More mangroves illegally cleared
(CNS): Despite continued calls from the Department of Environment to stop the clearance of mangroves on sites without planning permission, developers are still ripping up these critical species. The Central Planning Authority considered an application for after-the-fact land clearance in Prospect on Wednesday, after a developer removed several acres of mangroves, which were part of an important drainage system, in order to dump soil and store materials to support a nearby condominium development.
Developers behind the Grand Palmyra, a luxury condo development project in the Grand Harbour area, simply removed the partially seasonally flooded mangroves on Block 23C Parcel 233, land which has no planning application history or permissions for development of any kind.
The DoE discovered the latest assault on these critical species during a site visit to the area in late January. Researchers found that the mangroves had been cleared from the interior of the site, using access off the former Prospect Point Road and out of view from the more public Hurley Merren Boulevard.
Not all of the mangroves have been removed and the DoE has insisted that those that remain must be retained. But the clearance was done in such a way that it appears the developer was hoping it would not be seen. Whether that is so the materials expected to be stored there as well as piles of soil would not cause complaints or because the developer was hoping no one would notice is an unanswered question.
However, regardless of the motivations of the developer, the DoE made it clear that this practice has to stop.
“This continues the extremely worrying trend of illegally clearing mangroves which the Department of Environment has raised to the Department of Planning on a number of occasions,” the department stated in its submissions to the Central Planning Authority, highlighting another seven recent cases of mangrove clearance without any planning permission.
The DoE explained that the missing mangroves at this site had provided critical drainage for the surrounding area and an extremely important buffer for Hurley Merren Boulevard from the sea. They said there was a lot more vacant land in the area that could have been used for storage, as they noted the lack of any consideration for stormwater management on the site, which has now been cleared and filled.
“Illegal clearing removes the opportunity for reviewing agencies to provide constructive comments and feedback on best management practices and recommendations for retention of ecologically valuable flora to be retained, which may prove beneficial to the landowners and wider area. In this case, the mangroves provide important drainage for the area. Illegal clearing undermines the consultation process and the planning process,” the DoE said.
Once again, the DoE experts urged the planning department to take appropriate measures to avoid illegal clearing, adding that its environment conservation officers cannot intervene in these cases until the Species Conservation Plan for Mangroves has been approved by Cabinet, which has still not been done, leaving this important plant increasingly vulnerable.
“We recommend refusal of this application,” the DoE told planning. “Clearing and filling important drainage areas prior to any imminent development is not a practical approach to stormwater management.”
The developer’s request to planning for after-the-fact permission was brief, giving no indication that the developers had grasped the negative significance of removing the mangroves.
“The application for the land clearing on the parcel was intended for the material storage and dump area of the dug-out soil from the construction of Grand Palmyra Development located on Block 22E Parcel 382 which was owned by the same developer,” K&B Ltd stated in the application. “The land clearing will also be done in purpose for the preparation of the future mixed use development to be built on the lot. We hope that the CPA board would find this application to be acceptable.”
The limited justification given to the CPA may be because no sanctions have been given to other developers who unlawfully remove mangroves and undermine the Cayman Islands’ already limited coastal defences.
See this and all of the other planning applications considered by the CPA on Wednesday in the CNS Library (scroll down to Grand Palmyra development)
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Category: Crime, development, Environment, Local News
So why aren’t these people removing these been fined?? What are they waiting for? This is the chance to drain the business that’s removing them thousands of dollars!!!!!
Enforce the law with with the maximum monetary fines and jail time. Im sure the DOE
have a large enough staff to personally be on these sites to see the letter of the law is carried through. Get out of your air conditioned cubicles and do your jobs. Be a whole lot more proactive instead of reactive. Shame on you DOE.
CNS: The point you have missed is that the DoE does not have any legal authority to deal with this: “…environment conservation officers cannot intervene in these cases until the Species Conservation Plan for Mangroves has been approved by Cabinet, which has still not been done, leaving this important plant increasingly vulnerable.” Instead of berating the DoE when they are not at fault, go talk to a member of Cabinet.
Yeah cabinet members suck too.
