UPM Cabinet OKs destruction of critical marine habitat
(CNS) UPDATED: At a special meeting of the minority UPM Cabinet on 28 February, the five remaining ministers approved a coastal works permit to dredge 8,000 square feet of seagrass (turtle grass) on the edge of a marine protected area off Public Beach in East End, championed by Minister Isaac Rankine. The approval was given despite advice from the Department of the Environment to turn down the application.
However, the outgoing UPM government appears to have dismissed recommendations by its technical environmental experts as well as pleas from local conservation non-profit groups, and approved the project to create swim holes intended for public use on crown property adjacent to Block 72C, Parcels 104, 115, 116, 117 and 425.
The members of the minority UPM have shown a consistent disregard for the environment and recently sought to gut the National Conservation Act. However, they were stopped when the PPM members of parliament, who had otherwise propped up this minority government for the last five months, said more work needed to be done on revising the legislation.
So instead, the now five-member Cabinet opted to remove the government scientists from the National Conservation Council and replace them with political appointees who do not support conservation, which is now the subject of a judicial review that is expected to be heard next month.
In this case, the DoE warned of the danger of beach erosion if the application is approved to dredge the seagrass. While it is understood that the clearing will take place by hand rather than using heavy equipment, it still has significant environmental implications.
The area in question has naturally rewilded over the years, and the planned removal comes at a time when other places around the world are spending considerable sums of cash to restore essential seagrass beds. However, Minister Rankine described the grass as “taking over”, demonstrating a lack of understanding of the vital role it plays in the marine ecosystem.
The grass does not prevent anyone from swimming and creates the perfect natural environment for all sorts of creatures to thrive. The Department of Tourism even promotes the areas of seagrass in East End as an attraction, which the Cabinet is now seeking to destroy. “The area is teeming with turtle grass and you can see baby fish swimming around, out of reach of predators,” the DoT states on its website.
This approval was granted almost two months ago, but the brief summary of the meeting was only released to the public on Monday, 28 April.
CNS Note: This story has been updated to correct the location. There are currently two proposals to remove seagrass in East End. We are now awaiting the details of the second proposal for the removal of the grass at Colliers Beach. Unfortunately, the UPM minority government has chosen not to be transparent about the details of these environmentally damaging projects, leading to confusion over which areas of seagrass removal have been approved.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: development, Local News, Marine Environment, Science & Nature
Those of us older than a certain age will remember this site as the old Cayman Dive Lodge that hosted some of the best adventure dives on Grand’s southern and eastern reefs, and to which beachfront hotel and dive resort many sport diving enthusiasts would return year after year…
So here is how the National Conservation Council (and their acolyte the Department of Environment) played it wrong- and I am once again astounded by the Director’s blindness to Cayman sensibilities and cultural touchpoints in the face of the impending collapse of the Cayman wilderness environment. Instead of conceding immediately the need by local East Enders for traditional cleared swimming holes in amongst the turtle grass- their tender feet being sensitive to the coarse sand, slippery grass and the sharp sea urchins, crabs and other denizens of turtle grass meadows- she deigns by decree to ‘recommend’ that the meadow clearing operation as applied for by another governmental ministry, that of arch-enemy Jay Ebanks, be denied, and stuff the locals.
Wrong move, Director. What you should have done was to make your fall-back Plan B recommendation your Department of Environment Plan A approved solution. Instead of looking and sounding like a deny-everything auntie where anything to do with the precious environment becomes a century crime, NCC (and their acolyte DoE) should have enthusiastically embraced the option of simply clearing out the historic swimming hole using Caymanian traditional methods. Your fall-back Plan B actually reads like a practical and sensible way of dealing with the issue- “We firstly recommend that the creation of swim holes is done using traditional methods (e.g. by placing roofing sheets/metal boards on the seagrass, waiting for the seagrass to die and then removing the root mats by hand). Not only would this approach honour heritage and tradition, but it would also reduce the environmental impact and the risk/extent of erosion. By removing only seagrass and not large volumes of sand at the same time,
deepening of the nearshore environment may be minimised and there will likely be less beach retreat as the new beach profile would not be as unstable. The elimination of the use of heavy equipment also has benefits to the quality of the beach[sic].” Why not make this your original pitch?
