Topic: National Conservation Council
EDITORIAL – Conservation Council: Once fanged and feared, now dormant and toothless
Although we do not believe that the interests of environmental advocates should be given equal standing with the wishes of citizens seeking to use or develop their own private property, we would defend the position that concerns about the environment are oftentimes valid and in need of thoughtful advocacy.
Conservation council re-formed after hiatus
The National Conservation Council has been reappointed, with McFarlane Connolly as chairman, and is scheduled to meet shortly. The council has been effectively out of action since September because the term limits of the counselors expired and were not renewed.
National Trust backs updated environmental study on port
The National Trust for the Cayman Islands has called for government to follow the recommendations of the National Conservation Council on whether or not to proceed with the cruise berthing project.
Council aims to protect wild places
The National Conservation Council is seeking proposals from the public for land to conserve for environmental purposes.
Conservation council questions music festival site approval
The National Conservation Council is questioning why its advice was not considered before the Dart group was granted planning permission for an event site that will host a major music festival next year.
Conservation council defends record on assessments
Less than one percent of projects referred to the National Conservation Council were required to go through environmental impact assessments in the past 18 months, according to the council’s annual report.
EDITORIAL – In the ‘Lizard Lotto,’ we’re putting our money on the lizards
One lesson about wars: Don’t declare them if you do not intend to win them.
National Trust raising funds to protect land
The National Trust is ramping up its campaign to raise funds to buy and safeguard environmentally important land from development, following a government decision to drop its funding to the National Conservation Council to buy land for protected areas.
Conservation Council chairwoman quits
The chairwoman of the National Conservation Council has resigned from the position amid increasing uncertainty about the future of the environmental law.
Protecting marine life is a matter of survival
Spearfishing is only one part of a large variety of ways that I believe we must change our take from the reefs if we hope to solve this problem before it is too late for our most important, most endangered species.
EDITORIAL – Conservation Law: Time to reexamine, revise … or rewrite
Like cavalry to the rescue, a review committee may soon recommend changes to the law, which bestowed a shocking amount of power on a small appointed group, enabling them to trample the rights of property owners while pushing their agenda on private citizens and public bodies.
New spearfishing licenses may be approved
Seeking to preserve a Caymanian tradition without destroying the islands’ marine environment, the National Conservation Council has proposed a compromise over spearfishing.
Cute but deadly: Sugar gliders threaten native species
When a small, cute looking, bug-eyed possum, known as a sugar glider, escaped on a Cayman Airways flight earlier this year, it sparked concerns about the potential impact of exotic pet smuggling.
Waste management project to undergo EIA
An environmental impact assessment will be required before construction on the Cayman Island’s new waste-management infrastructure can commence.
National Conservation Council meeting: Council in dark over gov’t plans
Five months after the general election, Cayman’s National Conservation Council says it is struggling, in vain, to get a meeting with the new minister for the environment.
Environment officers fighting poachers
Lobster, conch, turtles and a parrot are among the illegally taken animals seized by environment enforcement officers in recent investigations, according to a report to the National Conservation Council.
Tip of the spear, end of an era
Most young Cayman Islands fishermen will never know the thrill of the hunt – and sometimes, being hunted – that accompanies the practice of spearfishing.
Planning begins for management of new protected areas
With six more protected areas added to the National Conservation Law, work is under way to acquire land and establish management protocol.
Watchdog group criticizes genetically modified mosquito project
While researchers hope to expand their genetically modified mosquito program to the entire island of Grand Cayman around February, a U.K.-based nonprofit organization has released a report questioning the efficacy of the initiative and criticizing the project’s public approval process.
Premier: ‘Ridiculous’ parts of Conservation Law will be removed
Battle lines are being redrawn in the conflict between development and the environment as the government prepares to walk back some of the provisions of Cayman’s National Conservation Law.
Brac cliffs nominated for protection
The cliff faces of Cayman Brac have been nominated to be protected areas under the National Conservation Law.
DOE: No environmental studies for 2 new hotels
Two new hotel projects planned for Grand Cayman will not be required to go through Environmental Impact Assessments before being granted planning approval. Director of the Department of Environment Gina Ebanks-Petrie said Wednesday that the department would offer its opinion to the Central Planning Authority on the projects but would not require either developer to go through the extra step of an independent study.
Islandwide GM mosquito release approved
The National Conservation Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the islandwide rollout of the genetically modified mosquito program without the need for a new independent risk assessment. Bill Petrie, head of the Mosquito Research and Control Unit, said a national program using the technique to fight the disease-spreading Aedes aegypti mosquito could begin in February next year.
