140 acres of mangrove at risk on CPA agenda
(CNS): Just four applications to be heard by the Central Planning Authority during a single meeting pose a threat to over 140 acres of mangroves, as development continues to take precedence over the environment. Despite being a protected species that mitigate the impact of climate change, the loss of mangrove forest continues in Cayman apace.
According to the CPA agenda for today, 24 May, more than 75 acres are at risk from the Cayman Enterprise City (CEC) project in Fairbanks, over 26 acres are in danger off the Esterley Tibbetts Highway for a tourism project, some 39 acres in East End are threatened by a residential subdivision, and two acres of red mangrove buffer are also in the firing line from a controversial and glorified quarry application in George Town.
Although mangroves are a protected species under the National Conservation Law, they continue to disappear under the bulldozer as their protection is limited by the planning law. Once an owner secures planning permission, there is nothing to prevent them from destroying every plant on their land.
Department of Environment (DoE) Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie explained that no mangroves may be removed without planning permission, and there are now stiff penalties when they are. But once a landowner gets the green light to build on or clear mangroves from their land, then all the DoE can do is encourage the owners to save them.
In just a single meeting, the planning board has the power to approve the destruction of a significant chunk of this critical habitat from East End to West Bay.
The loss of mangroves to the CEC project is almost certain since the original planned area development (PAD) already secured planning permission several years ago. The application before the CPA this week is to modify the original plans and introduce a major residential element to the proposed tech city.
These changes have raised “grave concerns”, not just about the loss of around 75 acres of wetland but also the threat of more seasonal flooding of homes and existing developments in the area. The DoE has said the revised plans are likely to make a bad situation even worse.
Flourish Investments has made an application for a subdivision between the Esterley Tibbetts Highway and the North Sound by Canal Point Road. While there are few details on the agenda about future plans, it seems to be to provide hotel and tourism lots on around 27 acres that are almost entirely untouched, tidally-flooded mangrove forest and woodland.
The application does not include land clearance at this point, but planning approval would pave the way for future applications to build and ultimately destroy the habitat along a stretch of coast where mangroves have been dramatically reduced.
In East End, 39 acres are under threat from a large residential subdivision on High Rock Drive by High Rock 67 Ltd. The developer is proposing to create 136 lots for low-cost housing, which, in addition to putting the mangroves at risk, would create flooding and drainage problems and see some homes built on the local water lens, according to the DoE.
Two acres of mangrove buffer are at risk along the North Sound in George Town from the application by Gretta’s Grotto Limited. This project, which is linked to plans for an retirement home in West Bay, threatens the smallest area of mangroves but is no less controversial. The application is linked to a coastal works application as the developer wants to aquire cheap fill by dredging a canal in the North Sound through red mangroves, a species that has been particularly hard hit in Cayman.
In its submissions to the CPA regarding this application, the DoE said that it was entirely unjustifiable for the developer to remove a coastal mangrove buffer to make an off-site development financially viable. The scientists said the implications are far-reaching and would negatively impact the water quality in the North Sound.
Martin Keeley, a local mangrove expert and well-known conservationist, said it was so disappointing to hear yet again that so much mangrove habitat was under threat at just a single CPA meeting. “There seems to be little or no comprehension by planning officials or politicians of the serious consequences of this type of mangrove destruction,” he told CNS. “We have protections in place but they seem to be ignored with impunity.”
Keeley, the founder of the local Mangrove Rangers, said that while the rest of the world is battling with climate change and taking its impact seriously, Cayman is falling far short of what we need to do.
“Those in Cayman who have the authority and the responsibility to protect these islands do not seem able to understand what they need to do,” he stated. “We can no longer allow uncontrolled development to take precedence over nature; otherwise, we are going to find ourselves in great deal of trouble.”
Keeley said that if we cannot stop the unprecedented levels of development, then people must be required “to mitigate or compensate for the ecological consequences of that destruction”.
Mangroves, which form one of the most productive terrestrial ecosystems, provide habitat and food for an immense variety of species, as well as functioning as natural sponges that trap and slowly release surface water. They also slow the speed and distribution of storm waters and reduce erosion.
