New eco-activists launch petition to save NCA

| 14/06/2024 | 59 Comments
Photo credit: #DontPaveParadise

(CNS): Following news reported on CNS this week that the UPM government is in the process of trying to gut the National Conservation Act, local environmentalists have expressed deep concerns. Efforts are underway to rally public support to stop any attempts to undermine this critical legislation, including the launch of a petition. Sustainable Cayman and other activist groups are also urging people to contact their MPs and ask them not to support the proposed amendments.

One of Sustainable Cayman’s ambassadors told CNS that they were “deeply saddened and betrayed” by the government’s plans to undermine important parts of the conservation legislation.

“It is deplorable, disgusting and outright anti-Caymanian to undermine the very essence of what makes Cayman the island we love and cherish. The government’s efforts to dismantle the systems that ensure accountability are not only anti-democratic but also authoritarian. Discussing the removal of checks and balances due to personal fears is reckless and dangerous.”

Meanwhile, a group of concerned citizens who recently formed a “non-partisan, non-political community, united by a common concern” under the banner of #Don’tPaveParadise launched an online petition on Thursday to protect the threatened legislation.

Despite claiming to be non-political, the group has accused the UPM government of lying about the National Conservation Act hindering development. “This is false. Don’t be misled by such misinformation,” the as yet unidentified organisers of the campaign stated in their petition preamble.

“The National Conservation Act doesn’t stop us from building the housing and infrastructure we need; it simply makes sure we do it properly. The National Conservation Council is not the decision-maker on an EIA, nor does it have the power to designate land for protection. The ultimate authority is and has always been Cabinet.”

Cabinet does not control the requirement for undertaking an environmental impact assessment. This is generally directed by the National Conservation Council based on advice from the Department of Environment’s technical and scientific experts. But Cabinet does decide whether or not to accept the scientific findings and recommendations of these important reviews, and even in the face of dire warnings, the government can ignore those findings.

Almost all the work the NCC and the DoE do regarding the conservation law is advisory and largely in the form of recommendations.

“It is a lie to say that the NCC can stop any development project,” a spokesperson from #Dontpaveparadise said in relation to the petition. “It is a lie to say that the Director of Environment has more power than Cabinet. These are lies that the Grand Court, the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council have exposed.”

Lynne Byles, the managing director of Tower Marketing, told CNS that the local agency had launched the #DontPaveParadise campaign on behalf of the group of concerned citizens. She said it provided a platform for people to speak out against unsustainable development and in support of the environment.

“While the government reviews the National Conservation Act, it is important our leaders know how important our natural resources are to the people of the Cayman Islands and to our future well-being,” Byles said. “We encourage people to post on social media, sign our petition, write to their MPs and be as vocal as possible in demanding a more sustainable future.”

As part of the campaign to protect Cayman’s dwindling wetlands, a Facebook group, Wetlands Thrive, Life Survives, also issued a statement about the threat to the conservation law. Of particular concern for this group is the need to retain the requirement for the government to conduct environmental impact assessments for its projects.

“In our fight for transparency and accountability, we demand fair technical expertise derived from a democratic process, such as an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA),” said a spokesperson for the campaign. “Government development projects — whether they be roads, airports, or schools — are funded by consumers’ costs embedded in every product sold in the Cayman Islands. As the cost of living rises, it is only fair and just that we see a corresponding increase in the quality and transparency of these projects, which must include comprehensive EIAs to evaluate their social, economic, and environmental impacts.”

With overwhelming public support for ensuring that natural resources are protected in the face of development, the activists said practical solutions are needed to resolve Cayman’s traffic and infrastructure challenges but not at the expense of natural habitats.

“The proposed changes to the National Conservation Act, including the removal of the requirement for EIAs for projects such as the East-West Arterial (EWA) road extension, are deeply concerning,” the wetland campaigners said. “We must hold our government accountable to ensure that all development projects in the Cayman Islands, whether public or private, adhere to rigorous Environmental Impact Assessments. This is the only path to responsible, equitable development that truly serves the people.”

Since the CNS report on Monday about the possibility that the government is rushing the amended legislation through drafting to make it to parliament next month, there has been a significant backlash from the public across social media. Angry exchanges have appeared across many social media platforms between those who support development and those concerned about the negative impact that relentless unsustainable development over the past decade has already had on Cayman.