EDITORIAL – Time to place the Conservation Law on the endangered list
A pair of planned resort properties are setting the spotlight on the southernmost tip of the Seven Mile Beach area … and on the Cayman Islands’ powerful National Conservation Council.
EDITORIAL – Lionfish imports: Who’s eating whose lunch?
The following is a serious situation that raises fundamental questions about the free market, regulations and the natural environment, but it’s still difficult to describe without a sprinkling of irony.
Proposed Little Cayman road draws DoE warning
Proposals for a new road in Little Cayman could open up 200 acres of “pristine primary habitat” to potential development, the Department of Environment has warned.
Cullers call for lionfish import ban
Some lionfish cullers are calling for a ban on the import of the invasive fish to force restaurants in the Cayman Islands to buy local.
Plan hatched to release GM mosquitoes across Cayman Islands
Plans to expand the release of genetically modified mosquitoes across Grand Cayman have been submitted to the National Conservation Council.
Miller defends ‘swamp’ road proposal
North Side legislator Ezzard Miller defended plans for three new roads in the district and accused the National Conservation Council of being “out of touch” for requesting an environmental impact assessment before the roads could be gazetted.
Iguana cull to start in May
A cull manager will be recruited on a short-term contract to take charge of a four-month blitz on Cayman’s invasive green iguanas, starting in May. The project involves contract cullers who will be paid $2-a-head, and more casual community participants, who will be paid in raffle tickets.
Dart’s beach rock removal plan to require environmental study
The National Conservation Council voted Wednesday to require an environmental impact assessment before developer Dart Real Estate is permitted to remove beach rock from the waters off Seven Mile Beach.
Council plans to advance protection of Little Cayman’s east end
A large parcel of Crown land in Little Cayman’s east interior is among six sites on the island nominated for Protected Area status under Cayman’s new National Conservation Law.
Little Cayman Booby Pond nominated for expanded protection
Little Cayman’s Booby Pond on the island’s south side is among six sites on the island nominated for Protected Area status under Cayman’s new National Conservation Law. According to the Department of Environment website, Booby Pond is the Cayman Islands’ only Ramsar site – a designation it received in 1994 as a wetland of international importance.
Barkers National Park plan revived
Plans to turn part of the Barkers peninsula into a national park are included in an initial list of proposals for the Cayman Islands’ first protected areas.
EDITORIAL – ‘Road kill’: The impact of the impact assessment
The political cliché “There’s plenty of blame to go around” does not apply to the controversy now swirling around the announcement by the National Conservation Council’s unanimous decision to require an environmental impact assessment before the “Ironwood road” can proceed.
Ironwood: EIA could kill road deal
Golf resort developer Ironwood has claimed that the requirement to carry out an environmental impact assessment on a new 10-mile stretch of highway could kill the road project.
EDITORIAL – Head-on collision: New highway and environmental law
A highway is plotted directly through the “ecological heart of Grand Cayman.” On one side are elected leaders who support the project. On the other are officials charged with protecting the environment. What we have here, folks, is a high-stakes game of chicken.
New policy for vetting genetically modified imports
Future applications to bring alien species, including genetically modified organisms, into the Cayman Islands could face environmental impact assessments, similar to that required for major developments, under a new policy being devised by the National Conservation Council.
Ten-mile highway extension faces environmental roadblock
A 10-mile highway extension providing swift access from George Town to a planned golf resort in the eastern districts will require an environmental impact assessment before it gets the green light, the National Conservation Council ruled Wednesday.
Points system devised for protected land
A detailed scoring system has been devised to assess nominations for land to be protected under the new National Conservation Law.
EDITORIAL – Force of ‘nature’: An activist on the public payroll
Any “environmentalist” worth his or her salt is a fierce soldier, eager to take up arms against perceived adversaries. Remember that if your battle cry is “save the environment,” it must be saved from someone — that is, other humans.
Full National Conservation Law now in force
The final sections of the National Conservation Law, including a legal requirement for threats to the environment to be considered in planning decisions, came into force Monday.
Premier: Opposition to GM mosquito release political grandstanding
Premier Alden McLaughlin, in a press statement Tuesday, criticized opponents of the genetically modified mosquito program, as the Public Health Department confirmed Cayman’s first local cases of Zika.
Conservation Council begins search for land to protect
The National Conservation Council is seeking nominations from the public for land to be protected for conservation purposes.
Judge explains mosquito project decision
When lawyers of opponents to the genetically modified mosquito project filed an application for a stay and judicial review on July 13 – a review that could have ended the project – Justice Ingrid Mangatal suddenly had more than 598 pages worth of evidence and documents to review.