Inland wetlands improve water quality by filtering, diluting and degrading toxic wastes, sediments and other pollutants. Mangrove wetlands are also extremely effective at sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and serve as carbon sinks. But the continued widespread, large-scale removal of significant tracts of mangrove habitat across the country is reducing Grand Cayman’s natural carbon sequestration and releasing captured carbon back into the atmosphere.
The need to preserve mangroves forms part of the government’s draft Climate Change Policy that is now open to public consultation. This includes a series of public meetings, which started this week in the Sister Islands and will begin in Grand Cayman next week in West Bay. The meetings provide an opportunity for people to express concern about the continued loss of mangroves and pose ideas on how to preserve this critical habitat and protect it from the bulldozer.
See the planning agenda for Wednesday here.
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Category: development, Land Habitat, Local News, Science & Nature
Any reason Gov or Mangrove Rangers cant offer to buy land with mangroves if they want it saved that much? Cant really expect to dictate to private property owners to such an extreme extent where they cant use and enjoy their property as they have the right to do so.
Where is it stated that owners of mangrove properties can act in any manner that would cause hardships and/or the loss of other citizens rights in the Cayman Islands?
Can the CPA be tried in court for their get-rich-quick actions?
I don’t see why not…… LET’S GIVE IT A TRY! There’s an awfuL lot of skullduggery going on there!
Only if it’s legal, Bobo.
This government is taking FAITH away from the younger Caymanians by ignoring their concerns about the island they wish to inherit. For that alone they should be ashamed.
Wrong!!! The government should be incarcerated!
If you need or just want to preserve a bunch of mangrove wetlands for all these public reasons, the government should buy it. Make the landowners sell. Pay them the market value according to its current zoning. Then add it to the national parks.
It is not fair to tell people who own residential or commercial zoned land that now they can’t do anything with it because mangroves are growing on it.
If people are so money-hungry the government could offer them a fair price and assume care of the mangroves.
I beg your holy pardon- anyone with a lick of common sense should know that any wetlands meeting the ocean as a matter of common knowledge that it is a fish life breeding ground- I’m sure that type of mangroves is the one in Question!???
Why does one search for water front properties to build on! The $$$$$ signs they want to retire with and drink themselves to death and reduced to ashes?!
All you are doing is destroying the ecology of the sand and islands you say you love! Love My a….s!! Only The $$$ u like to brag and boast about which u can’t carry with you!!
I say go back where u come from and have yourself cremated when you die- cause believe you me you will!
God is above and has a master plan for the likes of you! Had nothing until you come here to rape our country and our peoples rights!
Selah!
Top Headlines:
– Sea Inundation Inevitable Now
– 140 Acres of Mangrove at Risk
Connect the dots!
Build the dam road and make building heights higher.
It’s too late – too many people here already. We need the infrastructure.
You…. Are a f**** idiot and I hope your house is the first to be submerged.
Ass!!!!!
Are the lands in question zoned for development? If the answer is yes, the rest is irrelevant.
Not to mention the inundation by the sea – mangroves are a “breakwater” hadn’t it been for all the mangroves there wouldn’t have been one stick or block left on the SMB during Ivan’s onslaught! Mangroves and the boats in the canals formed the “breakwater”!
Lands above the high water mark (if there’s any) in this particular property – maybe just mangroves Unna calling land – you have to build above the high water mark! Leave the mangroves – walk Unna lazy as….es down to Unna boats anchored – use a paddle board to get Unna to it – no docks – we neva had docks why should Unna unholy butts have one? Digging holes to pour cement and plant support posts destroys the mangroves and their inhabitants – lobsters Unna take out of season will have no where to multiply! Why Govt choose such morons of so called rich ‘inhabitants’ to control something so important? Office of the Premier????
Gretta’s Grotto Limited. Owned by the PACT Bag Man! Pre-approved I guarantee you that!
The govt wants the population to reach 100k. They all need to live somewhere, buy a car and send their kids to school.
The 100,000 milestone will be achieved soon.
Then watch it rise even further in the next 20-40 years.
