Bauxite mining in Jamaica: A post-independence study of the development of environmental law, policy, and regulations

This study evaluates the legislative structure of environmental laws, regulations, and policies in relation to bauxite mining in post-independence Jamaica. My inquiry takes a political economy approach to understand how the island's economic, political, and social positioning in the world economy affects the ability of the state and other governing bodies to effectively construct, legislate, and amend existing environmental policies. The intention of this research is to attempt to investigate questions at to why, how, and under what criteria does environmental policy develop. This neo-Marxist approach and will be theoretically grounded in (1) dependency theory at the macro level and (2) public participation and decision making at the micro level. Incorporated within my research and analysis derives the theoretical background of environmental policy, democratic processes, political economy, public participation and decision making, and state/society relations. The combination of these various disciplines in evaluative research is important to my approach and is warranted so as to begin to understand the development and dynamics of environmental laws, policies, and regulations in relation to the bauxite mining industry in Jamaica. If examined individually, a thorough understanding of environmental laws, regulations, and policies vis-a-vis the state would not fully reveal a political economy understanding to Jamaica's situation. To link these two areas together, I use (3) regulation theory to integrate a conclusion based on the observations of theoretical and empirical findings.