National Trust issues warning about gutting NCA
(CNS): The National Trust for the Cayman Islands is the latest organisation to issue a warning about the government’s plans to gut the National Conservation Act to essentially make development of all kinds even easier than it already is. In a statement issued on behalf of the Trust board and staff in response to the possible amendments to the legislation, NTCI Executive Director Frank Roulstone said the law was passed to protect natural resources that are “fast disappearing under a tide of development” and any changes that weaken it risk harming our living world and the people of Cayman.
Despite having a permanent seat on the National Conservation Council and being mandated by law to advise the government on conservation matters, the Trust said it had not been consulted on any potential amendments to the NCA.
“Our elected officials have a duty to uphold the standards of good governance and we feel they are currently falling short of their obligations to the people of Cayman by attempting to rush through amendments without proper public consultation,” Roulstone stated.
“For the National Trust to be effective in fulfilling our mandate to protect the natural and cultural heritage of the Cayman Islands in perpetuity, we need our elected politicians to commit to the true principles of sustainability which seek a balance between economic, social, and environmental interests. This means upholding the National Conservation Act and listening to the recommendations of the National Conservation Council.”
Roulstone stressed the fact that the legislation does not stop development but seeks to empower and encourage decision-makers to develop in a way that benefits us all.
The Trust issued the statement against the backdrop of a continuing false narrative that, despite clear evidence to the contrary, development is being hampered by the legislation and that the NCC is delegating all its authority to the director of the Department of the Environment, which is completely untrue. But the misinformation has a long history.
Roulstone pointed out that this is not the first time the National Conservation Act has come under attack since it was passed in 2013.
“Five years ago, when the previous administration also sought to dilute it, the National Trust was vocal in our support of the NCA and we stand resolute again today in opposition to any amendments which would weaken the law. We have a duty and responsibility to protect these islands for present and future generations.
“Failing to give the environment due consideration today can have unintended, unforeseen, and irreversible consequences tomorrow. We hope that the Caymanian public will join the National Trust in speaking up to defend the protections the NCA gives to all of us,” he added.
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Category: development, Land Habitat, Laws, Local News, Politics, Science & Nature
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Ok so…has anyone seen the proposed changes yet? Asking for a friend!
sign the petition at dontpaveparadise.ky
Write a letter to your MP, let them know it is not ok to gut the NCA.
I’ve done both for the first time ever!
Must as well because who exactly are we preserving this little place for ? Certainly not for Caymanians who are clearly outnumber now by 4-1 Stop gutting our immigration laws in favour of those coming here is far better strategy and this would not be a problem.
the trajectory of Cayman is almost fully out of the hands of Caymanians.
The Trust’s comment of “unforseen, unintended, and irreversible consequences” need to be strongly looked at. We are presently experiencing these results on 7MB due to similar short sighted decisions.
The eastern part of the island does need another road but it needs to be done on the best route and scientific analysis to avoid future generations pi****g on the graves of those who take the easy path and create the consequences the future generations will absolutely despise.
Lets see, kill the invasive iguanas, kill the lionfish – where was the National Trust on these killings?
We need to kill the feral cats and chickens too, like yesterday. Bloody nuisance.
Yes, gut the NCA!!!
Government should stop funding the National Trust – end of statement.
National Trust continues to take government funds – if you don’t like what Government is doing then stop taking their money.
So, if the politicians don’t like what the Government is doing (having an NCA), then they should stop taking the people’s money?
We don’t like what govt is doing, why do they keep frittering away our money??
was it not part of Jon Jon’s political platform in 2020/2021 to reduce powers of the Council and to amend the Act? Saunders and that Kenneth Bryan agreed heartily with him. The surprise here can only be that they really thought they could sneak a Bill to the Parliament. Jon Jon will be bringing the Bill. Again no surprise there.
Better late than never. Where are all the other groups on this topic?
You are correct, these amendments have been needed for many years. Better late than never, as you rightly said.
Judging by the ‘mini-poll’ on this article, 80% of the people back the Trust’s position and preservation of what is left of our environment while a handful of greedy developers, their politician stooges and a few bots are opposed to preserving whats left of our environment.
LOL. A fake poll on an openly over the top environmental rag. Good luck at the polls buddy, you’ll need it.