Look at the trajectory Singapore took in the years after it reached 100k. 🚀 👀
🎵 🎶 Ain’t seen nothing yet 🎵 🎧 🎶
🎵 🎶 Nothings going to stop us now 🎵 🎧 🎶
Subject: Objection to Development Proposal Impacting Mangroves
Dear Planning Authority,
I am writing to express my strong objection to the proposed development project that would result in the destruction of valuable mangrove ecosystems. As a concerned citizen and advocate for environmental preservation, I firmly believe that the preservation of these mangroves is of utmost importance for the well-being of our local ecosystem, biodiversity, and the overall sustainability of our community.
Mangroves are not merely trees; they are essential habitats that serve as nurseries and breeding grounds for numerous species of marine life, including fish, birds, and other wildlife. The destruction of these mangroves would have far-reaching and irreversible consequences, threatening the delicate balance of our ecosystem and jeopardizing the long-term health and resilience of our coastal areas.
I urge the responsible authority to consider the following factors in evaluating the proposed development:
Ecological Significance: The mangroves in question play a critical role in shoreline stabilization, erosion control, and the filtration of pollutants. Their removal would result in increased vulnerability to coastal erosion, diminished water quality, and the loss of essential fish and bird habitats.
Climate Change Mitigation: Mangroves are highly efficient carbon sinks, sequestering significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Their destruction would exacerbate greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to the already pressing issue of climate change.
Biodiversity Conservation: The mangroves provide a diverse range of habitats, fostering rich biodiversity. Numerous species, some of which may be endangered or protected, rely on these ecosystems for their survival. The destruction of mangroves would lead to the loss of valuable species and disrupt the intricate web of life in the area.
Tourism and Recreational Value: The mangroves offer recreational opportunities, such as bird-watching, kayaking, and educational eco-tours, attracting both locals and tourists. The destruction of these ecosystems would result in the loss of a unique and valued experience for residents and visitors alike.
Considering the significance of these mangroves and the potential negative impacts of the proposed development, I implore the responsible authority to explore alternative development plans that do not involve the destruction of mangroves. Preserving and protecting these ecosystems should be prioritized in line with international best practices for environmental conservation and sustainable development.
I request that my objection be taken into serious consideration during the evaluation of the proposed development project. Furthermore, I respectfully urge the responsible authority to conduct a comprehensive environmental impact assessment, consult with relevant experts, and engage the public in a transparent and inclusive decision-making process.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I trust that you will give due consideration to the concerns raised and take necessary actions to protect the invaluable mangrove ecosystems for the benefit of present and future generations.
Yours sincerely,
Myopia, greed, vanity and ecological illiteracy has driven Government and our rapid population growth.
We need leadership that will embrace views about Cayman’s population that are more in keeping with the needs of this generation, the needs of those who will come after us, and the needs of the many other species we have the good fortune to share these beautiful and fragile islands with.
Thoughts? 🤔
🟢Protect our environment
🟠Stop overdevelopment
🔴Stop duplicity
I am not able to contribute in kind with your colourful bullet points, but I agree wholeheartedly.
I would add (purple circle) decrease population to fit the infrastructure. Limiting the number of cars or the age of cars won’t do anything to decrease the traffic and overpopulation.
We are on the cusp of ruining everything pure and wonderful about our islands, and the people are helpless but to watch it happen. Terrible thing. CIG is not only allowing, but encouraging foreign investors to plow over us and make tons of money with the destruction of our resources. Yes, I get it that Caymanians are selling the land.
Natural resources should never have been for sale. Imagine in the UK or US, the sale of a natural watershed. WTF, they’re just birds and fish and fauna and flora that only exists here. Bulldoze them, and make a lovely boutique hotel. Paint it pink with aqua and white trim. Won’t that be lovely.
Are we going to sell the beaches also? Whoops! Too late!
Decreasing the population ???? This smacks of a certain ideology linked with the darkest times of the 20th century doesn’t it ? Who do we suggest to start with ? The weak ? The mentally addled ? The clowns ? Bozo your lack of humanity definitely shows.
Your ideology is simply disgusting and reeks of ….ism but let’s just keep it civil and say it would be better fitted on a throne made of porcelain , or more in your case stainless steel as the ones equipping the comforts of the Supermax you just escaped from !
