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| Caribbean Property Magazine Home / March 2008 / 'Sustainable Living March 2008' | SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND  |
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MARCH  2 0 0 8Issue 14
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FOUR NATIONS, FOUR CITIES TAKE CLIMATE NEUTRAL PLEDGE  CN Net's founding members admitted facing unique problems on the road to "zero emissions" economies. | ||||
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The beautiful Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), long a haven for scuba divers, are one of the UK's remaining 14 Overseas Territories. One of the world's most famous coral reefs, located in TCI, is being put at risk by work to develop a luxury resort in the heart of a Caribbean national park, local TCI campaigners claim. For centuries the reef, one of the globe's top dive sites, has been a haven for indigenous wildlife such as turtles, shrimp, conch and lobster.  British residents living on the island of Providenciales have lodged an official complaint with the Foreign Affairs Select Committee saying the mammoth scheme could spell disaster for the fragile ecosystem. The development, which includes a Miami-style Beach resort, condominiums and yacht club, involves dredging thousands of tons of sand from the sea-bed to allow 200ft-long vessels to pass through. The work is destroying the habitat for myriad seabed marine life, it is alleged, and causing silt to settle on the coral and smother it. Divers claim parts of the ocean floor now look more like a building site than a valuable and protected ecosystem. Local tour operators say they fear for their livelihoods while people living nearby say they have suffered with noise and dust since the project began last autumn. A number of local tour operators' premisesm, along with a restaurant, were bulldozed last year to make way for the scheme. Residents say they are being kept awake by horrendous noise. They express grave concern about the huge mountain of dredged sand at nearby Emerald Point estimated to be around 50 metres long, 200 metres wide and 15 metres high, noting that if there was a hurricane it would be a disaster. This development is right on the edge of the Princess Alexandra National Park which has always been quite aggressively protected. A spokesman for the TCI's Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) said the dredging was being monitored daily by a construction group working on behalf of the planning department and the DECR. Leeward Marina Resort developer said the company had carried out a number of environmental impact studies and notes that everything has been licenced and received planning permission approval, and that all work is being done to international standards. Just this week, the TCI Government declared 2008 to be the Year of the Coral Reef. One can only hope this will herald protection for the reef and the marine life which depend on its survival.  Far from the spreading slums of the Haitian capital, past barren dirt mountains and hillsides stripped to a chalky white core, woodcutters can be seen bringing down a towering oak tree in one of the few forested valleys left in the Caribbean country. Many Haitians feel they have little choice but to make a living in a way that is causing environmental disaster in Haiti. There are few ways to earn money in Haiti, and by pushing a saw through splintering wood someone can earn as much as $12.50, depending on how many planks the wood will produce. Such raw economics explain the disappearance of Haiti's forests, a process that has led to erosion that has reduced scarce farm land and left the island vulnerable to deadly flooding. U.N. experts say just 2 to 4 percent of forest cover remains in Haiti, down from 7 to 9 percent in 1981. And despite millions invested in reforestation, such efforts have mostly failed because of economic pressures and political turmoil. For example, the U.S. Agency for International Development embarked on an ambitious $22.8 million project in the 1980s to plant some 30 million trees that could provide income for peasants. But the project focused on trees that can be made into charcoal for cooking, and so nearly all were eventually cut down, as Haitians cannot afford to buy cooking gas. In a nation where 80 percent of the 8.7 million people live on less than $2 a day, trees mean income for those lucky enough to have access to them. Compared to the USAID's failed plan, smaller programs have had more luck by focusing on fruit trees, which farmers are more likely to preserve to sell the fruit. And smaller organizations are able to work with individual farmers and tailor planting to the needs of specific areas. Some groups say they've found success on a limited scale by planting fruit trees and protecting hardwoods through micro-loans and agricultural assistance. Floresta USA, based in San Diego, has been working in Haiti for the last decade and is now planting about 33,000 fruit and hardwood trees a year. The Organization for the Rehabilitation of the Environment, based in southern Haiti, has produced more than a million fruit trees since it began work in 1985. "People aren't excited about, 'Hey let's go plant trees.' They're excited about, 'How can I feed my family? How can I make ends meet?'" said Scott Sabin, executive director of Floresta.  But many who are dedicated to restoring Haiti's forests have grown pessimistic. Despite small successes, prospects are grim for implementing such programs on a grand scale. "Everything has been studied and all the solutions are already known," said the head of the Organization for the Rehabilitation of the Environment. "But when it comes to implementation, it becomes a place where everybody's fighting for the money. They're not fighting for results." Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with its neighbor, the Dominican Republic, which still has some of the most impressive forests in the Caribbean. In stark contrast, parts of Haiti now resemble a moonscape of barren mountains billowing dust. Hillsides are blasted away to make bricks for the capital, Port-au-Prince.  And, the trees keep falling. Orange fires can still be seen in the hills above the capital as farmers clear land at night. At the La Saline market, charcoal vendors arrive each day with mountains of bags, their faces coated with black dust. "In Haiti we destroy instead of produce," acknowledges a vendor, who sells 110-pound sacks for $6.25. "They're going to tell the poor to stop cutting down trees. But what will we do to make a living?" It may be too late to restore Haiti's lost forests, says an environmental specialist who has overseen Haiti projects. He suggests planting crops that can stabilize the soil and be sold or used for bio-fuels. Others promote raising money through carbon credits from overseas firms emitting greenhouse gases elsewhere.  Dr. David Suzuki, one of the world’s most celebrated voices on preserving the environment, will deliver the keynote address at the 10th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development to be held April 28 to May 1, 2008 at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort & Spa (by Sandals), a Green Globe Certified hotel. Dr. Suzuki, the Canadian geneticist and environmental scientist, is the co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, whose mission is to promote energy efficiency and ecological fiscal reform. As keynote speaker, Dr. Suzuki will have the opportunity to address environmental issues in keeping with the theme of this year’s conference, Keeping the Right Balance—Sustaining the Caribbean Coastal Product. Many experts have identified the Caribbean as a region that would be greatly impacted by the continued adverse effects of global warming and other environmental issues. According to Alec Sanguinetti, CEO for the Caribbean Hotel Assn., the Caribbean region will benefit from Dr. Suzuki’s global perspective. “Sustainability is an issue of vital importance both regionally and globally,” Sanguinetti said. “Having an international figure such as Dr. Suzuki provide his own perspective and in-depth knowledge on the subject will help us all to better address this important issue.”  For more information or to register for the conference. | ||||
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 Beachside casitas, cottages & estate homes, surrounded by protected green spaces, form charming, friendly neighborhoods. Tour packages available. |
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