The report exposing the government’s plans has attracted over 200 comments, the majority of which support the legislation as it is.

Former premier Wayne Panton, the original architect of the legislation, has also spoken out about the misguided attempt to gut the law. Panton has described the efforts to gut the law as a “corrupt initiative” between a “cabal of developers” and some politicians who have taken campaign funding from them.


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Category: Land Habitat, Laws, Politics, Science & Nature

Comments (59)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    The words “stable”, “door”, “horse”, “bolted” spring to mind for some reason.

  2. Anonymous says:

    The government and people behind this development have no love of Cayman or its people. They need to take a step back and see the terrible consequence’s of their actions already.

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  3. The Cayman Islands desperately needs to establish an office entitled ‘Scientific Advisor To Cabinet’.

    This office must be headed by a scientist, an Academic with a PhD.

    The role of the scientific advisor to the cabinet, also known as the Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA), should be to provide independent advice on scientific issues to the Premier and cabinet members. This includes:

    1. **Providing Strategic Advice**: The GCSA should advise on long-term strategic challenges and immediate responses to public emergencies such as pandemics and natural disasters[1].

    2. **Intermediary Role**: The GCSA acts as a conduit between the scientific research community and policymakers, ensuring that policy decisions are informed by scientific evidence[1].

    3. **Supporting Research and Innovation**: The GCSA should help shape government policy to support broader research and innovation, including incentivizing effective use of research and development spending[1].

    4. **Leading the Government Science and Engineering Profession**: The GCSA is responsible for supporting 11,000 scientists and engineers across government and leading Science and Engineering Assurance reviews[1].

    5. **Co-Chairing the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology**: The GCSA co-chairs this independent advisory board on cross-cutting science and technology issues[1].

    6. **Reporting to the Cabinet Secretary and Prime Minister**: The GCSA reports to the cabinet secretary and prime minister, ensuring that scientific advice is integrated into policy decisions[2].

    7. **Ensuring Science in Policy Making**: The GCSA should ensure that policy decisions are underpinned by scientific evidence and engineering advice[1].

    8. **Providing Expertise in Emergencies**: The GCSA attends COBR meetings and provides scientific advice during emergencies[1].

    9. **Fostering International Collaboration**: The GCSA should engage in international aspects of the role, including horizon scanning and futures analysis[2].

    10. **Supporting Departmental CSAs**: The GCSA should work closely with departmental Chief Scientific Advisers to share good practices and resolve cross-departmental science issues[4].

    By fulfilling these roles, the scientific advisor to the cabinet can effectively integrate scientific expertise into policy decisions, ensuring that the government makes informed and evidence-based choices.

    Sources
    [1] Government chief scientific adviser https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/explainer/government-chief-scientific-adviser
    [2] [PDF] Chief Scientific Advisers and their officials: an introduction – GOV.UK https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e145810ed915d06f75e5e41/chief-scientific-advisers-and-their-officials-an-introduction.pdf
    [3] Office of the Chief Science Advisor https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor
    [4] Chief Scientific Advisers – GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/chief-scientific-advisers
    [5] It’s time to overhaul the role of chief scientific advisers https://www.civilserviceworld.com/in-depth/article/government-science-advisers-home-office-reform

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    • Anonymous says:

      Excellent recommendation Nick. However, for this group facts don’t matter and ‘science is the work of the devil’.

  4. Anonymous says:

    I don’t consider myself an “activist,” but I will sign this petition. Just because I agree that development is out of control right now and we need to at least slow down and take what remains of our natural environment into consideration, why must I be labelled an “activist?”

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  5. Frank says:

    Well you know quite frankly if you combine the two positions of conserving the wetlands forests with building homes the answer quite frankly is going vertical. Quite frankly building 10 story buildings of numerous small apartments would fit the needs of many expats which are quite frankly now the majority. So all new plans should be for reconstruction of current residential demolition and rebuilding those lots instead of wiping out gutting the natural 🌱 forests beauty of Cayman. Cayman quite frankly should not turn into a concrete island!

