Cayman attracts green tourism attention
(CNS): Efforts by the tourism industry and NGOs across Cayman are helping the destination earn a reputation for marine conservation. This jurisdiction has come top in several industry awards this year, including for eco-tourism. Despite government’s failure to implement enhanced marine park protections and its determination to build the controversial cruise dock, Cayman remains a top dive destination.
Grand Cayman was number one on the Caribbean Journal’s list of 19 Best Caribbean Islands to Visit in 2019 and second on Scuba Diving Magazine Readers Choice Awards list for ‘Best Scuba Diving in the World‘ for the Caribbean and Atlantic region.
Forbes included Seven Mile Beach on its 2019 list of ‘World’s Best Beaches‘, and this week also lauded the Cayman Islands for its conservation projects that are attracting eco-tourists.
While the Department of Environment continues to advise government on the pressing need to enhance the now inadequate marine protections, which Cabinet has still not approved, the private sector and non-profit organisations are helping to improve Cayman’s green credentials.
Efforts such as ‘sea sense’ menu options in restaurants (an initiative of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands), support for shark conservation by the local brewery, the work of the CCMI in Little Cayman and Plastic Free Cayman’s encouragement of ‘volun-tourism’ have all led Forbes to describe the Cayman Islands as a trendsetter in tourist-related conservation.
Another addition to the green credentials is the partnership between Sunset House, a popular dive resort, and Aaron Hunt, the coordinator of the Eco Divers Reef Foundation, who will be running a training programme in coral conservation and reef renewal.
Hunt already manages 14 coral nurseries here and has had some success. However, the issue of coral relocation is currently causing controversies because of government’s claim that coral under threat from its port project can be picked up and moved as a solution to the extensive destruction the project will have on the George Town reefs.
While Hunt’s transplanted corals in the Sunset House nursery recently spawned, this is no indication that coral which has been growing for hundreds of years can just be relocated. Nevertheless, the work is important and seeding, growing and relocating coral will, over the long term, become an important element in coral conservation.
Dive Manager at Sunset, Mike Pinnington, said that everyone is concerned about the future of coral and Hunt will be teaching guest divers, guiding them through the coral nursery. He will also train local instructors how to teach coral restoration work.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Business, Marine Environment, Science & Nature, Tourism
Conservation……. REAL conservation should be legislated with measurable and enforceable variables, and we should all do our part to participate. If our seas and lands are ruined do we blame the government, or will we have all played a part with our nonparticipation?
Hats off to those who actually do something to help, even if it is just recycling or picking up the roads and beaches.
I don’t think awards help much. Real sweat helps, and lobbies for change. The days when our families went out it boats and took dozens of fish to feed their families are over. We have to leave something for our children’s future other than sand.
Sounds like loads of unhappy visitors going to be coming here then. Scuba Diving Magazine (it was Rodale’s until 2004) is an industry joke and has been for as long as I can remember – that’s a long while!
The only green this government wants to attract is money.
Or paint the pier green.
What a joke. If the campaign against the port wants an easy win they will contact all these news and industry organisations and let them know CIG intends to destroy 12 acres of coral and endanger the whole of 7mb!
All these paid-for ‘awards’ yet the CIG want to trash it’s own coral and turn every inch of the island into concrete. Yawn.
I would remind Hunt that although he is having a few incremental bits of coral growing back he should remind government of the detrimental results of cutting up acres of reefs and trying to locate it somewhere else. Apparently they need all the correct information available.
I’m not sure why the article wrote about our program and the coral relocation. We have nothing to do about that, and do not recommend it. Our focus is growing coral and putting it back on the reef. We have been very successful at repopulating the stag-horn coral between Sunset House an Don fosters.
Utter garbage!!!!!!!!!
I have seen these “articles” floating around and am gobsmacked. It’s so wonderful that these companies and people do such great things.
But the CIG and their fabulous port flies the flag that all of that hard, hard work is going to go to absolute waste as soon as the port build begins.
Please, someone do an FOI and find out how much money the DoT does PAY to these people to be promoted in such articles!
Garbage. Practice what your preach. It is great to be featured in these articles.
It is a crying shame soon all of the hard work will be undone by GREED.
We get zero dollars. We pay everything out of our own pocket. Know anyone that’d like to donate to our nonprofit, great. But right now we pay all of it.
No, I meant to people like Forbes magazine who run the articles. The DoT pays the magazine for the mention, probably writes what they want them to say.
I’m sorry your nonprofit doesn’t get some help. Maybe a gofundme?
Thank you for the thankless job that you all do. It matters. You would think to read the comments that the expectation is that your efforts completely reverse decades-old trends, or do nothing at all.
Every. single. little. bit. helps.
Thank you. REspect.
Cheeseburger reef and the rest of seven mile will look much better covered in silt with sea grass and no coral. That’s what government says 👍
Not to mention that the beach will erode until there is nothing left after that …
Seagrass doesn’t survive silt smothering either. Its going to be a desert.
Extremely sad seagrass will be affected as per square feet it consumes three times more C02 than same square footage than a rain forest. Why is that important? Reduce level of atmosphere CO2 then temperature of seas are reduced, marine algea (which gives coral their beautiful colours) won’t die, thereby coral is not ‘bleached’. Stop sea temperature from rising less heat to fuel hurricanes and less costal flooding due to increase in sea levels. But I am sure I’ll get thumbs down for speaking scientific truth. Overall little islands like us less likely hit be hit by major hurricane or suffer severe flooding due to sea levels rising.
maybe we can get some more of the plastic seagrass?