What needs to happen is that the Planning Director needs to make a statement that no more “after the fact” applications will be approved and fines will be implemented as well as a stop work order on the property until the trees are replanted..Secondly, the operators of any heavy equipment that undertakes this destruction should be fined..
Until Al’T and his boys get their crap together this will continue..
The greed and rubber stamping has to stop!!!
The Developer is Bavan; https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/bavan-antonysraj-a683442 , I spoke to him about it and he said that whats the big deal that I did it, I would have gotten permission anyways and now I just pay the fine which is about 2800 CI.
The issue here is that the penalty is so low that it actually has the opposite effect, it gives the one breaching the law a cheap way to buy off their guilt and clean their hands.
The Mangrove Conservation Plan that has been sitting on the desk of Hon Dwayne Seymour is the solution to address illegal mangrove destruction. Its an excellent law amendment which will provide enforcement powers to the conservation council to take very strong actions against illegal mangrove cutting.
Of course the other issue is that CPA keeps approving mangrove destruction and will do so until this entire island is a block of concrete. The solution would be for CPA to be composed of 50 percent environmentalists and 50 percent developers. This way a better balance can be found in terms of development. Zoning is another issue; huge amounts of nature such as big parts of the central mangrove wetlands are zoned as farmland. These wetlands are the Amazone of Cayman. Its time for big areas of remaining nature to be zoned as such or to be bought up by with environmental protection fund. Ow but wait this fund is empty because the government keeps putting their hands into it such as using millions to buy up a piece of Smith Cover which they now want to turn into a parking lot!
Wake up people, its time to take to the streets, protest and when election time is there lets vote for politicians that have a backbone and a strong environmental stance. Cayman could be a high end eco tourism destination, lots of economic prosperity can be achieved from this.
The wholesale out of control destruction will continue until the Cayman Islands gets a comprehensive Development Plan.
Bavan is a big ppm supporter very friendly with Kurt Tibbetts and finances several campaigns including Barbara Connolly and David Wight. Ask Premier Alden McLaughlin about it at the press conference
Do not hold your breath waiting on Al T to take any Caymanian benefiting action.
Al T is the problem, but he is part of the Alden and Mac and Dart gang destroying Cayman for the $$$$ they make.
Exactly what I think…..stop work on their project. I’m sure the developer knows the importance of the mangroves.
Confiscate!!
I have read the vast majority of comments on this matter. Unfortunately, this is the new Cayman. As the saying goes “Money talks and Bulls*** Walks.”
Furthermore, there is not much we, the general public, can do about such matters. We can spat all we want on the talk shows, write our comments on such media as this one etc but the truth of the matter is that Cayman’s Developers do not care about how their actions affect us now or in the future.
Money is truly the root of all evil, atleast, what I see happening in the Cayman Islands.
However, I have to conclude with these two comments:-
1. Cayman, keep f****** with ‘Mother Nature’. She will in turn have the last laugh on us.
2. Grand Parents and Parents, as there will be no affordable pieces of land or homes that our future generations are going to afford, if you still have a piece of land, a home or apartment that is righly yours now or in the near futute, KEEP HOLD OF IT FOR YOUR FUTURE FAMILY MEMBERS. If not, I beg the question, who else will be to blame when your offsprings can NOT have a piece of the pie called Cayman regardless how big or small it might be.
If it’s being illegally cleared then why isn’t the CPA and RCIPS working together to arrest these people????
They definitely know who it is, but being rich makes you get away with anything. We can no longer single out Jamaica as a corrupt country because the corruption here is ABUNDANT!
Never a truer statement made 5:22. Corruption is in abundance here. If we do not soon get it under control we will soon become another Jamaica.
Really beginning to think we need home rule for a few years to clean up the mess as I see no other positive way forward.
Ask Minister of poor planning Joey Hew where permission came from to clear the land
Planning permission is required prior to undertaking ANY land clearing. Period.
You could be clearing invasive logwood or casuarina, or even scrubby maidenplum for a house to be built, and you still need permission from the Planning Department.
As a small local equipment company who jumps through innumerable hoops to stay in business, it is so sickening that these companies get away with this every single time.
Yet dive boats have been fined for not flying a flag!!!!!!
Only if the owner is “unconnected.”