There will always be threats to the Caymanian biosphere. Some are catastrophically huge (like global warming) and some are simple little interventions by locals to improve their space in that biosphere. Instead of outright rejection of such interventions, NCC (and their acolyte DoE) should allow for and even encourage these and reserve their considerably autocratic attentions for larger and more potentially egregious interventions by developers and other governmental authorities such as WA and NRA…
and caymanians blame expats for ‘destroying’ cayman…..
just another day in wonderland.
Two things can be true at once.
Big Julie is an ecological terrorist.
and we the people are about to crown “THE CLOWNS” called politicians. what a ROYAL MESS. King Charles we need your help.
spineless lame ducks
The sad thing is that Rankine thinks this is a vote getting move. I hope he is wrong, but it says a lot for the man and his view of local public opinion that he might even think that.
You are wrong.
Last squeeze of corruption before they get ousted.
Morons! This is disgusting 🤮
Hi CNS, I think you need to amend this article, the parcels referenced are not off Colliers Beach, they are in fact in front of the East End Community Beach, which is across from the East End United Church on Sea View Road. In addition the area is question is not a marine park either. – Thank You
Turtle grass is where you find seahorses and sea dragons, among other snorkeling bucket list species. Tourists – some of them very well travelled- can actually discern between SMB prime beachfront and reef lagoon habitats and generally know what to expect. The hotels in these zones need to do some learning themselves and sell the habitat attractions that exist better rather than pretending the hotels exist in a different ecological situation. It’s numb headed to pursue unnatural uniformity.
That would be seahorse grass, clown.
…please stay in school.
There are no sea dragons in Cayman waters.
Expect much more of the same if the PPM/UPM-Lite forms the next government. They will take care of all the environmental issues once and for all because there won’t be anything but concrete left by the time they are done doing the bidding of their developer masters.
Agree with everything in this comment except the reference to the PPM being UPM-Lite – they are UDP in sheep’s clothing
Probably getting rid of turtle grass because his constituents killed all of the turtles.
When they pull the rug, you’ll find that a hotel and condos will block the public from accessing the swimming holes.
Beach Bay, aka, Mandarin’s private beach soon come
one last push to get re-elected
Collier’s Public Beach is comprised of parcels 74A73, 74A6 and 74A5, miles away from the parcels referenced in this article.
And the parcels referenced in the articles are not in a Marine Park zone.
2:35 – Liar! The marine park starts in the middle of Colliers pond and goes south. Look for yourself:
https://doe.ky/marine/marine-parks/marine-parks-boundary-maps/
This project is nowhere near Colliers, fool.
Citation, please?
See blocks and parcels above.
The Caymanians don’t care about anything but POWER and MONEY! So dredge it, build it, and cover it with rock!
The sons of the soil hate the soil and prefer money and concrete.
That’s not a bad idea. Some concrete on the sea bed once the weeds have been removed would be ideal.
Caymanians destroying Cayman once again. Same old. But lets blame pesky expats.
Truth!
Share this with people on social media, news platforms, international organisations. Organise peaceful protests TODAY.
Key International Partners
IUCN Marine and Polar Program.
World Commission on Protected Areas – Marine.
UNESCO Marine World Heritage Program.
International Maritime Organization – Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas.
Big Ocean – Community of Practice for Very Large MPAs.
IUCN/SSC – Joint Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force.
They have lost their minds and must be stopped.
Are there any international bodies that can intervene?
Nope
While it is regrettable the marine park area in question is now slated to be dredged, the announcement here the day before the election could not have been timed better, to help you decide who NOT to vote for.
Speechless
always remember ppm let this happen and welcomed these parasites into their party
Do not vote PPM if you want this madness to stop!
NO NO NO NO something has to be done with this!
Just a friendly reminder that UPM = PPM. Vote wisely this election.
More likely that the PPM is fronting for the UDP
Share this by WhattsApp so East Enders think about what it means to vote for him again after all he achieved for them in four years. (sarcasm)
the conch will disappear so fast
just wait until East Enders find it even harder to get conch after this… and then politicians will blame someone other than themselves
Expats. And foreign developers.
The grass is taking over?
You know what is taking over? greed, corruption, and a lack of thought for future generations both human and wildlife.
This is the real legacy these idiots will have. Not vanity project parks and schools, but this, the destruction of the fabric of a once beautiful island.
Of course they did.
Absolute donkeys