Marine parks enhancements
As a diver and keen conservationist, I went to some public meetings about the marine park enhancements a while back. Can you tell me if the new protections are in force yet?
A timely question on World Oceans Day. The short answer is no. The decision about whether or not to approve these changes is now in the hands of Cabinet and it’s not clear that the current administration will show the same courage that their predecessors did 30 years ago when they established the marine parks in the first place, and in the face of considerable opposition, I might add.
Because those earlier politicians had the backbone to do the right thing for the country as a whole and not just look at how best to get re-elected, the Cayman Islands was able to preserve much of the marine habitat and marine life that would have been lost otherwise. Auntie has a lot of time for politicians who have that kind of courage and look out for future generations and not just their own political skin.
The proposal to expand the marine parks under the National Conservation Law has been through extensive public consultation and review. You can read much more about it here.
The revised marine protection areas have been finalised by the Department of Environment based on the feedback they were given, approved by the National Conservation Council and forwarded to Cabinet.
However, Cabinet appears to be dragging its heels because some ministers seem to be reluctant to support the changes because of a vocal minority in their respective constituencies that objects to any kind of enhanced protection.
There is a tonne of information out there about the added stresses that our reefs now have and why it’s so important for the next generation that this law is passed. If anyone needs more convincing, there’s more on the DoE website here and on the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (based on Little Cayman) here, or just use our friend Google.
So now we’re all just waiting to see what our Cabinet members are made of.
Sorry! Auntie gets a bit flustered about this topic.
Category: Ask Auntie
I hope Auntie is going to stand in next year’s elections!