CNS: Before this thread gets weirder, based on his/her previous comments, BZ isn’t talking about gassing segments of the population. Simply not approving so many work permits would reduce the population and I’m assuming this is what was meant.
Thumbs up for CNS. I always enjoy reading BZ’s comments as they are rational, inclusive, fact-based, level and never judgmental.
I am certain that BZ only suggested that work permits should be restricted so that the infrastructure is able to accommodate the population.
Yes, thank you CNS. I expressed myself poorly.
My apologies NoName; I wasn’t calling for genocidal measures, more stopping or even slowing the increase of population, with the goal of eventually importing less people. We have already more people than we can hold.
Our roads are already choked with traffic. More roads won’t help that. Real public transportation would help and we wouldn’t need to ruin our resources to accomplish it.
Ah, jingoistic nationalism is back!
So who will do the work that work permit holders do, especially jobs that require technical and skilled and experienced workers?
PACT and supporters grtvyaavt together. The environment snd the ongoing destruction of mangroves and the cavalier attitude of the Planning Biard, are all elements signaling your demise from politics hopefully before if not st the next election whichever comes first. Yes it had to be said y’all acting like a bunch a punks on Flatbush Brooklyn.
Well, my friend…. They ARE a bunch of punks! That is why nothing is getting done!
if you don’t want it built on…buy it yourself and put it in a land trust. If 70,000 people didn’t want it built on they can each chip in $14.28 and that will give you $1million. You can buy and protect a lot of land with $1m and that’s less than a cheap lunch per person.
As an example…the 39 acres mentioned in east end was purchased for less than $1M (that is publicly available information). Sooooo for a few bucks everyone could have bought it and held it in a trust. But people vote with their wallets and let this stuff happen. For the record there were ZERO objectors to that application.
Exactly. Make democracy work. If people really want to save the land, subscribe to a national trust fund of $10 a month.
Otherwise, shut up and let people do as they please with their private property.
Expats at it again? …..NOT
Instead of telling those who own the land what they can and cannot do with it just buy it with your surplus for the people of Cayman and then do what you want with it. Or just continue to spend all the money on welfare and stop complaining about those who own the land.
Stop all new construction now. Do not allow any more development in untouched areas, only preexisting structures can be modified or replaced.
Now that you have already built yours on what was once an untouched area explain why anyone else should listen to you? Is it because you were here first? That is the only thing that makes sense to me. Am I wrong? Honest question.
People used to throw their waste and sewage right outside their front door but we figured out that living like that brought the plague. Are you recommending that we bring back those old ways as well? How about we continue to learn and adapt? U know, pay attention and make necessary adjustments to avoid suffering in the future…basic common sense innit 🤦🏾♂️
The future of this island is bleak and anyone that tells you otherwise is either blind, willfully ignant or trying to sell you something.
These goofies in power pushing for 100k like there isn’t going to be a mass exodus off this rock once infrastructure starts failing and insurance companies stop fkn with this sinking swamp.
You’d think our national bird was the tropical ostrich.
Less than 10 days ago Wayne sat in the House of Commons gallery while Stephen Doughty blew spoke up his ass ‘praising the Cayman Islands’ conservation efforts, as he stressed the “crucial role” this jurisdiction had played in contributing to the climate change agenda and biodiversity as well as dealing first-hand with the impact of climate change’.
You’re such a ******* waste of space Mr Premier, do something or resign
Waiting on Wayne to say something…anything…For Christ Sakes Wayne, you got elected on the sustainability platform, what are you really doing ?
All you can eat. Then a long nap.
NOTHING! If he wants to remain as Premier he has to suck it up or else they will snuff him out. Let us all stop holding our collective breath hoping for action from him, remember his plans did not go any further than becoming the premier. I understand that the owner of GRETTA’s GROTTO, the proposed retirement home, who needs the fill for his project, was instrumental in helping the PACK form the government. I guess it is a matter of I SCRATCH YOUR BACK! YOU SCRATCH MINE. No he is not an expat! Very little is done for love of country now-a-days. They are all ravenous wolves in sheep clothing.
,
What CNS and most of the commenters fail to somehow grasp is that this is privately owned land that was purchased, likely in the millions, for development. What rationally do you expect a purchaser of land to do, just keep it forever in its natural state and not develop?
