Ebanks-Wilks: ‘We can no longer be quiet about sustainability’

Residents of the Cayman Islands need to be more vocal about their work and successes in building a sustainable environment, according to Katherine Ebanks-Wilks.

In her first public speech as Minister of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency, the former parliamentary speaker described her hopes for a “cleaner, greener, safer Cayman”.

She told attendees at the University College of the Cayman Islands’ Sustainability Workshop that she was very encouraged by the work that has been done so far.

“Often this work is going on quietly and almost unseen in the background,” she said on Friday, 1 Dec., during the second morning of the two-day event.

“We are doing what Caymanians have done for generations, keeping our heads down, working hard, trusting that our actions will speak for us.

“But we can no longer be quiet. As organisations and individuals, we need to be vocal about what matters to us and proudly celebrate our victories.”

The sustainability minister said that Caymanians have the ability to combine their voices into a message so powerful, it cannot be ignored.

“Together, we can lift each other up and celebrate these incredible strides towards a cleaner, greener, safer Cayman, where all of our people can thrive,” she said.

Everyone has a responsibility to the next generation to do their part to embrace sustainability and put it into practice in everything that they do, Ebanks-Wilks said.

The minister said Cayman has an incredible opportunity to use technologies, innovations and practices to meet the needs of the present without compromising future generations.

What is sustainability?

Ebanks-Wilks told the gathered academics, teachers and students that sustainability is one of those words that means something different to everyone.

“It’s really easy to think that sustainability is just about protecting the environment,” she said.

“But sustainability is really about people. It’s about us, our children, our grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and future generations of the Cayman Islands that we will never meet.”

Caymanians have been practising sustainability long before using the word, the minister said, adding that the older generation reused, recycled and repurposed.

“Because of their ingenuity and resourcefulness, my generation inherited a Cayman with pristine beaches that attract millions of tourists every year,” the minister added.

Ebanks-Wilks described vibrant coral reefs that support fisheries, mangrove wetlands that protect coastal communities and forests that are home to unique plants and animals.

“Will the next generation be able to enjoy the same inheritance? I certainly want my children and their children and their children to be able to call the Cayman Islands home.

“And I know that the youth of our country are growing more and more concerned and anxious about their ability to do just that.

“They want to know that they will be able to enjoy the same simple joys and major milestones that we did,” she said.

The minister said some of those milestones include seeing egrets flying over North Sound, buying a home, and being able to walk the length of Seven Mile Beach.

Ebanks-Wilks became minister of sustainability and climate resiliency under the United People’s Movement government after she resigned as speaker on 15 Nov.

She took over the role from former Premier Wayne Panton who offered his resignation following a failed vote of no confidence moved by the Opposition.