Judge to rule Monday on release of GM mosquitoes
A judge will deliver her ruling on Monday on whether millions of genetically modified mosquitoes can be released in West Bay.
Judicial review of GM mosquito plan gets under way
A lawyer representing opponents of a planned release of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in West Bay told a judicial review Tuesday that a “proper risk assessment” of the project had not been done.
$6 million allotted for land conservation
The National Conservation Council has welcomed the allocation of $6 million from the Environmental Protection Fund to buy up land to create protected areas.
EDITORIAL – ‘Tip of the spear’: The Conservation Council’s conflicts
When it comes to the National Conservation Council and its potential conflicts, we feel that concerns over fishing methods and fish species may end up being just “the tip of the spear.”
Conservation Council in spear conundrum
The National Conservation Council has raised concerns that its responsibility for renewing spear fishing licenses may conflict with its legal duty to protect threatened fish species.
Haitian trash identified on Cayman beaches
Trash discarded as far away as Haiti is washing up on beaches in Cayman, according to citizen-scientists taking part in a beach plastics survey on the island.
Revised marine parks plan put forward
A new system of marine parks, turning 40 percent of Cayman’s coastal waters into no-fishing zones, has gone to Cabinet for approval.
New energy, climate change policies planned
Government is planning a review of its draft energy and climate change policies early this year in light of ambitious new targets established at a world summit in Paris last month.
Top stories of 2015: Cruise plan divided Cayman in 2015
Plans for a new cruise terminal in George Town harbor dominated the headlines and divided the Cayman Islands community throughout 2015.
From the National Conservation Council
National Conservation Council responds to Compass editorial.
Paris climate deal prompts call for action in Cayman
The Cayman Islands must set more aggressive targets on increasing renewable energy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the light of the Paris agreement on climate change, green energy advocates have said.
The Council: Conservation consternation
It's difficult (but not impossible) to give the protection of the environment a bad name, but the National Conservation Council is making some headway.
Conservation Council bans video recording, photography at public meetings
The National Conservation Council, a year-old council formed under the National Conservation Law, announced Monday that while the public is welcome to attend the meetings, video recording and photography will not be allowed.
Port politics: 'The Council' comes to life
Flexing its muscles against its creator, the National Conservation Council is attempting to impede the Progressives government’s pursuit of the cruise berthing project downtown.
Conservation Council questions Ministry of Tourism role in pier project
The National Conservation Council has questioned the role of the Ministry of Tourism in pushing for the cruise pier project.
Panton: Spearfishing rules may be changed
Environment Minister Wayne Panton indicated Wednesday that long-standing rules banning the importation of spear gun parts and the granting of new spearfishing licenses could be changed, depending on recommendations from the National Conservation Council.
The issue was raised Wednesday in the Legislative Assembly.
West Bay fishermen oppose marine zone expansion
In a second meeting to present the new marine parks plan in West Bay, about 100 people showed up Monday night to voice their opposition to the plan to Department of Environment officials.
To kill a green iguana
Human beings are notorious for — and notoriously bad at — manipulating Nature to suit their temporal whims. In other words, playing God. Hubris has brought down greater and wiser men than we ...
$40 million price tag to lessen port impact
The price tag for managing the environmental impact of building cruise piers in George Town harbor could rise to more than $40 million, depending on which options government decides to pursue.
$200K project planned to control iguana pest
Sniffer dogs and marksmen could be used in separate initiatives to fight a growing problem with green iguanas in Grand Cayman and on the Sister Islands.
Coral relocation impact questioned
Members of the National Conservation Council have questioned the feasibility of coral relocation as a means of offsetting the destruction of reefs in George Town harbor for a proposed cruise pier construction project.
Department of Environment director speaks out on cruise port project
The environmental consequences of proceeding with the cruise berthing project will still be “extremely dire” even if mitigation measures are deployed, the director of the Cayman Islands Department of Environment has warned.
Contractors support dock project
The Cayman Contractors Association has thrown its weight behind plans for new cruise piers in George Town harbor.
Fishermen object to marine parks plan
Department of Environment officials this week brought their proposals for an enhanced system of marine parks to West Bay, where they received a less-than-enthusiastic response from fishermen.
Conservation Council criticizes port plan
The National Conservation Council has criticized the cruise berthing proposal for George Town harbor, citing concerns with the economic costs and environmental damage.
Speed limit immobility: Sign of the times
It is difficult to think of an act of governance more simple than setting a speed limit.
