. The fact is that some of these same properties built in flagrant disregard for the rules, and the environment, and actively curtailed Caymanians in their peaceable enjoyment. They also ripped out any of the native vegetation that played an important role in beach nourishment and retention.
Day wha u get.
The retreat can be either managed, or unmanaged as part of the next hurricane – but it will happen one way or another.
More like it WOULD NOT work….take the structures out of the water and let nature claim the beaches….it’s not rocket science…just need common sense!
“the Marriott hotel’s general manager asked the minister what the government was doing about the long stretch of the southern end of the beach where the sand has almost disappeared” Why does the government need to fix this when they were the ones that foolishly built on the beach???
Marriott can put their pool where the ponds are now and retreat from the beach. That is the only sensible option. Other complex’s will also need to manage their retreats. Planning should not allow them to fix structures that are in the sea. That is the Kings Bottom/Crown Land and it is not theirs anymore.
Banning fishing on parrot fish and other important species who produce sand should also be done. As a child parrot fish were everywhere. Now you don’t see them often.
Cayman needs to plan for the future with a comprehensive plan and not bandaids.
CPA might not like your idea chum!
Your parrotfish are in fish tea. This is as much a cultural and immigration issue as it is an environmental issue. Of course catching and eating parrotfish should be banned AND THE BAN HARSHLY ENFORCED!
Why is there an expectation from Marriott GM that Cayman’s general public should have to forgo the opportunity cost of $25mln in order to subsidize the anticipated impact of their past construction approvals? What planet is this? Marriott should be sued to pay Cayman for the wider impact costs of their deliberate contempt for EIAs. CIG should sue Marriott International for $100mln.
Here’s what the Government needs to do: get the bulldozers out!
They can’t. Ju Ju sent them all to the Brac.
Something awful is happening with erosion and sargassum and the truth is that the powers that be have no clue.
This is also a consequence of having a global system based on money, most of it printed with reckless abandon.
You will be forced to eat of it until you can vomit no more.
Got to move those seawalls and concrete cabanas. Adding sand is fine but CIG should insist that the property owners commit equal money to move back at least 50-75 feet. Let’s face it, they caused their problem, and they KNEW it would be a problem from the start (they just planned to flip the properties beforehand.) While you’re at it, do something to help the parrot fish. They used to be huge and numerous.
Ah yes. That is before the fish tea demographic moved here in substantial number, and a judge ruled against requiring fishing licenses for non Caymanians.
As usual, our laws were pretty good. Our refusal to enforce them is our undoing.
When they build the hotel it was least 70 feet away from the water mark, same as Royal palms. The climate warming is the problem as we are having more frequent bad storm which wash the sand away and water is rising higher.
They added later.
Marriott – you reap what you sow. The deck and pool should never have been added at the front. Move the pool back inside (where the turtles are) and give up some ground floor rooms for your water front restaurant. In other words, managed retreat.
“…. the real elephant in all their rooms, which is the imperative of a managed retreat.”
EXACTLY!!!
simple question.
we had lots of beach 3 years ago. if development causes beach erosion, what development has caused us to lose our beaches in the last 3 years?
Are you really as dumb as the rocks on which you should have built your house?
still waiting for an answer to the simple question
“Active beach”, “Fluid dynamics”, “Reflection”, “Unseasonal Weather,” and “Mother Nature.” Google those terms and let the concepts sink in.
so it was not development then?
Yes it was. Put a wall where the beach ridge should be and every time it will ultimately result in erosion. Take out the trees and plants, and the erosion will happen even faster.
so what development caused the loss of beach in the last 3-5 years?
Look at the Radisson picture up above.
Glad to see at least some sense being expressed by our Ministers on this matter.
It’s a difficult thing for them to acknowledge at this point in time, but really it comes down to the removal of certain structures along that stretch of beach, especially those of which with sea walls.
This will not be something any Minister of CIG member will be willing to express at this stage, understandably so as so much (heavily overinflated) value is riding on the real estate in the area.
The government needs to have the Courage to say no to the private sector and billionaire bigwigs when it comes to this, and have the Vision to PLAN for a managed retreat to allow for some restoration of the beach. Otherwise we are just going to play a waiting game to see how long it takes for Palms, Regal Beach, Dart’s house, Berksoy’s naff ‘palace’ etc to all fall into the sea.
That’s just facts, mark my words.
Let the sea run its course and ravage the structures. The CPA has caused this dilemma because the developers were persistent in the destruction. They wanted to please the developers at our expense. Now that the shoe is on the wrong foot they are squealing. Too bad, stop forcing your poor ideas and let the CPA do proper investigation before approval.
That is actually the solution. Government keeps hands off. Hotels and condos can’t keep up on their own. No one pays to stay at these properties resulting in their closing and abandonment. Economic loss to current owners. New owners pick up at “bargain” price and redevelop under proper planning rules. Bad part is you have Southern end of SMB a ghetto for 10 years or so.