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    • Anonymous says:

      Quite frankly, you are sure in love with the phrase “quite frankly,” which quite frankly always annoys me. And, can I say, quite frankly, that your idea of demolishing current residences for the construction of 10-storey buildings, is quite frankly, terrible.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    A futile cause. Our government does not serve the people. You should all know that by now. They serve themselves, friends and family. There is NOT ONE candidate who has integrity or the courage to fight the moral corruption. Just look at their pensions vs the rest of us. I would like to see them live on $1200 a month.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    We need a People’s Referendum like we did with the Cruise Piers fiasco.

    Remember Alden said that only God could stop him. Well God showed him and put that power in the People’s hands..

    Don’t let Julie fool you, she doesn’t worship the same God we do. Her god is known as JudasAnna, AKA “for the love of power, money and position.” She even promised to get weed legalized in order to get elected over Elvis in Cayman Brac…that was one of the lowest I have seen her stoop but yet Cayman Brackers still couldn’t see through her hypocrisy. I wonder how many of them are asking about their weed now. 🙂

    By signing this petition you are telling JudasAnna, Jay Ebanks, the Planning Authority Department and the entire UPM Government that we Caymanians still stand on principles, love of our country and its environment. We will not and cannot allow them to gut the only last bastion of legislation left to protect us from unbridled development and corruption by our elected Government.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You had no such referendum on the cruise pier issue, primarily due to the organizers being afraid of the outcome.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Methinks it was the PPM government that ran off with their tails between their legs…not the People for referandum..

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  8. Anonymous says:

    I want to say a big “thank you” to whoever started this Movement. It says something for our citizens when we stand together for what is good and best for our 3 islands.

    Politicians have proven time and time again to us that they will sell their soul for the almighty dollar and yet we continue to vote the same ones or their surrogates back in.

    I have never seen such a “get rich quick” scheme in my life as getting elected for office in Cayman..Worse they don’t even need to be a member of Cabinet to get caught up in the trappings of big money and selling their vote to ensure their wealth and position power. Many don’t see it until it is too late and then start accusing others of doing exactly what they did. It’s disgusting to see these pigs at the trough with no shame whatsover..

    Getting rid of the National Conservation Act at the behest of the Central Planning Authority, together with its Cabinet Minister, who was groomed by and is a puppet of McKeeva Bush, himself a convicted criminal and his party now being run by self professing “one day Christian,” Julianna O’Connor Conolly is the epitome of what we Caymanians call a “sell out.”

    This UPM party is nothing more than another version of the PPM. The only thing changed is the letter U is now at the beginning of their name. The same old dirty nasty, “get all you can while you are elected” policies of the PPM still apply to this very day.

    Julianna and Mckeeva both professing Christianity are no more good Christians than the Devil is a good angel. They will sell their souls for the almighty dollar and will train and groom a lot of the lesser uneducated Caymanians to ensure their longevity of suckling of the milk of the Government teat never gets interrupted in their quest for power, position and their own wealth…Unfortunately, once these younger ones are groomed they cannot go away from their leaders because they will always have at least one situation to hold over their heads to ensure that the money flow and power is cut off.

    Tell me folks, have you seen one election in the past 30-40 years that has not been brokered by these two individuals? They say that Julie has a different color frock for each election depending on who wins so she is wearing the right colors at swearing in.She didn’t even bother resigning from the PPM in the last election. She is loyal to none but herself. We somehow managed to reduce Alden’s power because he was too arrogant and even his people had enough, however, for some reason these two can still rise to the top no matter how we try to get rid of them. They $hit stinks and floats to the top, never were truer words said. When are we going to move forward with a different and more Cayman first agenda and people that actually care about country rather than what they can get out of the country?

    The whole reason for this government wanting to remove this National Conservation ACT is because they have been promised by their handlers and developers who want no impediments in their way is that they will be rewarded handsomely..Remember people a lot of these Developers are not Caymanian. Some of them have demanded and gotten Caymanian Status by Cabinet ensuring that they will always have it and we cannot take it away.