If that is the case, then why do you not urge the government (essentially, your money) to buy the land off the owners? Or get a very large group of you together and use your own money to buy the land and keep it in its natural state?
Of course you will never do that. Yet you bellow endlessly when a land owner who paid real money for land and wants to develop it. It is not your friggin land.
Put your money where your mouth is instead of whining about something you dont own that someone else used their own savings to buy.
Caveat Emptor is the law of the land (and also of most countries, including the US). The purchasers need conduct due diligence.
Thanks for contributing to Cayman Gone. Blessings for much concrete and more traffic congestion.
Caymanian’s had/have no desire to control and dictate the evolution of their land – – They/you SOLD IT! The new landowners are developing it as they wish. Reality of your actions sucks, huh. As mentioned previously above/below – IF you want to preserve your land, stop selling, buy back, and protect it. But we know that will not happen; easier to complain and do nothing.
CNS: This is so tiresome. In every developed country there are development restrictions/planning laws (generally much more strict than those in Cayman) and people can’t just build anything they want just because they own the land. That would result in chaos. For example, you can’t build a pig farm in the middle of a suburban neighbourhood in the USA.
People understand that there are rules and don’t start whining and telling those living there in their nice houses that they should buy the pig farmer’s land if they don’t want to live next to a pig farm. To put it another way, people can’t build “as they wish” if it negatively impacts other people, for example, if the new proposed development will cause existing developments to flood. Well, that’s how it’s supposed to work anyway.
There is also increasing awareness that natural environments need to be preserved for a whole host of reasons.
Thanks CNS. But you do know trying to explain logic and reason to some people gets as much results as talking to a rock. I do believe that we have more numbskulls around here than any other place on earth. Instead of learning and improving their understanding they are falling off in the abyss. It bothers me that my educated, brilliant and intellectual children and grand children have to reside here.
Buyer beware
@4:34..Please use a little common sense. There is not one country in the world where you can buy land and just build or do whatever you want with it. If that was the case, why even bother with the CPA. I would be an idiot to spend millions of dollars on property that I knew were protected wetlands just in the hopes that CPA would approve it..Albeit it seems that the rubber stamp that Al T and the PPM had has been passed to the PACT’s CPA.
We cannot and should not just approve everything just because someone applies asn pays a fee. We have to think not just about ourselves but for our children and grandchildren. What will they have? Lots of concrete that they will likely have to pay to maintain after the wealthy have finished raping and pillaging the land.
Do you realize that we allow developments to move forward without any thoughts for infrastructure or impact on our people. Take a look east and see the mess we are in with the roads. It’s not just cars causing the the problem, it is clearly a lack of planning. There should be an infrastructure and impact fee for any new development that is going to put extra strain and cost on us. The developer builds out his project, makes his millions and walks away laughing at us as we struggle to figure how to manage the problems they have caused us..
I know that it not possible but if we could ever get a government that is not about greed and getting re-elected and one that is willing to make hard decisions despite the cost it may have on them getting re-elected we might get this little 2 X 4 island turned around. Most of these politicians, and I am not speaking of any party specifically because there is bad on both sides, have never earned the type of salaries they get when they get elected and then to add to the greed the wealthy and corrupt supporters are waiting in the wings to pad their pockets with a little more and once these politicians get on that gravy train and can be sold to the highest bidder they want to remain in their elected position for life. We need term limits and we need to cut the salaries of these politicians and they need to be scrutinized more for their under the table deals. IF not done soon, once it is exposed it will be a black eye on this country to the point where the Jeff Webb corruption case will look like small time crime compared to it.
This much destruction of Mangroves should be illegal. SIMPLE!
Your housing is likely built on land once occupied by mangroves. I didn’t buy land to do nothing with it. The government can buy it back from me if they want to keep the mangroves.
That was a long time ago and circumstances have changed, anyone noticed how hot it is now? Reember in the 80’s when we would get all island rain for a week almost ? Notice how that no longer happens ? That rain was being produced by the Central Wetlands, now its barely a sprinkle and its over! Keep it up man! pretty soon we are all going to be little piles of smoking crap spread all over Cayman, burned and dehydrated to a crisp. All so certain people can sell apartments.
