Land Habitat
Cayman should preserve at least 30% of land
(CNS): The Cayman Islands needs to place at least 30% of its terrestrial habitat under formal protection to have a chance of preserving the nation’s natural resources, according to Fred Burton, the director of the Terrestrial Resources Unit at the Department of the Environment. Speaking on Radio Cayman’s Talk Today programme last week, the local […]
Panton: We can sell Cayman’s natural services
(CNS): Premier Wayne Panton has said the Cayman Islands’ natural assets have real monetary as well as intrinsic value to the country that can be used to generate income, which in turn can be used to protect our environment. According to the set of ‘natural accounts’ that have been completed, the country’s natural resources are […]
Trust expands options for mangrove emission offsets
(CNS): The National Trust for the Cayman Islands (NTCI) is expanding its mangrove protection programme with a new partner in United States, Mangrove Education (ME), that will enable international and local donations made to protect mangroves here tax-deductible for US citizens. The Trust is already partnering with a local non-profit organisation, Island Offsets, to provide […]
Development encroaching on home of the blues
(CNS): Plans to create a subdivision of six plots for family-sized homes on a parcel of untouched primary forest habitat off the Queen’s Highway would encroach on the home of the Cayman Islands’ iconic, endangered blue iguana. As the relentless development continues in Grand Cayman, it increasingly threatens the more remote areas of East End […]
Expert to advise on merging nature into economy
(CNS): Economist Ralph Chami, the assistant director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and co-founder of Rebalance Earth, which advocates for integrating natural capital into economies, will be visiting the Cayman Islands for five days, arriving on Sunday, Premier Wayne Panton has announced. While here Chami will be participating in various events and engagements, sharing […]
Trees planted to offset COP26 but more face bulldozer
(CNS): A dozen more trees went into the ground last month when the Ministry of Sustainability and the National Trust partnered up with youth climate ambassadors to partially offset their travel to the COP26 climate conference in November. However, the tree-planting, while welcome, comes in the face of local deforestation as planning applications to bulldoze […]
Call for all hands on deck for Earth Day Cleanup
(CNS): Young and old are being called on to volunteer for this year’s Chamber of Commerce Earth Day Cleanup on Saturday, 23 April. Businesses, community groups and schools are all encouraged to organise teams and to select a location for the cleanup. Â
Resort developers dismiss need for bird, turtle protections
(CNS): The developers behind the proposed resort at Beach Bay, Lower Valley, have asked the Central Planning Authority (CPA) to ignore directives from the Department of Environment on Phase 1B of the project, which is a CI$43 million residence tower alongside the already approved plans for a ten-storey $170 million hotel.
Activists urge officials to tackle Barkers dumping
(CNS): Environmental activists Plastic Free Cayman partnered with a number of other non-profit organisations at the weekend to conduct a pre-Easter Camping clean-up at Barkers Beach near the kite-surf area. Almost a hundred volunteers picked up over 800lbs of largely plastic waste that had washed up on the shore, but the activists noted the local […]
DoE v CPA legal battle confirmed for June
(CNS): The unprecedented forthcoming legal battle between two public sector entities, effectively setting government against government, has been listed to be heard in June. The Department of Environment and the National Conservation Council have requested a judicial review of a Central Planning Authority decision that ignored a legal directive not to grant planning permission.
Jubilee tree gains lost in just one CPA meeting
(CNS): Local environmental activists are raising concerns that the goal to plant 1,400 trees in the Cayman Islands this year in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is nothing more than a green-washing publicity stunt. Well over 1,400 trees were condemned to be removed at just one Central Planning Authority meeting this month after planning […]
