CPA clears developer over mangrove destruction
(CNS): Planning officials have confirmed that on Wednesday the Central Planning Authority approved an after-the-fact application by a developer for the removal of mangroves from an important drainage area in Prospect, which has already been done illegally. Despite recommendations from the Department of Environment to refuse, the CPA opted to allow the clearance, with the only condition that the remaining mangroves on the relevant plot are retained.
This latest after-the-fact application regarding the unlawful removal of mangroves is one of a growing list that is causing the DoE real concern. But the CPA does not appear to be ready to take the action necessary to begin deterring developers from clearing land when there is no planning permission in place and no permit for mangrove removal.
In this case there has never been and is still no planning application history for this site. The developer cleared the area simply to dump soil taken from another nearby development site and to store materials.
The DoE is continuing to wait on Cabinet to approve a species conservation management plan for local mangroves that will enable its officers to step in and prevent illegal mangrove clearing or at least impose some form of sanction when it discovers land has been cleared unlawfully. However, there is still no sign of the necessary approval for this critical conservation plan.
With mangrove cover on Grand Cayman is now a mere fraction of what it was just 20 years ago. The DoE has grave concerns about climate change compounding the vulnerability of the islands. Sea level rise, greater flooding and increasingly intense storm activity are all around the corner for these islands.
The impact of these climate related challenges can be mitigated by mangroves. But the pressure from coastal development and now this growing problem of unnecessary and unlawful mangrove removal is leaving Cayman with dwindling protection and a very uncertain future for its coastline.
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Category: development, Land Habitat, Local News, Science & Nature
WRONG 412pm. No Minister, not even Cabinet can direct the CPA
ALT is a very good man. He is also unjustly judged. Imagine McKeeva as the head of the CPA.
pretty low bar there….
Very low bar. What if Ted Bundy or Ronald McDonald Trump we’re the head of planning? Boom! MacKeeva is a good man. Magic
Yeah that would be worse but not as much as a conflict of interest as ALT is right now. A man sitting in a position to approve projects that has the potential to support his personal business should NOT be in the position he sits in now and if you can’t see how that is a conflict of interested you are part of the problem that is destroying Cayman for Caymanians.
“Potential” heh heh heh.
Might be a good man (except for frequent tirades against those who disagree with him) but he believes that he alone knows what is best for Cayman.
if you don’t take authority away from CPA, you will have an island of concrete with no wild life.
The CPA take directions from the Ministry. Replacing the members will not change anything.
The DOE must be given more enforcement powers. Right now CPA calls the shots. Failure to recognize this will be a downfall of politicians and hurt this amazing and blessed country.
man·grove
/ˈmaNGɡrōv/
a tree or shrub that grows in chiefly tropical coastal swamps that are flooded at high tide. Mangroves typically have numerous tangled roots above ground and form dense thickets.
This is very similar to what Mr. Bryan is saying….lets know the facts first.
There is a difference between “Mangroves” and “Button Wood”. If the image that reflects the incident….then it is button wood.
The CPA is a joke! As long as they keep approving these after the fact applications then the developers will continue to do it. If they started denying applications and imposing fines for these actions then people would think twice…
DEVELOPERS RULE. Don’t ever forget that fact.
Time for a Green Party to end the rule.
It should boil over! If not at the polls then in the streets!!!
This like an obvious case of “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission”.
So the word is bulldoze what you can today and submit “after the fact” application later, don’t worry you’ll get permission since it’s good ole Cayman “good for nothin” bush, no value in it. The idiocy continues as developers continue to flout the law and the corrupt committees continue to betray the law and ignore any wrongdoing.
The signs were all there when this dishonourable Unity team took the helm and essentially made DOE redundant in its capacity to advise on Planning matters.
The sad truth is that the registered public voted in, or abstained (which is worse), these irresponsible individuals. The real issue is that people here seem to be too easily bought, and vote on the basis of favour not integrity. Until the voting public stop accepting favours for a vote then the situation will only get worse as Cayman slips into the abyss.
Kakistocracy, that’s Cayman in a nutshell!
Had to google that. Great word.
did you expect anything else?
The CPA is about as much use as OfReg!
https://qz.com/1807407/mexico-is-illegally-destroying-mangroves-to-build-lopez-obradors-oil-refinery/?utm_source=YPL&yptr=yahoo&utm_source=reddit.com
We’re not the only place being run by a bunch of idiots.
Not a fair comparison though. Mexico – Cayman??
Next referendum – Enact the immediately ban on ANY mangroves from undeveloped land.
Yeah, fool until it is your land😜
I own land with Mangroves on it and I cleared (with planning approval first) enough to get a dirt road to the ocean so I can launch my boat. As much as I want to build on it I know morally to leave it as it currently is.
Since central planning board won’t stop and their proxie government won’t stop them destroying Cayman’s fragile environment We need to put a stop to their members who are directly benefiting from this destruction of our environment. Our illustrious leader Aldon and his lodge Mafia Eco Funding Prince Charles whilst in London and shoveling our ecological blood money to pay off mother’s heir and representatives so they can turn a blind eye to his rinky dink government very destructive ecological development schemes is a hypocritical indictment of them all. The question is Who is the real Eco terrorist?. those that take action against it or those who allow it to happen and benefit from it and who the cap fit let them where it.
why do any of these people have jobs.??? Why do these commissions even exist. If they are not going to enforce laws and policies in place then do away with them.
