Land Habitat
New ideas needed to keep green iguanas in check
(CNS): An army of around 320 registered cullers have managed to kill almost 1.35 million invasive green iguanas over the last three years since the project first began, but there has been a decline in interest from cullers despite an increase in the bounty. This is largely because the estimated number of iguanas has dropped […]
Activists maintain pressure for plastic ban
(CNS): Plastic Free Cayman, Protect Our Future and the Mangrove Rangers are keeping up the campaign for a single-use plastic ban and a reduction in plastic waste and other critical environmental issues, such as preserving diminishing wetlands and threatened reefs.
Chemical pollution exceeds safe levels for life
(CNS): Natural ecosystems around the world that humans depend on to survive are all at risk from a cocktail of chemical pollution that now pervades the planet from Mount Everest to the depths of the Pacific Ocean. A comprehensive new study looking at “novel entities”, meaning non-geological substances such as plastic and chemicals, found the amount of […]
Activists clear 7 tonnes of beach rubbish in 2021
(CNS): Volunteers who took part throughout 2021 in regular weekend beach clean-ups cleared over seven tonnes of rubbish, most of it plastics, from local beaches across the Cayman Islands. The activists also revealed that 2021 marked a significant increase in plastic waste on our beaches, up more than 30% from 2019.
POF activists step up call for plastic ban
(CNS): The two tonnes of plastic trash that volunteers picked up from Grand Cayman’s shoreline for World Cleanup Day in September represents the total amount of plastic the island consumes in just over four minutes, according to activists from Protect our Future. This finding has prompted the young environmentalists to start another campaign to urge […]
NCC to consider protection plans for seabirds
(CNS): When it meets today, the National Conservation Council will be considering a proposed Species Conservation Plan to protect nesting seabirds of the Cayman Islands and help stabilize and grow increasingly threatened populations. On the agenda for the NCC’s first public meeting for more than four months are a number of local environmental issues, including […]
Giant mahogany trees saved on Little Cayman
(CNS) The Little Cayman District Committee of the National Trust has purchased a small parcel of land at the west end of the island to protect three huge old-growth mahogany trees. A prominent landmark on Little Cayman for as long as memory serves, the trees are clearly visible in the first aerial survey photos of […]
DoE ramps up feral cats campaign
(CNS) Feral cats are causing irreversible damage to critically endangered native animal populations across all three Cayman Islands. As a result, the Department of Environment is ramping up its education campaign on social media, making the case for a humane cull. The experts say the cats cannot be allowed to continue to roam freely and […]
Mangrove protection still limited by laws
(CNS): Mangroves are still disappearing under the bulldozer, even after the National Conservation Council (NCC) adopted a Species Conservation Plan for Mangroves, because this protection is limited by the parameters of the conservation and planning laws, which do not prevent owners from developing their land in accordance with the planning laws.
CPA urged not to allow clearing of critical habitat
(CNS): The Central Planning Authority is being urged not to allow a developer to clear two separate plots of critical natural habitat, one in Breakers and the other in High Rock, East End, in the absence of any development plans, given the growing concern about the loss of primary forest and mangroves. An application going […]
Feral cats create crisis for local birds and reptiles
(CNS): Experts at the Department of Environment who focus on Cayman’s unique and rare birds and reptiles are increasingly concerned about the danger posed to many species across all three islands from feral cats. The threat to the endemic rock iguana on Little Cayman has been well documented but these animals are also a critical […]
