A Barbados group calling itself “Friends of Graeme Hall” today called for the creation of a Graeme Hall National Park and issued a major report that is sure to be on every Government Minister’s desk within hours this morning.
Major Report Contains Stunning Revelations
During the early morning hours, Barbados Free Press received a copy of the meticulously researched 23-page report, Graeme Hall National Park Watershed Management Plan, which is subtitled “(Working Document August, 2005 and updates)”.
Besides calling for the creation of a National Park taking in the Graeme Hall watershed, and providing a Watershed Management Plan for Graeme Hall, the report contains references and analysis that should be of concern to every Bajan.
According to the Report…
– Barbados does not have an applied environmental policy or even a comprehensive management plan for the protection of one of its most valuable assets: the environment.
– Various Barbados Government Agencies are operating without a written environmental management plan or policies. These agencies include Town and Country Development Planning Office, Public Investment Unit, Environmental Unit, Coastal Zone Management Unit, National Conservation Commission, Environmental Special Project Unit, Environmental Engineering Division, Soil Conservation Unit, Fisheries Division and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
– A recent engineering report highlights the fact that the Government of Barbados has no Watershed Management Plan at all.
– Barbados Water Authority management authorized the dumping of thousands of gallons of raw sewage into the Graeme Hall watershed from a government facility. Waterbodies and springs in the Graeme Hall watershed were significantly contaminated by the raw sewage. The government does not yet have standards or testing equipment that can tell how serious the ecological damage is or how it will effect humans or wildlife in the future.
– Some Government-approved developments in the Graeme Hall watershed are contrary to the government’s own studies. Over the last 30 years, numerous studies have been undertaken by the Barbados Ministry of Energy and the Environment, Ministry of Tourism, University of the West Indies, Inter-American Development Bank, The Barbados Water Authority and others.
– In speeches and private conversations, senior government ministers including the Prime Minister of Barbados, have underlined the “sheer madness” that would result from any policy that would not preserve the Graeme Hall wetlands.
Prime Minister Owen Arthur Said To Favour Creation Of Graeme Hall National Park
The Friends of Graeme Hall also told Barbados Free Press that Prime Minister Owen Arthur, certain senior Ministers and some other members of the government, including Christ Church West MP Dr. William Duguid, have expressed support for the creation of Graeme Hall National Park in private conversations.
Barbados Free Press Publishes Complete Report
We understand that the virtually every print and electronic news media outlet in Barbados has been sent a copy of the report Graeme Hall National Park Watershed Management Plan.
BFP has published the entire report word-for-word on a special page here.
If you read nothing else for the rest of the year, this is the one document that you should consider fully.
Barbados Free Press 