    Our own Caymanian politicians did that to us..Why couldn’t they have gone through the same process that any expat has to go through? Think about it folks, it is not hard to see through this and it is nothing short of abuse of power and corruption..Remember as well, when Roy McTaggart said that the PPM couldn’t account for all of the concessions they were giving away to the Developers? They couldn’t figure out how much the country may or not have been gaining from it but the certainly knew what their cut would be..We have to stop this corruption and unbridled development without care for our environment.

    I end this by saying the PPM thought they could run rough shod of the people with their Cruise Piers development project and the people said no? I now understand that Kenneth Bryan (former PPM) is now trying to revise Alden’s play card..If he thinks that he will fear any better than Alden did, I will remind him that many of Alden’s own people went against him for love of their country so he better not rest on thinking that just because he got elected that he now has carte blanche..It will end his career just like it did, Alden’s….Saying that I guess maybe we should encourage him to go ahead and do this..

    As far as the removing the National Conservation ACT, I trust that the same thing that happened to Alden and his government will happen to Jay Ebanks and his UPM Government. We Caymanians, the few that are left, must stand up, speak our minds, and make changes and the best way to do that is at the polls next year!

    Don’t stay home, don’t give up, all is not lost! Make your vote count! Sign this petition!

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  9. Anonymous says:

    it’s pretty much been paved if you compare us to the 80s. if the kids only knew.

  10. Anonymous says:

    You know what is so puzzling, Wayne is correct, these harmful amendments to the NCA aren’t being driven by elected leaders acting in the country’s best interests. But by “consultants” bought and paid for by developers. These “consultants” now having to earn their compensation. But who was it that appointed the current Chair of the CPA who happens to run a consultancy business? None other than Wayne. Look at all the concrete that continues to be poured over the entire island and they want to remove and water down the few safeguards that exist. The current Premier has just spent 8m to build sleeping quarters for multi-millionaire developers to house their employees on the Brac. Clearly she should not be charged with allocating nor protecting the country’s precious resources. Once gone that’s it, it’s time to foment change.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Maybe if the NCA was reasonable in their decision making this might not be the outcome. The answer can’t always be No, but it’s the only word in their vocabulary.

    Growth is inevitable and they need to embrace that and understand that their decisions will drive up costs for people living here.

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    • Anonymous says:

      How many times have they said “no?” Look it up and get back to us, but when you do, be sure to admit you were misleading us into believing it was a lot.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Only ~7 applications have been directed refusal under the NCA

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    • Anonymous says:

      Less than 1/10th of 1% Of the 11,000 plus applications considered were a No. The opposite end of the spectrum from “always be no”! Wouldnt you agree?! Try the truth sometimes, it is a far more reasonable argument.

      If the answer was always no pray tell why do the Caymanian people feel we are a minority and choking on traffic and population growth with our views of our sunsets now mostly from reflections off the big glass windows above us?

  12. Anonymous says:

    We deserve this after all we elected Bernie Jay and Kenneth all staunch environmentalists. Yeah right.

    We must remember this come election day.

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  13. Anonymous says:

    Is this the act and group that banned cats and trying to put people in jail for feeding them, that crap has got to go.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    Let me get this straight…..a new “activist” group in Cayman has the audacity to lead off with a statement like “ In our fight for transparency and accountability”, yet won’t publish the names of any of its own leaders or spokespeople? Sorry but not taking this bunch of nobodies (or maybe it’s just one person) seriously.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You’re not going to take the concerns of our community seriously? You should join the government, you’d fit right in!

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    • Anonymous says:

      Well that’s because people on these Islands are genetically programmed to be spiteful and self serving – both locals and expats alike.

      Takes brave people with last names that have weight to them to stand up on these Islands publicly without fear of being persecuted every step of the way in the future.

    • Anonymous says:

      or who is funding them!

  15. Don't Pave Paradise says:

    It’s time to draw a line in the sand against unsustainable development and stand up for the National Conservation Act as the only legal protection our environment has.

    Show your support and have your say by signing the Don’t Pave Paradise petition today:

    https://www.change.org/DontPaveParadise

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  16. Anonymous says:

    Nice idea, but only registered voters get counted on a petition in the Cayman Islands. Try again adding separate columns for Name, Voter ID number, and Voting District. Otherwise, sadly. these “signatures” can’t be verified, or considered properly as valid. 25% of the April 1st Register list is required to be taken seriously. That number stands at something north of 5,400 registered. It should be addressed and submitted to the Governor.