Sounds to me like the developers have about as much respect for CIG and the law as everyone else on these islands as in, ‘NONE’. Everyone knows that as long as the right palms are greased there’ll be no interference.
These “errors” will be just like the Marriott beach. In 20 years some of us will be saying ‘told you not to do it but you did not heed’. Now suffer the consequences.
Simply fine them $50K for every tree they’ve torn down and let this be a learning lesson for the ignorant minded developers, CPA & Unity Team that we won’t tolerate environmental destruction at no cost. Every Caymanian should be a National Trust member from birth this way we’ll have a voice and financial support to protect & preserve our environment and national heritage.
It seems like the developers are a lot like Mac; They have a different set of rules than the rest of us.
Obviously if there is no punishment, the same old same old will continue.
What has been done about the large tract illegally cleared by the West Bay developer…?
Typical private sector mentality. Make a big mess and let CIG clear it up.
You are a fool! Nuf said.
Time for a Green Party here as developers are totally out of control. When you have all the politicians in your pocket you can do anything you want.
I cannot get my head around how much this government is hell-bent on selling off this island piece by piece. It’s like they want the future generations to have nothing and are grabbing the money quick while it’s there with no thought for the future.
Everything they do seems to be an thinly disguised attempt to further the wealth of the few rather than the many.
Why is anyone going to stop if they know there are no consequences.
Where you all think mangrove jam come from?
Mangrove jam ? WOW high in fiber I suspect.
It will continue to happen as usual because there are no consequences to doing it so WHO CARES!!
They understand money so why are there no penalties for doing things without proper permits? I will bet that if you start fining the machine operator, they will more likely require proof before clearing.
WHY IS NOTHING BEING DONE??????
Because there are shared interests and serious conflicts of interest and at the end of the day only one thing counts in a banana republic…..what’s in it for me?
You people are seriously hysterical.
Slap the developer with a “stop work” order on ALL of their developments. If the monetary fine doesn’t get their attention I bet the “stop work” order certainly will. Step up CPA, refuse after the fact planning permission, impose massive fines, a stop work order and ban on submitting any plans until all has been put back to a close as possible to its natural state. #peoplefedup
All your whining and crying about it will do nothing to change their minds. Cayman does not enforce laws so no one is concerned. If you can’t enforce the laws and hold those responsible to fines and prison time then what is the point of catching them? You know they just laugh at you and get their friends in planning, government and the police to make it all go away. Face up to it. This is how Cayman rolls. Did Bush get arrested? Is he still a leader in government? This is why.
Who needs climate change when we can destroy the planet ourselves am I right?
They won’t stop until every piece of this island is concrete. I’m not one for standing in the way of progress but this rampant destruction of the natural environment is heartbreaking. It’s not the condo’s that make this island beautiful.
Don’t blame the minimum wage dozer guy, instructed to do this by his employer. Don’t even necessarily blame that employer for doing work several other peers would have gladly taken. Don’t even blame the landowners who pull this crap. Blame the officials who have abided these violations of our laws and regulations for years, standby and do nothing, even after the fact, and sue each one of them collectively and individually. That’s how this has to stop – from the top down, knowing that career consequences are now in force. Cayman needs to grow up.
I blame them because they have knowingly broken the law. It really is (and needs to be kept) that simple.
I understand your point… BUT, I still hold the landowners and employers grossly at fault. What they did was illegal and they knew it. (I’ll give a pass to the dozer guy).
I fully agree with holding the officials responsible and complicit.
Very sad.
So you think the dozer guy still don’t know that the mangroves should not be dug up.?
We all know by now the Central planning Board is full of conflict of interest and in dire need of replacement but it’s members are a direct financial pillar which supports this ppm govt and allows it to extort copious amounts of money from developers and developments to maintain power and control in this overseas Territory and you know who else knows the Crown who do absolutely nothing about it. Thank You Mrs Winspear for supporting and defending our environment when no else does!
And refer to news piece Alden and Prince Charles setting up eco fund?