No more fake than government stats.
I can’t believe this is even an issue!!!
We are talking about the existing government CHOOSING to gut or remove the ONLY legislative protections of the environment that we have!!!
What motives would they have for gutting it? Is there any doubt that they wish to court big, big foreign money to build and overbuild at the loss of our environmental resources? By the way, guess who gets to pay for the infrastructure to support all their largess overbuilding?? Yep. You and me and everyone else that isn’t rich. WE get to pay for it with our duties and fees and we don’t get diddly from our mandatory investment.
plus we have to suffer the many speeding construction trucks, traffic jams from construction blocking roads, and damage to our mental health from loss of green space and ourlost time sitting the traffic jams… time that could be spent with our children … so we are already hurting our future generation. Who pays for all this this person cost to us!!.. we the poor Caymanians who are not the rich developers….
You should had learn to wrote proper england when you was a little children.
You should had learn proper comprehension when you was little children. The message was loud and clear to those of us that did, and we support it.
Conversely, you just come across as a real crass hole.
‘a’. Was ‘a’ little children.
I am not savy in politics but I have to ask the question, why can’t the people of the islands file a vote of no confidence for the current government? We see the poor decisions being made which do not represent the majority of the people, i.e. the cayman Brac school and hotel for labourers, the airport extension, the failed Barbados flight, the failed transportation system and the failed George Town Revitalization project. How much more evidence do we need?
The people can created a PIR — People’s Initiated Referendum, and vote on it. The people cannot “file” a vote of no confidence. Only Parliament — formerly Legislative Assembly — can do that.
Not just anybody, but 25% of the enumerated as at April 1st 2024, around 5,500 voters. But it misses the point: public confidence is the wrong matter to vote on. The problem is that successive Cabinets have diluted laws and eroded the transparency, ethics, and enforcement checks that are supposed to exist to square the compliance equation with FFR/FCO, FATF, and OECD agreements. Reshuffling a loaded deck of corrupt donor pawns and self-serving power-hungry doesn’t yield anything different for voters. It might even hand another four year mandate to the worst of Parliament. Voters need to petition for changes to the Elections Law. Ban all of those with criminal records from handling public money, developing policy, and changing laws, cancel the indemnities from prosecution, enhance SIPL oversight, reward informers, and start making some arrests.
“Man has lost the capacity to foresee and to forestall, he will end by destroying the world.” (Albert Schweitzer)
And we are now living the nightmare.
Side with Mother Nature and her defenders. The future will thank us.
Is this the same National trust that was making a deal with the largest developer on island to put “exclusive” trails thru THIER protected land??? 15 February 2022 CNS article!!!
Developer stooge alert
You refer to an obnoxious proposal from the idiot developer that was sensibly rejected. Helipad was also rejected.
Check google earth buddy. As if rejection means anything.
Jokes on you.
exactly – they take other peoples money. National Trust would not exist without Government funding and handouts from developers.
Why are the national trust so afraid of good governance?
They aren’t afraid of good governance. They hope and perhaps pray for it. What they are afraid of is people of your ilk who seek to run roughshod over the NCA and NCC. These things matter.
If the NCA has made just a little difference in out of control development, why are you against it?
Troll.
A more appropriate and accurate question to ask is why government and politicians are afraid of good governance and accountability?
We all know the answer to that. Because good governance does not serve the interests of the rich developers.
Developer stooge post of disinformation – to be expected whenever the truth about the developer cabal is pointed out
What a joke – the developer cabal talking about good governance – the only governance the cabal wants is more corrupt governance to feed their greed.
Ok, on one side, we have the National Conservation Council, the National Trust and MP Wayne Panton all going on record against the move to gut the NCC and/or the NCA. On the other side, we have McKeeva, Mario Rankin, Chris Saunders and a bunch of anonymous posters talking about why we need to gut the NCC and/or the NCA. Ok, I know which side I believe and trust.
I believe that If we could go back in time and present the same argument for conservation to a Neanderthal we might have a much more prudent response than the regressive bunch of luddites you referred to.
If you want to be on the losing side that’s up to you.
We all lose if this goes through. Future generations will not thank us for this, they will be suffering the consequences, not you.