Tag: mangroves
NRA clears mangroves without approval
(CNS): The National Roads Authority has said the removal of mangroves without prior approval, just days after Cayman marked World Mangrove Day, was a “misunderstanding”. The NRA said it was cleaning culverts, not clearing mangroves, at a site in West Bay, but it appears that some were removed. Now local activists are angry that, despite […]
Mangrove conservation more critical than ever
(CNS): Month after month, wetlands are being lost across Grand Cayman paving the way for more and more development, despite the obvious and pressing need to stop removing them and, where possible, to start to replenish what has been lost. Though they were often seen in the past simply as a mosquito-breeding swamp, there is […]
140 acres of mangrove at risk on CPA agenda
(CNS): Just four applications to be heard by the Central Planning Authority during a single meeting pose a threat to over 140 acres of mangroves, as development continues to take precedence over the environment. Despite being a protected species that mitigate the impact of climate change, the loss of mangrove forest continues in Cayman apace.
100+ acres of natural habitat already at risk this year
(CNS): Since the start of this year, the Central Planning Authority has heard applications for development projects and sub-divisions that threaten well over one hundred acres of primary natural habitat, including mangroves. Despite mounting public support for conservation and significant concerns that development is destroying the environment, in less than two months the CPA has […]
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 […]
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 […]
Mangroves sacrificed for builders’ supply yard
(CNS): The Central Planning Authority has granted a controversial application that will see the remaining mangroves on a parcel of land along the South Sound coastline removed for a commercial builders’ supply store. Even though the Department of Environment is urging the CPA not to sacrifice the mangroves for a project that would be far […]
Mangrove destruction is existential threat to Cayman
The Cayman Islands Mangrove Rangers write: Despite laws protecting Cayman’s mangrove habitat and the proven utility of wetlands in mitigating climate change impacts, mangrove destruction continues at a dangerous pace. The Cayman Islands Mangrove Rangers are alarmed by the ongoing practice of speculative and premature land clearing, rubber-stamped by the Central Planning Authority (CPA), which […]
Cement driver caught clearing truck in Barkers
(CNS): Local mangrove activists recently came across a cement truck clearing its mixer in the mangroves at Bakers after delivering its load to a nearby development site. Although only a small amount of cement was dumped, it has turned to concrete and killed several mangroves in the area, which the activists reported to the Department […]
Minister to rethink NHDT project in mangroves
(CNS): Local activists have persuaded Jay Ebanks, the minister responsible for housing, to rethink a proposal to build affordable homes in the South Sound basin that would entail the removal of mangroves. Environmentalists have been sounding the alarm about the impact that private sector development is having in the area, and persuading government at least […]
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.