The National Trust should hire a full time Environmental Litigator and get them to start systematically picking off the weak links in our oversight chain. I’d contribute to that. Cireba, Chamber, Law Society and all other resident stakeholder lobby groups should organize, and start flexing their collective muscle against bad actors and poor governance at all levels, like it means something. The police aren’t going to do anything. The MLAs aren’t going to do anything. Many of these people need to be in the crosshairs themselves. We’ll never mature as a society until these people are made examples, tried in court, and read their published verdict, that the historic lazy approach will no longer stand as acceptable.
CIREBA? Seriously? These guys make a fortune selling the stuff that’s built on the mangroves. If it was up to them, every square inch would be a condo they could sell.
They could start with Beach Bay
They were granted a coastal works permit for Beach Bay and appeared to have been waiting for the turtle nesting season to finish before they took 3ft+ of sand of the beach to sift / remove all the rocks. If it was still turtle nesting season they would have destroyed every single nest at Beach Bay in the process.
Not sure where the sand was going to be taken…..
Okay, what do the Regulations say? Perhaps the DoE or National Trust can start filing claims against the agencies and figure heads with direct oversight? Lawsuits are going to have to be the reality mechanism that forces our hundreds of idle unaccountable to grow up. Police, ACC, DG, CPA, DoE and Cabinet Ministers might find themselves in the crosshairs too, and as well they should.
National Trust really? And where do these top people live? On reclaimed land that was once all mangrove!
Next referendum idea. Force Planning to automatically deny after the fact applications and any work be halted permanently with no refund of stamp duty and those companies hired to remove it without proof of permission should have their T & B licenses revoked on top of fines. Should not be breaking the law willfully then begging permission after not should it be granted knowing a crime was committed. Just another sign of a corrupt government when the largest supplier of building/construction materials if head of Planning. What a joke.
Make an example of a few and this shit will stop.
Exactly, the once law abiding developers are having a field day ripping up land as they know big developers like Dart have been getting away with this for years. The planning law has teeth, albeit milk teeth, CPA’s enforcement is soft, DOE has been pushed aside and some architects are saying to developers “go for it, CPA will give you after the fact permission.
What a mess🙄
I hereby challenge you to offer evidence as to any location Dart has cleared without permission being in place prior.
East of Camana Bay.
Incorrect, try again.
Blame Dart and lie about it. Pretty lame. Caymanians own the land in West bay. Bush will be arrested before anyone goes after him. (In other worlds nothing will happen to him)
I don’t give a single F*** about the past. I care about the now. the lands that were cleared illegally and then after the fact permission granted are done regardless of who did it. The ones happening now need to stop. Stop it now so it doesn’t happen in the future and try to save what is left.
There is ZERO political will to do anything. Therefore, the shit will continue in relation to the destruction of the environment.
Ok folks, here is the next referendum. Force government to get off their ass and pass the law giving DOE the power to come down hard on these assholes.
Unless you have a Minister of Environment like Wayne Panton who has the gravitas to stand up and be counted on the environment nothing will be done.
That my friends is a FOREST. NOT a MANGROVE! Clear away!
Isn’t it where the Durty Reid Plaza used to be?
Not quite. The roundabout covers Durty Reid’s. R.I.P.
If you’re concerned about mangrove clearing, you should see the amount being destroyed east of Camana Bay, and their master plan includes clearing pretty much all of what remains right down to CUC.
Very little publicity about this in the media, but they have an agenda to get rid of the mangroves because they don’t like the natural, rotten egg, H2S smell that mangrove swamps give off. Stink smells devalue property, and they’re building a lot of housing in the middle of a swamp.
Capping the dump is part of the reason too, but wind blows from the east 90% of the time so lakeside picks up majority of the scent instead.
Of course dart team gets to do whatever they want to pave nature with a concession.
No doubt they will clear all of this as their plans evolve.
Also note: the enormous open sewage reservoirs immediately east of dump are the continual source of methane stink and they aren’t going anywhere. Google maps Sat view will show you how large these shit-ponds are.
Yep, still being used even though they (WAC) formally indicated to Dart in 2006 that they were not in use. Septic waste truckers are still allowed to dump their waste, sometimes toxic into these shit-ponds. Lies are flying all round.
A shitty situation in general.
I highly doubt that anyone told anyone in 2006 or at any time that the sewage ponds were not in use. Care to prove me wrong with any published proof?