Easy answer: most of them are in the construction/supply business so it is not in their best interest to do anything to curtail construction. It is disgraceful that Government continues to reappoint these people to this board.
So what else is new.
Ecocide is a structurally reoccurring phenomenon contributing to a serious disequilibrium in the Earth-system that buttress all planetary life. Ecocide is also a possible method of genocide if it fragments or destroys vital socioecological and cultural relationships between humans and nature.
WTF?
ec·o·cide
/ˈēkōˌsīd,ˈekōˌsīd/
noun
destruction of the natural environment, especially when willfully done.
“their crime is nothing less than attempted ecocide”
Hopefully we will have a remedy for ecocide in the not far distant future. http://ecocidelaw.com/
Who is the actual owner of the land? And I don’t mean the company. Who appeared before the CPA?
Bavan Anthonysraj: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bavan-antonysraj-a683442/
Good generational Caymanian name.
Tea anyone?
“Our goal at Palmyra Developments, is filling the void in the current housing market for affordable, modern, high quality, safe, smart-home residences in the most sought-after neighborhoods in the Cayman Islands. We guarantee the highest standards in design and development from concept to completion, ensuring the vision of the project is produced without compromise. Contact bavan@palmyra.ky ” – What a joke, just re-wording “building high prices homes out of reach for 99% of Caymanians to sate the need for homes for the expat population at the expense of what makes Cayman Cayman.”
I am ashamed of the CIG and DoP for letting this go through like all the others but then when new construction means more money spent at the certain hardware stores what truly can one expect. CIG doesn’t give a shit about the average Caymanian, they’ve got their cushy jobs and their own businesses and are set for life so they can sell Cayman piecemeal out from under us without giving a damn.
That’s for sure. But what are you prepared to do about it? Or have done about it previously? And I speak as an ex-pat who can afford one of these ‘affordable, modern, high quality, safe, smart-home residences’. I can’t do anything to help. I don’t have status. I can’t vote. Your OWN people have created this mess.
I don’t know about @9:10 but If you own waterfront property on these lands that were cleared like this and you notice freshly planted mangrove pods on the edge of your property that was me. I’m trying to grow enough pods that I can replant a few rows of pods from one end of a particular property to other right below the high water mark so this particular bastard will have to illegally remove it once again. Also planning to plant a few squares at a few hotels on SMB when I have enough.
For those of you who enjoy a good snapper dinner but wonder why mangroves are so important? Watch this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhLlqdPB_Rs
That’s very nasty Anonymous! Bavan is not wholly responsible!
50% that’s enough for me
Does the developer have a name?
No one gets arrested or fired here unless your an expat. This is a corrupt regime. Time for the UK to take over and set things straight or is it too late for that?
Umm, the guilty parties ain’t from here…
They have Caymanian Status though. There ought not to be a difference, but that’s Cayman for you.
It does make a difference because anyone who receives a grant and then uses it to commit any offense, can have it revoked
Like that’s going to happen
No, of course it won’t – but that is because we do not effectively enforce any law in Cayman – whether through ineptitude or corruption.
Which guilty party – the developers or the CPA?
Ultimately the guilty party are those members of CPA who do absolutely nothing to protect our environment from the continued abuses.
Are Jamaicans expats ?
No, maybe
Yes.
No they come from yard.
It is not clear why the CPA continues to approve of this illegal activity. One can only assume that their actions and the inaction of the government (as it relates to the implementation of the species conservation management plan) is effectively a defacto policy on the removal of mangroves from environmentally sensitive locations.
$$$
Not clear? Are you serious? Money… money money money
Keep up the good work. All we need is one good storm to sort this mangroveless island out!!
Shame on us. No where else in this world do you see mangroves being destroyed and no one gives a hoot. Anybody know Grets number?
Oh god no, please no.
name the property owner and the developers involved….
And the heavy equipment operator.
And publish the minutes of the DCI deliberations that must surely have taken place when they discovered that persons they are supposed to be regulating are breaking the law.
#world class.
These “after-the-fact” approvals are pure bull-shit! They are now becoming the norm! Why have rules and requirements in the first place if every breach will be ignored by getting an approval.
Then just throw out the requirement to apply at all! Free-for-all time!!
Gross corruption throughout the stinking rotten Government and Civil Service!!
Disdain for this government and our ineffectual civil service risks boiling over. This is insanity.
It wasn’t a mangrove. A FOREST yes.
The message is clear: no applications nor permission to clear land or mangroves is needed anymore…..as long as youre a developer/owner with the “means” to get it blessed after the fact. Understood.
If it’s illegal to clear them illegally, shouldn’t they be prosecuting them and making them reinstate the mangroves or fining them? Not just saying “it’s fine, carry on”. Surely they have a responsibility to see that the law is adhered to?
How anyone can ever consider ALThompson a fit and proper person to chair CPA escapes me
Because the CIG doesn’t know the meaning of the words “Conflict of Interest”
Next you’ll hear how the birds and iguanas are going extinct because of a few feral cats. You can’t make this stuff up.
It’s not made up
Yea because raping the environment poses no risk the animals who live in such habitats.
It has to be those pesky cats thats the main threat to the existense of our wild life.
Why bother having the CPA? AL’T should be hanging his head in shame..
No one can tell me that all of these conflicted, political appointees are doing what is in the best interest of this country..
Please, Please 2021, hurry come…
He can’t hang his head in shame, he’s too busy laughing all the way to the bank
Got news for you. aLT isn’t elected. He isn’t going anywhere.