Give me the value of my land and you can preserve it as long as you like.
Well said
Poaching is too, but nothing more than a finger wave and sending the fish or lobster to a restaurant so they can make money.
Pass rhe rum.
The greed of the people on this island is disgusting… All the way from government officials and developers down to the small time marine life poachers. They’re all equally disgusting and have no regard for future generations.
Don’t have children, there’s going to be nothing left for them.
Is that so?
Yep
It’s clear who the MPs represent- crickets!
you cry babies need to shut up already. we need these projects and more to keep our economy rolling. CPA approve them all!
F*ck the economy. its a stupid metric to measure progress, and has destroyed the world.
There is no economy when we ruin the world and no one can survive any longer….. idiots like you will be our demise and you don’t even care. Such a selfish life you live.
Ruin what you drama queen. All of you people are nuts, these are just old mosquito swamps that need filling in. Stop building, well that’s good for you as some rich person who came here to hide your money from the tax man in your home country. Here an idea – just pay 30% tax on all your money for us and then you can have some stupid mangroves.
Why do you think those natural swamps are there? Google flood plain management.
Just put in some culverts and get on with the building. Thank goodness the CPA are knowledgeable people and know the difference. As for you tax dodgers why don’t you just leave and go back to where you came from. Always want to run our country.
I think you’re likely a triggertroll. You probably don’t get out much, and probably sit around in your underwear, telling people off on the internet. Must suck to live in a place where basements are so unfeasible.
I don’t believe you that this is your genuine opinion. I think you get your giggles jacking people up.
I hope we all get that which we deserve. ;o)
looks like you’re the drama queen
These projects are destroying Cayman and it’s environment.
Where are all the wealthy generational caymanians buying up land to save it from development or even a step further, rewilding properties? Not all heros wear capes.
Instead of competing to see who can own the most material things and appear to be the most wealthy, how about compete to buy up land and leave it natural.
We are all in a race to the bottom, slaves to Moloch. We need to slow down before we run off the cliff.
This land is owned by a multi generational family, who are developing it and following the planning regulations.
It’s their country, it’s their land, get used to it or buy the property.
Mangroves are not land.
It’s tragic what’s happened / happening to these islands. Shameful.
It’s tragic that Caymanians’ sold their country for trinkets. And, they are still selling out today.
Cayman Gone.
https://periodismoinvestigativo.com/2022/01/cayman-foreign-investors-identity-crisis/
What Keeley said.
Remove DOE, solves most of our problems, including enviroment.
Obviously you are one who only showed up late to school on Fridays.
What about Auburn Bay development in Red Bay where they have ripped out acres and acres of mangrove that protected the area and was a great habitat for wildlife.
A real Turkish delight
It is the Wild West. Just south of Le Vele there is a large oceanside structure being put in, and they have drilled rebar forms into the Ironshore for pilings. After the fact forgiveness is how developers press ahead on schedule.
Another Joey Who’s gift for his people on the loose. This was approved by PPM under the former planning board and minister.
All we need to do is confirm who are the developers and owners of that project?
Plus look who are the developers and owners of massive complex at the top of the new road that goes right through the heart of Rock Hole?
It is crucial to understand how the deals, duty rebates and concessions are negotiated and the connections of all the associated service providers, contractors and subcontractors.
When in doubt follow the $$$$
When will all the back room deals planning permissions and government sponsored corporate welfare via concessions to wealthy developers be investigated by the office of the auditor general?
I hope the FCO is watching carefully. Cayman pretends to be clean but is corrupt to the core. It operates just like Jamaica. All that’s missing is the political violence.
Joey Hew
Chris Saunders
Kenneth Bryan
Jay Ebanks
Dwayne Seymour
McKeeva Bush
Kurt Tibbetts
UDP
PPM
All believe in and follow the blue print of Jamaican style politics which has proven it can destroy a country and its economy. Why do Caymanian politicians willingly follow such a poor example of political stability? That type of politician and politics will destroy these islands. It is sad to see a cayman become like that country.
More like the concrete west
Concrete jungle