Cracks in cave talks

THERE has been no firm decision to resite residents of St. Thomas who would be affected by a Harrison's Cave protection boundary or compulsorily acquire their land. Minister of Environment Rawle Eastmond said the matter was under review. He told an environmental rap session at Treading Lightly that Government had been paying royalties to people whose properties were on top of the cave, but he was now hearing of claims from some people that they had never been paid.

Leonard St. Hill, a former chief town planner, said the decision to reclassify the land around Harrison's Cave from a Zone Four to a Zone One would have to be a policy decision by the political directorate. However, he said that people living and owning land there before 1968 can claim "existing use rights" and therefore had the right to continue using the land for the same purpose. St. Hill also said that any extension or improvement of Harrison's Cave should not be done without permission of the land owners. He said the law made it clear that the landlords owned the land from the air above them right down to the centre of the earth and therefore the caves were the property of the landlords and they should be paid royalties for use of their land.

The proposal by the Chief Town Planner would see the present protection zone around the cave being expanded about six times to take in a total area of about 650 000 square metres affecting hundreds of properties. The protection area takes on Zone One characteristics which prohibit further development in order to reduce pollution reaching the cave. 

Affected St. Thomas residents are unhappy because the proposal would render their land useless and they have formed an association to fight the Government. One of the organising residents said the first they heard of these plans was at a town hall meeting despite claims from the Environmental Special Projects Unit that it worked closely with the community.

"Ninety-nine per cent of the people do not want to be relocated. The view from my house is out of this world. Can they replace the view or the breeze?" one resident asked.

Dr. Colin Hudson of Treading Lightly said this was an excellent problem-solving opportunity and suggested that this be used as a base
experiment for appropriate technologies, such as biodigesters and compost toilets, which could be replicated around the island.

Environment ministry takes on more

THE Ministry of the Environment is becoming larger from April 1. Coming on board is the Environmental Engineering Division from the Ministry of Health, well placed sources said.

However, Minister of the Environment Rawle Eastmond said the matter had come to his attention "informally" that departments elsewhere could come under his ministry as the role of the ministry was under review.

"It is clear that Government is reassessing the Ministry of Environment, and where there are specific units in Government that bear any sort of relevance to environment, it seems as though Government is prepared to put them under the general ambit of the Ministry of the Environment," he said. "It raises concerns as to management, it raises concerns as to deployment of resources but all I can say at this moment is that it has gone abroad informally that the Ministry of the Environment could attract at least two or three new departments under it. I have not been given any authority to elaborate or any authority to be specific, but Government is in the whole process of rationalisation."

Eastmond said that a draft Environmental Protection Management Act was submitted to Cabinet two weeks ago for comment from various ministries which would be affected by proposed changes. He said comments should be had in another three weeks after which it will be circulated for comment among the stakeholders. Among other proposals, the new law seeks to create a Natural Heritage Unit
[to manage the island's environmental stock and trails] and the post of a Director of the Environment to have overall responsibility, but Eastmond said such a recommendation would mean changes affecting several ministries.

Five honoured by G-G

FIVE people have received the Governor-General's 2001 Environmental Awards for their work in protection of the environment and improvement of the quality of life.

Edward Cumberbatch was rewarded for his "outstanding work in soil conservation and environmental preservation" while Dr. Leonard Nurse, Dr J. Gordon Murphy, and Ralph Edghill were rewarded jointly for their "valuable work towards the improve and protection of the marine environment in the coastal regions of Barbados". Rodney Grant received an award on behalf of the Pinelands Creative Workshop
for its "extensive work in the promotion of the concept of a sustainable community".

The awards were presented in a ceremony at Government House on February 19 which was attended by the awardees, their guests, and members of the Future Centre Trust.

Endangered turtles

BUILDING on turtle-nesting beaches are impacting on turtles in more ways than one.

In Barbados, it is now illegal to harvest any type of turtle or be in possession of its meat or shell. This was done to protect the reptiles from extinction.

In her article in the December 2000 edition of The Journal Of The Barbados Museum And Historical Society, Dr. Julia Horrocks writes that construction too close to the high water mark can cause an imbalance in the sex ratio of hatchlings.

"In sea turtles, sex is determined at the temperature at which eggs are incubated," she wrote. "Warm temperatures produce females and cool temperatures produce males. Turtles that are forced to nest too close  to high water are nesting cooler parts of the beach. This will result in a disproportionate number of males being produced. When populations are endangered, it is particularly important not to reduce the production of egg-bearing females."