Building a Coalition to Preserve the Right to Public Access to Beaches

Preserving Public Access to Jordan’s Red Sea

The Jordanian coastline is just 27 km long. Due to ongoing investments – through an economic zone for tourism and development – only 5 kilometers of public access beachfront remains on the Red Sea. The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Council (ASEZA) is the government body responsible for development in the economic zone. Since ASEZA was established in 2001, Jordan has lost 10 km of its shore to investments. JREDS determined that rapid intervention action was needed to preserve the publics’ access to the beachfront. The campaign also highlighted their struggle to preserve the local coral reefs and the diversity of sea life they sustain. This included the livelihoods of the human population living along the same coastal area.

The focus on public access to beaches was important for mobilizing the public. Clean and safe public access to beaches is another issue in Jordan. Areas that are clean and offer changing rooms and showers exist only on private beaches run by hotels. These cost a minimum of 25 JOD (35 USD). This is beyond the reach of most families. Medina Beach, one of the few remaining public beaches, has no such facilities. There are no control towers, lifeguards, or even garbage containers to collect trash. An additional danger is the lack of separate designated swimming and boating areas. This has resulted in deaths from accidents and drowning each year. JREDS focused on public access to clean and safe beaches in order to help mobilize the community in support of their campaign.

Civil Society Mobilizes for Beach Access Fight

The coalition brought together different civil society sectors including non-governmental and community based organizations, youth entities, and universities and education centers to work together in the “Our Beaches Are NOT FOR SALE” campaign. For the coalition to act effectively on many fronts, eight committees within the coalition formed to address the specific needs of the campaign:

Steering Committee – to oversee and coordinate the efforts of the entire campaign

Historical Contest Committee – to build appreciation for the history of the coastal environmental resources and community

Technical Issues Committee – to research the ASEZA structure and Master Plan

Activities and Awareness Committee – to build community awareness of the beaches, ASEZA development plans, and engagement for direct actions

Impact Assessment Committee – to compile information on environmental damages

“Identify the Decision-Makers” Committee – to focus immediate efforts to halt the loss of public access to the beaches

Media Committee – to ensure coverage and outreach through media mechanisms

Legislation Committee – to research the current legislation and draft the desired changes for national legislation

Utilizing the New Tactics Methodology

At the beginning of their project in January 2012, JREDS had used the New Tactics “Strategic Effectiveness” method to provide the framework for capacity building and action development among organizational partners and experts in Aqaba to address this issue. Over the course of a year, 63 organizations and 222 individuals trained in using the Strategic Effectiveness methodology. This training, coupled with the guidance of the eight committee structures, led to the further engagement of 73 organizations and other entities; 77 disabled persons; 1,441 youth (18-25); and 871 students (under 18) that were engaged in advocacy interventions:

Awareness workshops on beach access, coastal resources situation and ASEZA development plans;

Field visits to Aqaba beaches to see the condition of public beaches first hand;

Beach and dive area clean up actions;

Human chain action to bring public and media attention to the situation;

TV and radio interviews;

TV advertisement;

Documentary film

Campaign Sparks Legislative Advocacy Collaborations

As a result of the JREDS campaign, the ASEZA Board of Commissioners accepted the proposed amendments to the ASEZA Master Plan. These permanent changes have been issued in the Official Gazette by the cabinet. JREDS is now poised to advance their comprehensive legal study into legislative advocacy to preserve the public’s right and access to beaches in national law.

In addition to the coalition building and public engagement, another significant success of JREDS campaign was that it brought together the seven largest environmental NGOs in Jordan. These seven NGOs have formed a union of environmental associations, the first of its kind in Jordan. They work to carry out environmental advocacy on a national level.

What we can learn from this Tactic:

JREDS was very successful at building a coalition, which can be a powerful tool by which organizations can achieve their goals. However, coalitions can be difficult to create and maintain because by nature they bring together many different organizations with different backgrounds, ideas, policies, and visions. JREDS used several tactics to help successfully avoid these problems. First, the organization started with a plan, then looked for partners to help achieve it. If a basic plan is not in place, infighting may occur. Using the New Tactics “Strategic Effectiveness” methodology is a good way to create a plan before beginning coalition building. Second, JREDS had a strong organizational structure. The eight committees allowed coalition members to have a say and offered them freedom to create their own activism, but kept the movement centralized and organized. Without this structure, the campaign may have broken down due to its complexity and the large number of people and organizations involved. Finally, JREDS took advantage of the strengths of each coalition group to carry out a large number of different types of activism. A diversity of activities helped bring the issue to a larger audience and contributed the campaign’s eventual success.