"Jamaican beach access campaigners go to court to fight privatisation of coast", 14 June 2026

...Campaigners in Jamaica are heading to court next week to try to prevent the government from cutting off access to more of their beaches.

They argue that ceding their shorelines to big hotel chains enriches private investors and benefits tourists and outsiders while depriving Jamaicans who depend on the sea for their livelihoods, leisure and health.

The legal battle is being led by the Jamaica Beach Birthright Environmental Movement (Jabbem), created in 2020 after community members clashed with police in violent protests over the closure of Mammee Bay...

Five court cases will begin later this month to try to prevent the privatisation of Mammee Bay and Little Dunn’s River...

The campaigners say the law, which dates back to when Jamaica was a British colony, props up a multibillion-dollar all-inclusive tourism industry that funnels profits out of the country or into the hands of an elite minority...