Tag: Department of Environment
Threat to blues grows in face of another sub-division
(CNS): A planning application by South Cove Ltd for another residential sub-division off the Queen’s Highway in East End is placing Cayman’s critically endangered blue iguana under further pressure. The application is for 26 residential lots on nine acres of land currently zoned agricultural-residential, so it will require a variance from the Central Planning Authority […]
Study will fill data gap on endangered local sharks
(CNS): The Department of Environment (DoE) has secured UK funding for pop-off satellite archival tags to study the movements of Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi) in the ocean around the Cayman Islands. Due to their ecological and socio-economic significance to Cayman, all sharks are protected species and are now considered endangered.
CIG to discuss worsening erosion crisis on 7MB
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government has finally released a statement on the erosion of Seven Mile Beach, which Climate Resiliency Minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks called “an urgent national matter” but which many people are calling a national crisis. In a press release issued Thursday evening, she said the CIG was keen to find a sustainable solution. […]
Eroded structures litter 7MB with hazardous debris
(CNS): The erosion of hard structures along the southern end of Seven Mile Beach has left a trail of hazardous debris from the Marriott hotel all the way past The Sovereign condos, caused by the weather system that eventually became Hurricane Helene. The fact that a fairly minor surge left crumbled sea walls, decks and […]
DoE calls for review of need for subdivision on pristine land
(CNS): The Central Planning Authority is due to hear an application for another major subdivision on pristine habitat in East End today, Wednesday, but the Department of Environment has called for a review of whether it’s needed. The DoE said that in the absence of an updated development plan and the necessary “strategic framework for […]
Baby turtles don’t need help to make it to sea
(CNS): The Department of Environment is urging the public not to try to help or interfere with baby turtles as they hatch from their nests. The experts explained that the little creatures don’t need help, and attempting to dig them out of the sand can cause more harm than good. Only DoE teams are authorized […]
Oil tanker under inspection before it returns to sea
(CNS): The oil tanker that ran aground while delivering diesel to Cayman Brac on Saturday, 6 July, is now anchored off the coast of Grand Cayman, the Department of Environment and Cayman Islands Coast Guard have said. After temporary repairs were made to its damaged hull, the Sea Elephant left the Brac on Thursday afternoon […]
Cabinet OKs ‘damaging’ East End shoreline project
(CNS): Cabinet has granted a coastal works licence for a groyne and the excavation of swim areas along the beachfront of the Wyndham Reef Resort in East End despite clear recommendations from the Department of Environment several years ago that the application should be denied because of the potential damage to the marine environment and […]
NCC corrects false narrative on DoE director’s power
(CNS): The National Conservation Council has refuted false claims and misinformation being circulated on social media that incorrectly suggest the director of the Department of Environment has unprecedented powers under the National Conservation Act (NCA) that elevates the post-holder above Cabinet and enables whoever holds the job to make decisions without accountability.
Invasive red-headed African lizard spotted in GT
(CNS): An invasive red-headed rock Agama was spotted in George Town on Wednesday, and the Department of Environment is urging people to call in any further sightings to help prevent what could be another invasive reptile threatening Cayman’s endemic lizards and iguanas. One of these animals was first spotted here in January, a long way […]
NCC chair has ‘grave concerns’ about NCA changes
(CNS): Stuart Mailer, chairperson of the National Conservation Council, has said that members have “grave concerns” about possible changes to the National Conservation Act and the misinformation campaign designed to discredit the law and the work of both the NCC and the scientists it depends on at the Department of Environment. As he opened the […]
