Archive for January, 2012

Cayman’s real treasure

It is quite evident that our politicians have failed to notice that the counter to the “bad publicity” the Cayman Islands gets in the international press is almost always about our natural environment. Whether it’s the beautiful diving, Stingray City or the blue iguanas, it is Cayman’s natural unique resources, not the financial ones, that promote the destination in a positive light. But while we have a smorgasbord of legislation associated with protecting the financial services sector, we can count on one hand the laws that protect our natural environment.

In an article published in the UK broad sheet The Independent  this Saturday Cathy Winston points out what is obvious to many people in Cayman but what seems to have failed to strike a chord with our politicians: that the real treasures here are “natural ones, rather than those stashed in bank accounts.”

With no sign of the national conservation law, the beauty of our islands, the myriad unique indigenous species and the precious natural resources remain under constant threat. Although the blue iguanas that Winston writes about may be protected, the habitat in which they live is not. Nor are any of the other unique, indigenous and native reptiles, bats, butterflies, flowers, orchids, trees or shrubs, many of which are on the brink of disappearing.

While these three islands are home to more unique fauna and flora than the world famous Galapagos Islands, most of the species that occupy the land have no protection at all.

As development continues and government appears obsessed by the idea that development is the only way out of our current economic difficulties, the conservation law has once again been put on hold.

Despite the claims on the campaign trail that this government would implement a conservation law, following the failure of the previous administration to do so, at well over halfway through their term in office, after months and months of consulting and more consulting, the national conservation bill continues to gather dust on a ministry shelf somewhere.

From the mangroves which were unnecessarily ripped out from the North Sound coast more than 18 months ago on the site of the proposed Dragon Bay development to the impending threat to the central wetlands with the planned relocation of the landfill, nature continues to be grossly undervalued by the government.

The many conservationists here in Cayman that go about their business quietly doing what they can to try and protect the dwindling resources are often derided and dismissed as lentil eating tree huggers. The connection between environments and eco systems is misunderstood and the danger of reaching a tipping point from which the existing natural diversity is pushed over the edge, never to be recovered, is being ignored, despite the clear and unequivocal warnings issued by the country’s experts.

The ignorance displayed by many people, not least the politicians, when it comes to understanding the environmental connectivity and the impact development ‘over here' has on nature 'over there’ continues to be a major threat to the future of the islands as a tourism destination.

People do not come on vacation to Cayman to look at concrete buildings.

If we do not stop clearing land and continuing to develop without an overall plan that includes a real commitment to preserving the habitat as well as the creatures and plants living and growing in it, the beauty that we are clinging on to could be lost forever. Cayman cannot live on cash alone and we will not recover our economic fortunes by selling out our environment.

While people are planning to march against the movement of the dump and the fight to preserve the West Bay Road, they must also begin to focus far more heavily on the bigger picture, which is the environment as a whole.

The NCL has struggled to make it to the floor of the Legislative Assembly because the conservation movement is as yet still in its infancy and there has not been a single non-governmental voice lobbying for it.

There are no independent organisations in Cayman that are vocal when it comes to protecting the natural world. While self interest groups will come together from time to time to fight a common battle (such as over the proposed East End Sea Port) there are no coordinate efforts to protect the whole of our environment.

The Department of Environment remains a staunch advocate but as a government department there are limits to what the staff can do other than spell out the growing dangers of what we are doing to the land on which we live. The National Trust works tirelessly but far too quietly because, again, it is heavily dependent on funding from the government to survive and cannot risk a high profile opposition to government’s neglect of the environment.

It is evident now that this government is very unlikely to pass the original NCL through the legislative process. Even if it does get to the bill before the next election in the hope of picking up a few votes, it is likely to be a watered down version of the original law.

With no formal environmental plan, no laws and no independent green advocacy for our environment, it may not be long before our true national treasure is plundered.

Go to The Independent article

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Political suicide

At the risk of understatement here, even the most diehard UDP supporters cannot deny that the current government is doing a pretty good job at rubbing at lot of the voting public up the wrong way at the moment. But there is little doubt that when it comes to upsetting the electorate the best way to do it is to tell them you are moving the dump to their town. Relocating a landfill under any circumstances is nothing less than political suicide for any administration and especially the representatives of the constituency involved.