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    • Anonymous says:

      12:30 pm Excellent ! And the petition organizers should name themselves if they expect people to sign the petition!

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    • Anonymous says:

      They’re not trying to initiate a referendum- only to stop the gutting of the NCA. Can’t people who care about Cayman and are not voters express their dismay at what is happening on Cayman in terms of development?

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    • Anonymous says:

      This is not a referendum. But be careful what you wish for.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Well, I remember signing the petition against the port and someone “from Government” came to my work place many months later to confirm who I was and had I signed the petition and was I a “woter”.

      These bully boy tactics did not scare me then and they won’t scrae me in the futiure.

      There’s an election coming and these morons are on their way out – just be sure the door does slap then in the a$$ on the way…

      BTW – can you iomagine if the port went ahead – we’d be stareing at a $1.5bln dollar bill for citizens of the islands and have just 20 piles bored in GT harbour…..

      We won on the port, we can, nay we MUST, win on this as well….

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      • Idiotocracy says:

        There was no binding referendum. You won nothing. Moreover, if you can take either joy or hope from the prospect of rearranging the deck chairs on the Tinpot Titanic, then you are a part of the problem. The changes which need to be made are not being addressed.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    It sounds to me like a repeat of the funding of the PPM campaign by Wayne

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    • Anonymous says:

      11:55 am Bang on !

    • Anonymous says:

      So what even if it is. Do you like the amount of development going on an affecting the quality of our lives, or are you one of the ones getting rich off the misery of others?

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  18. Anonymous says:

    We need a people initiated referendum demanding a stop to the destruction of our islands. The politicians listened the last time a referendum was started.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Smart developers will fund preachers to quote the Bible exploitation of nature and human overpopulation. Money government and religion combine to destroy Habitat.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Did they really?

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    • Anonymous says:

      What we need is an EARLY election, to bring an end to the destabilising effect that this wild bunch have continued to have on our beloved Cayman. I truly hope this settles the debate about trying to form a Govt of independents- the WORST experiment EVER in the history of our country.

      Madam Governor, isn’t good governance within your scope? How many AG reports do YOU need to receive to see that all is not well? It is happening right under your nose- please do not wait until it is necessary to impose direct rule, clearly the UK are no more capable of handling their own affairs much less ours.

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    • Anonymous says:

      They didn’t listen, but the referendum made a difference. What they did is move the election date up and declare the PIR issue to be dead. It made a huge difference. I would guess that most politicians here consider referendum to be a curse, rather than a directive from their constituents, as they should see it.

      If we are to have a true representative government, then the people should have a voice beyond their vote. It has never been so. That is my dream, that we can influence government beyond the simple vote, where we are often faced with choosing the lesser of evils.

      I believe we should streamline the Referendum process. It matters. If it is important enough for 25% of the electors to stand up, it is important enough to be voted upon.

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    • Idiotocracy says:

      They did not “listen”. There was no binding referendum. They used the fallacy which we are supposed to believe in as a valid system of democratic and/or decision making processes and brought about an equally farcical premature election in order to forego the referendum and in order to spare the illusionist’s failed efforts to portray a state of well being. Then there was the fact that a certain pesky pig in a wig was threatening to turn over the whole cart of spoiled political apples and expose the whole gamut of reprehensible goings on if he were to actually be held accountable in any consequential way. Polytrickially expedient yes. Referendum, that’s a hard no.

  19. Anonymous says:

    To little – to late. The big money people own Cayman now.

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  20. Anonymous says:

    Thank you to those who started this petition. I support the petition but would also be happy to sign a petition demanding a referendum on whether we should preserve or better yet strengthen our National Conservation Act. A referendum is much more likely to get the politicians to reconsider.

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    • Chris Johnson says:

      I agree and fully support this petition. Being a newcomer since 1968 I am tired of seeing as to what happened to Cayman which I attribute to shear greed with lots of corruption and nepotism. Will the next generation stand up and seek election.

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    • Que? says:

      And just exactly who is ‘those’. Identify who you are.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Too many politicians are in developers pockets. Stop the corrupt practice and work for the betterment of your people not investors.

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