National Trust: Conservation council being ‘effectively disbanded’

Cabinet must appoint new members to the National Conservation Council to protect Cayman’s environment, the National Trust has urged.

In a statement, it alleged the council is being “effectively disbanded” and there are no plans for members to be appointed or reappointed at the end of their terms.

“The lack of an active National Conservation Council is to the detriment of the people and environment of the Cayman Islands,” the natural and cultural heritage group said.

The National Conservation Act details the required establishment of a National Conservation Council.

One of its functions is to promote biological diversity, and the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in the Cayman Islands, the act says.

It also is responsible for maintaining protected areas and conservation areas, critical habitats of protected species and other natural resources, among other things.

The National Trust said on Friday, 5 May, the government must follow the National Conservation Act to “protect its environment and its people, present and future”.

“The [act] is an historic piece of legislation which brought the Cayman Islands in line with international best practices on a number of environmental issues,” the Trust said.

It added that environmental legislation has been key to protecting people around the world from the “unintended, unforeseen and irreversible” impacts of the actions of others.

“Impacts which can lead to severe decreases in quality of life and even mortality if left unchecked,” the non-profit, which has an obligation to nominate a council member, said.

According to the National Conservation Council website, all current members were appointed in 2021 for two-year terms.

The Compass has contacted the Ministry for Sustainability and Climate Resiliency and is awaiting a comment.

A clear position

The Trust expressed these concerns within a larger statement reacting to unanimous parliamentary support for work to begin on the East-West Arterial extension.

In the 27 April session, MPs voted in favour of a private member’s motion asking for a section of the road to be built without an environmental impact assessment.

The organisation said it understands the frustration of the people sitting in traffic daily and has never been categorically opposed to this road.

However, it takes the “clear position” that large infrastructure projects that have the potential to permanently alter the islands’ environment should be done in the right way.

The motion contravenes the National Conservation Act, the Trust said, adding that it is international best practice to do an assessment on a project of this scale.

“An environmental impact assessment looks not just at how the project will impact the natural world but how those impacts will affect the people living nearby,” the group wrote.

“This allows those building the road to have the best information available to mitigate potential problems caused by the road to the community and the natural environment.”

The group’s statement said that without proper assessment there is the risk of impacts from the disruption of any number of natural processes.

These include potential catastrophic flooding of communities south of the road, the slow drying out of the mangroves to the north of the road, and impacts to the freshwater lens.

The section of the road discussed would directly pass through land that the National Trust holds for the people of Cayman.

It has the “further potential to impact several of our historic and environmental sites through indirect and cumulative impacts”, the Trust continued.

“Rushing this process risks imparting permanent negative impacts on the people of Cayman without giving them the opportunity to weigh them against the potential benefits.”

The group suggested other options for easing traffic in the short term such as introducing buses for all schools, both public and private; staggered work and school start times; and incentives for non-car travel.