It would not matter if the government could find a way to make the proposed new facility the most eco-friendly, state-of-the-art, nice-smelling, prettiest-looking dump the world has ever seen, the community, in this case Bodden Town, will not under any circumstances thank their government for it and it is not hard to understand why.

But the two government representatives for the district of Bodden Town must recognise that if this move goes ahead, 16 months from now they are undoubtedly going to lose their seats.

It would be a miracle if Dwayne Seymour, who was elected by only the narrowest of margins with less than 37 percent of the vote, is re-elected, especially given his performance in office, not to mention the embarrassingly public domestic dispute which landed the MLA in court.

In fact, he would probably have more chance of being re-elected if he stood up and said he did not support the dump move and challenged the UDP party hierarchy. Leading a rebellion and joining the coalition could save what is looking like a very short lived political career and even make him a hero in the community (if not a sacred vessel).

Mark Scotland's record in office has been marginally more impressive as he has presided over some improvements at the HSA, and he might, if he can sort out the health insurance before the end of his term, have something to campaign on. With over half of the district’s electorate backing him in the poll last year, Scotland did, until the dump came along, have a hope, despite the UDP’s dwindling popularity, not to mention the challenge to his return following the issues surrounding his declaration of interests at the last election.

His support for the project and his failure to speak with the district he represents on the dump issue has certainly pulled the rug from under that hope. He cannot seriously imagine that when he gets on the campaign trail people will be whooping and cheering for the BT dump. However many of the UDP party faithful are shipped into the district for the political rallies, it won’t change the results in the polling booth.

Working on the assumption that the two men are not completely politically challenged, they must be aware of this. Oh to be a fly in their brain. What must they really, honestly think?

Both men own homes in the district, have extended families and close friends that also own homes, and they know full well, despite what they say in public, that moving the dump to Bodden Town will be, quite simply, the worst thing they could do for their constituents. (Perhaps putting the oil refinery there would have been worse, though really there’s not much in it.)

They are residents in the district and must recognise that the value of their own homes is at risk. Despite their public rhetoric, in their private moments their despair is probably quite moving.

Both Scotland and Seymour are also very well aware, or at least should be as they are in government, that the proposed eco-waste-management park, which is a fabulous modern way of dealing with garbage, could very easily be established at the existing site.

Recycling, composting and waste-to-energy could all happen now at Mount Trashmore. Had government continued with the contract negotiations with Wheelabrator and its local partner CWML (some more lost votes for government there!) the work would have started by now. In time, once the existing pile of garbage was being burned and turned into energy, the landfill would begin to come down and remediation could have happened on site.

It is, of course, no surprise that the Dart Group wants the dump moved. It is without doubt a serious blight to the group’s not insubstantial investment. Nevertheless, for government to take such a significant step, even if it really believes the ultimate financial return to the country from Dart’s continued development would outweigh the significant detrimental consequences of moving a dump, the process requires a mammoth amount of research, analysis and ultimately an extensive PR and consultation campaign.

One midweek evening public meeting is hardly enough to win the hearts and minds of those you are about to dump on.

Just about every waste-management expert in the world will say that no matter how bad the circumstances of an existing landfill, moving it will always make things worse. In our case the landfill has already contaminated the site where it is and it is essential that this is addressed. So much time has been lost over the years through procrastination and then the economic downturn but this decision has further delayed the literally mounting problem.

We have to stop the leeching and runoff and begin to reduce the mound. We desperately need a comprehensive recycling and composting programme and the dump needs to be mined.  None of this is going to be pretty but it is still much better that going to a pristine wetlands site, in the middle of a residential district, 17 miles away from where 80% of your waste isgenerated. 

Even if the existing landfill is capped, it will be decades before it will be safe for use. If government persists with this foolhardy plan, the result will not only be two contaminated dump sites but at least two contaminated  MLAs as well.

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