Tag: Central Mangrove Wetlands
Activists propose cheaper, greener route for EWA
(CNS): The route chosen by the government and the National Roads Authority for the controversial East-West Arterial Road from Newlands to North Side is not the only one available. Local environmental campaigners, Sustainable Cayman, have in partnership with the UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds issued an assessment of route options for the […]
Activists call on CIG not to stop road EIA
(CNS): A consortium of local environmental activists issued a statement Monday urging the Cayman Islands Government to follow the lawful and scientific process before starting work on the East-West Arterial extension. The six non-profit organisations raised numerous concerns about proposals by PACT to stop the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for part of the road.
EWA concerns are legitimate, says premier
(CNS): The East-West Arterial Road extension is an emotive issue and there are legitimate concerns about the potential impact of this road on the environment and cultural heritage, Premier Wayne Panton has said. He told CNS that his goal remains to preserve the integrity of the central wetlands, but many people living in the Eastern […]
Minister confirms EWA will pave way for development
(CNS): Planning Minister Jay Ebanks, who is responsible for roads, has said that new development along the controversial East-West Arterial Road expansion is inevitable and the government will need to rezone the adjacent parcels so it can control the type of development that happens there. While claiming that the road project will only impact 1% […]
High cost of EWA could make project prohibitive
(CNS): It is now about eight years since the government estimated that extending the East-West Arterial Road from Hurst Road all the way to Frank Sound, based only on materials and labour, would cost as much as $70 million, according to information released by the government under the Freedom of Information Law and shared with […]
Official gazette doesn’t set EWA plans in stone
(CNS): Comments by former East End MP Arden McLean at a public meeting in Savannah Thursday evening, which stirred up social media, were misleading, according to local attorney Steve McField. McLean claimed that because the East-West Arterial Road extension was gazetted in 2005, the decision had been made.
NRA says it is tackling Grand Harbour congestion
(CNS): The impact of bringing commuters from North Side and East End to George Town more quickly, if the East-West Arterial extension to Frank Sound goes ahead, will not necessarily be part of the terms of reference for the environmental impact assessment. But National Roads Authority Director Edward Howard said the NRA is tackling the […]
Mangrove education gets €295k cash boost
(CNS): As more and more of the mangrove habitat across the Cayman Islands falls victim to the bulldozer, the Mangrove Education Project received a grant of €295,000 at the end of last year, which will help the long-running project expand and complete its new local school curriculum, the Cayman Islands Coastal Education Guide (CEG), which […]
Activists step up campaign to save Central Wetlands
(CNS): Sustainable Cayman is raising the alarm over the direct threat to the Central Mangrove Wetlands from the proposed East-West Arterial Road extension, given that only around a quarter of the area is considered protected. The planned expansion of the road from Bodden Town to Frank Sound will directly impact 174 acres of this unique […]
$2M EIA contract awarded to US engineers
(CNS): A US engineering company, Whitman, Requardt & Associates LLP based in Maryland, has won the contract to conduct the environmental impact assessment for the controversial part of the East-West Arterial Extension from Woodland Drive in Bodden Town, through the critical Central Mangrove Wetlands, to Frank Sound in North Side.
Activists launch wetlands campaign in face of EWA
(CNS): Sustainable Cayman, which became an official registered non-profit organisation just three months ago, has begun a new coordinated campaign to protect the Cayman Islands Central Mangrove Wetlands and raise awareness about the socio-ecological importance of this ecosystem and the threat to it posed by the extension of the East-West Arterial Road (EWA). The activists […]
