Science & Nature
CCMI to explore 12-Mile Bank and Pickle Bank
(CNS): The Little Cayman-based Central Caribbean Marine Institute has received a grant and a donation totalling more than CI$1 million, which will be used to explore two well-known seamounts (submerged islands) near the Cayman Islands. Collaborating with the Department of Environment, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, CCMI researchers will […]
DoE officer rescues green turtle from poachers
(CNS): Attempts by poachers on Grand Cayman to take a nesting green turtle were prevented at the weekend when Department of Environment Conservation Officer Chadd Bush found the animal trussed up on Saturday night. The turtle was flipped on her back with her flippers tied with rope.
Nesting loggerhead lost to poachers on Brac
(CNS): Poachers on Cayman Brac caught one of the very few loggerhead turtles that nest on that island as she crawled up the beach to lay her eggs Wednesday night, the Department of Environment has said. DoE enforcement officers and the police followed up on the report early Thursday morning but with no success. Loggerhead […]
Sargassum presents challenge for environment and tourism
(CNS): An unprecedented amount of Sargassum that invaded the North Sound on Saturday is presenting a significant challenge for the Cayman Islands as the country tries to rebuild its tourism business two and a half years after the COVID-19 pandemic closed its borders. However, it is also a major environmental threat. Staff from the Department […]
Cayman receives EU grant to improve energy efficiency
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government will be using a European Union grant of more than €1.2 million (around CI$1 million) to improve the energy efficiency of government buildings and National Housing Development Trust (NHDT) homes. The funds, awarded by the Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity Programme (RESEMBID), will be used by the new Cayman […]
Protections are buffering Little Cayman reefs from threats
(CNS): Little Cayman’s coral reefs are subject to the same pressures of climate change and disease as those around the world, but the latest survey of the reefs by the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) shows that local marine protections have provided a buffer from the impact of those threats. Fish populations around the island […]
Dart pledges to conserve land as it develops
(CNS): Cayman’s largest landowner has made a pledge to conserve one acre of natural habitat for every acre it develops in the future. The Dart Group, which is responsible for a significant amount of development on Grand Cayman, has also said it will not begin any new projects until the government completes the revised National […]
Plan proposed to protect nesting seabirds
(CNS): The National Conservation Council has issued a draft Seabird Conservation Plan for public consultation to protect six of Cayman’s vanishing colonial nesting seabirds. Department of Environment (DoE) Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie has warned that some of the Cayman Islands’ most recognisable birds could be lost due to habitat loss, coastal development and invasive species unless […]
Local PoF activist wins special royal award
(CNS): Caymanian activist Dejea Lyons (19), a founding member of Protect Our future, has received the highly prestigious Diana Award for her advocacy work for the environment. Established in memory of Princess Diana, the award is given to people aged 9-25 for their social action or humanitarian work. According to Tessy Ojo, the chief executive […]
Road plan poses further threat to pristine habitat
(CNS): The National Conservation Council has confirmed that the extension of a farm road in North Side will need an environmental impact assessment as the proposed route would take it through some of Cayman’s most pristine remaining forest land. Flying in the face of the PACT Government’s policy of limiting development in untouched habitat, the […]
People suggest 45 locations for conservation
(CNS): The recent solicitation by the National Conservation Council for nominations from the public for places that could become protected areas has closed after dozens of people nominated more than 45 potential sites. Speaking at the NCC’s general meeting Wednesday, John Bothwell from the Department of the Environment, which oversaw the consultation on behalf of […]
