Tag: National Conservation Council
NCC aims to save endemic flower from extinction
(CNS): The National Conservation Council has issued an interim directive to protect the critically endangered Grand Cayman False Foxglove (Agalinis kingsii) ahead of a conservation plan for the endemic flower on the brink of extinction and now threatened by development. The Department of Environment said this small flower is “a habitat specialist with an extremely […]
People urged to lobby MLAs over NCL threat
(CNS): At an educational meeting hosted by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands Wednesday night, attendees were urged to contact their MLAs and lobby them about concerns over mounting threats to the environment, especially from development, and to offer their support for the National Conservation Law. Many people in the audience felt that there […]
Cull off target as iguanas set to breed
(CNS): Cullers have exterminated almost 450,000 green iguanas since October, when the nationwide initiative to get the exploding population of pests under control was launched. But the early targets set by the Department of Environment are now falling off just as the summer breeding season approaches. From an estimated 1.5 million greens roaming Grand Cayman […]
DoE to spell out safe handling of marine life
(CNS): With increasing reports of the mishandling and abuse of marine animals, such as starfish and stingrays, the Department of Environment is introducing definitive guidelines to help tour operators protect the species that are under increasing stress. Mishandling them could spell trouble for tour operators, who could lose their licence or face prosecution for the […]
NCC presses on with land protection
(CNS): The National Conservation Council has recommended another ten environmentally important sites, nominated by the community, be protected under the conservation law, following a public consultation period. The ten sites cover all three islands and include a diversity of natural habitats, from wetlands to primaeval forest. Following Wednesday’s meeting, the council voted to present the […]
DoE seeking to protect 20% of Cayman’s environment
(CNS): Five years after the historic passage of the National Conservation Law, the Department of Environment said that so far it has managed to designate 3,477 acres of land across the three Cayman Islands as public protected areas. Another 634 acres on Grand Cayman are pending for protection, which accounts for just over 6% of […]
NCC gets short-term chairman and new members
(CNS): McFarlane Conolly, the representative for East End on the National Conservation Council, has been appointed as the NCC chairman, stepping into the role vacated by Christine Rose-Smyth, who resigned in January. Three new members have also been appointed to the council created under the National Conservation Law, which remains a target of political criticism as it […]
Conservation for people as well as wildlife
(CNS): Fred Burton, the head of the Terrestrial Research Unit at the Department of Environment, is urging the public to join in the current public consultations on the latest sites proposed as areas for permanent conservation across the Cayman Islands. Burton said that creating protected areas is not just about the animal and plant species […]
Dart’s event site poses threat to turtles
(CNS): The director of the Department of Environment raised concerns that events at the festival site being constructed by Dart could pose a threat to the nesting turtles on nearby beaches when she revealed that none of recommendations supplied by the National Conservation Council had been considered when the Central Planning Authority recently granted planning permission. Speaking at […]
Minister ignores marine parks issues on World Oceans Day
(CNS): The minister responsible for the environment made no mention of the pressing need to expand the Cayman Islands Marine Parks and improve legal protection for the waters around us, as he delivered a message for World Oceans Day, which is celebrated today, Friday. Dwayne Seymour was handed the environment as an add-on to his portfolio when […]
Ten more sites proposed for protection
(CNS): Sand Cay in South Sound and Hemmington Forest on Cayman Brac are among the ten new protected areas across all three Cayman Islands put forward by the Department of Environment, which is inviting the public to comment on its proposals. Most of the nominated sites are already owned by the Crown and in cases […]
