Tag: National Conservation Council
Hotel 7MB work should be part of wider project
(CNS): The Department of Environment has sufficient information on a beach renourishment project proposed by the Grand Cayman Marriott Resort on Seven Mile Beach, so the owners do not need to conduct an environmental impact assessment. However, the DoE experts believe the project should be part of a much wider initiative to address the problems […]
Minister looks forward to valuable advice from NCC
(CNS): Sustainability Minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks has welcomed Cabinet’s appointment of the new National Conservation Council, which was the very first matter of business for the new coalition government. The appointments were made partway through a legal challenge to those made by the minority UPM just before the election that had stripped the NCC of its […]
NCFC ends legal battle, appoints new NCC
(CNS): The National Coalition for Caymanians has revoked the previous controversial appointments to the National Conservation Council made by the former UPM minority government earlier this year. The new government has appointed a new slate of members, which includes scientists and technical experts, putting an end to the legal battle between the old members who […]
Court stays NCC decisions until full hearing
(CNS): The minority UPM government’s controversial attempt to politicise the National Conservation Council and upend its legal apolitical remit, which is to make evidence and science-based decisions to protect Cayman’s environment, was stalled by the court on Tuesday. Justice Marlene Carter has ordered that the new NCC must not make any decisions until the court […]
Court considers stay on removal of NCC scientists
(CNS): A grand court judge is expected to make a decision tomorrow on whether or not the technical experts and scientists on the National Conservation Council who were fired by Cabinet will be able to keep their positions until a legal argument over the legality of that mass sacking is resolved. Stuart Mailer and Patricia […]
DoE promotes need for science in managing environment
(CNS): The three Cayman Islands have the largest remaining active Nassau grouper spawning aggregation site in the region. They also have an increasing nesting population of wild sea turtles and have brought the iconic blue iguana back from the brink of extinction. All of this and more has been achieved because of science-based decisions.
NCC members seek judicial review over unlawful removal
(CNS): The recently fired chair of the National Conservation Council, Stuart Mailer, his colleague Patricia Bradley and the very first NCC chairperson, Christine Rose-Smyth, have sent a letter to Cabinet asking it to revoke what they argue was the unlawful decision to fire six NCC members. The letter is a precursor to seeking a judicial […]
UPM sacks six NCC members, including experts
(CNS): The UPM has fired all of the appointed experts from the National Conservation Council in what appears to be a shocking act of revenge against the NCC members, who advocated against the government’s attempts to gut the National Conservation Act and successfully challenged errors by the Central Planning Authority in court several times.
Ruling shows NCC needs power to challenge poor decisions
CNS): The Grand Court has again demonstrated why the National Conservation Council needs to retain its ability to challenge unlawful decisions made by government entities in relation to the National Conservation Act in the courts. On Wednesday, the court delivered its ruling in the judicial review brought by the NCC against a decision by the […]
NCC scientist asks where balance is in NCA changes
(CNS): The balance between development and the need to protect the environment will be impossible to achieve if the proposed amendments to the National Conservation Act pass, according to a member of the National Conservation Council appointed for her scientific expertise. Lisa-Ann Hurlston-McKenzie, a sustainability and climate professional, has asked where that balance will come […]
NCC fights efforts to gut conservation law
(CNS): There are no cogent, compelling or factual justifications for the government to change the National Conservation Act, according to National Conservation Council Chair Stuart Mailer. Members of the NCC were not consulted or told about the draft amendment bill published by the minority UPM government on New Year’s Eve.
