| Date: Sun 18-Dec-1994 Paper Page: 5A Publication: sun Byline: Terry Ally DON'T touch Turner's Hall Woods just yet, conservationists are warning the Government. In fact, the Barbados Environmental Association (BEA) says the authorities will have to contend with "public pressure from the NGO community" if development of the forested 75-acre St. Andrew site is not dealt with "properly". An announcement on Friday by Tourism and Environment Minister Dr. Richard Cheltenham of plans for turning Turner's Hall into an eco-tourism attraction caught the BEA by surprise. It wants him to suspend all development plans. Conservationists cautioned that development of the area could destroy the foundation on which the tourist attraction would be built and predicted that it could not last 10 years. Investigations by the SUNDAY SUN reveal that the woodland's future was the subject of in-depth discussion among various Governmental committees and experts, including the Scientific Committee on CITES (Convention in Trade of Endangered Species) and the Government's Task Force on Tourism, and each recommended that the site should not be touched. It is also understood that strong arguments against the development was put forward by a leading expert on plant biology who was involved in the development of other eco-tourism trails in forested areas. The BEA also said it too was "not aware of any proposal put to Government recommending this development." Noting that rare plant and animal species are contained in the woods, the Association said that development of the area for "any sustainable eco-tourism use can only be done on sound scientific investigation." The BEA called on Cheltenham "to make public details of his proposal and the scientific findings, and to halt any development plans until these documents have been reviewed and discussed by the Association and other interest parties." It called for the woods to be legislated as a protected area, citing its "ecological sensitivity." "If the matter is not dealt with properly Government can expect to experience public pressure from the NGO community," the Association said. And it called on the Minister to disclose Government's eco-tourism and environmental policy. During a courtesy call by Executive Director of the Caribbean Conservation Association Calvin Howell, Cheltenham said consideration was being given by Government to opening Turner's Hall Woods to the public for 12 weeks each year. He said that this "precious asset" should not just be looked at from afar but it should be put to use and suggested that the woods, which represent what remains of original forests on the island, would be a major tourist attraction once pathways were put in and trees identified and labeled. |