Looks big. The dikes and swamp easily dwarfs their size, though.
Not to mention a school purposely built right next to the dump …
cool cool cool,….. we going to do anything about it?
I don’t know if the problem is that the DOE and Planning dept. are toothless or incompetent but whichever it is its clear that they are not going to actually punish this in any meaningful way.
Developers know that they can basically do whatever they like with the no fallout.
CNS: The article explains how the DoE’s hands are tied. The law that would allow them to act is sitting in Cabinet.
and what fines does the DOE have in place for developers who break the law? Do they even fine them?
CNS: The law that would allow the DoE to act is sitting in Cabinet. Currently, the DoE can only advise, it cannot make the laws or set the fines. Talk to your MLA to lobby government.
The entire population has been lobbying the entire government publicly and loudly since McKeeva’s drunken rage on a woman and said government has done nothing. Election should be this may instead of next year may.
Why does WORC continue to grant work permits these types of offenders?
Why does the DCI continue to renew the Trade and Business Licenses of these types of offenders?
Why are certificates of occupancy granted to these types of offenders?
Why does nobody follow the law, and why do no government agencies actually fulfill their obligations?
Because of the first law of government. The one with the right amount of money and connections gets what they want.
Its ok make them keep it up. We cant even get rain here anymore.
One good hurricane will sort all them all out!! Its the only counrtry in the world where anyone can come here and do what they want and all we idiots can do is write to CNS or Marl Rd to to to to……
You also have Radio Cayman!
Off Walkers Road, behind Burger King, there has just been land cleared no doubt to build and that land had the Trichilia havanensis on it. I thought these were protected? It’s so sad to see how there is no respect for law or nature. This place will soon be a concrete jungle.
But Trichilia havanensis is not actively protected in the Law. If you know the plant you should know that also.
Governor? Still further evidence our laws are pretend? Good governance?
#world class.
Leave the Governor alone as he is very busy.
Doing what?
Keeping his job!
The Governor’s powers have basically been stripped the last 10 years. Though the way things are going downhill fast, direct rule for a few years might be the only thing to save us.
Jail time?
An out of control Offreg wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars, while here we have a silent and paralysed National Conservation Council, with no funding or capability to exercise independent oversight.
This is yet but another example of greed , rapaciousness and no regard for the environment , the law , or nature . The level of greed among certain unscrupulous developers in the Cayman Islands seems to be of such a proportion that they (the developers )neither ” fear God nor regard man”.
There is a price to be paid for such contempt for the laws of the land ignorance and disregard for “mother nature …that is catastrophe.
Consider this my arrogant ,greedy friend , in the battle against nature the score card reads :
Nature One Man zero
In due course nature will reclaim its territory. Perhaps you are ignorant to the phenomenon called “climate change” and its devastating effects. Old timers have informed me that in the ’32 storm “sea met sea” (meaning the North Sound met the South Sound ) somewhere adjacent to where those mangroves have been removed.
You cry babies need to get a life, we need the development and our progressive goverment along with the forward thinking CPA know that. Keep up the good work men!
Your definitely not a Caymanian.
Please don’t come here to change it like where you came from. If you like how your home looks then you should’ve stayed there and not come here and change ours for your liking.
If you are Caymanian, you sound dumb.
Can anyone please tell me what this piece of land is currently classed as? Why can land a half a mile east of this parcel be developed and no one is making an uproar about that. Typical crabs in a barrel mentality.
Too late cry babies as you love our money and your rubber stamp goverment helps us all the way! This is a great place to do business; way better than all the hassles we get in our home country when want to develop anything. Thank you!
Developer or family member of one. Possibly a realtor. Idiot too.
Can tell you had your glass of koolade early this morning. What a moron worshipping fool you are. Time longer than rope, and I’ll bet the next hurricane to come by will hit you in the ass, as you wish for a mangrove or two. I can only dream.
And the troll raises his head. Go back to your bridge and chase billy goats.
J.A. Roy Bodden, things are still the same, nothing changes because every government let them get away with it. Poor old Cayman, been raped and pillaged more times than you can count, and We are still letting it happen!
Revoke all licenses, from the developer and equipment operators. Prison.