Hazard to Turtles along the South Coast Boardwalk – Help needed

Government all talk and no action to save turtle hatchlings – Will you help?

by Lani Edghill – Environmental Planner & Green Business Barbados Coordinator for the Future Centre Trust

I live on the beach in Hastings to the western end of the new boardwalk. We are currently in the middle of turtle nesting season and at least 25-30 nests are located on the beach to the east of where I live (in front of where the old Ocean View Hotel used to be). The boardwalk bisects this beach and as a result a ditch was formed on the land side of the boardwalk. Not only is it a hazard to nesting turtles and hatchlings but also to children who could fall and hurt themselves.

As part of being an ethical planner, even if it is not my job, I see it as my duty to bring these issues to light in the public forum. In addition it is also important that I work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that partnerships are forged in order to move the coordination process forward.

In an attempt to mitigate this issue I contacted Dr. Julia Harrocks who is the coordinator for the Barbados Sea Turtle Project at the University of the West Indies and Dr. Lorna Inniss deputy director of the Coastal Zone Management Unit. In her initial email to me Dr.Harrocks mentioned that she was opposed to the boardwalk project from the beginning because of the potential for impacts to nesting sea turtles in this high use area. Dr. Inniss also admitted that this was not the ideal location for this project due to potential impacts such as this. Despite the controversy the boardwalk is a good social space that Bajans use heavily and needed desperately. The impacts however must be mitigated.

In the most recent email to me from Coastal Zone Management I was told that the urgency of my request to place lattice and a sign along the edge of the boardwalk to preventing nesting turtles and hatchlings from falling into the ditch would not be satisfied in the time needed. Government needs more time to process such mitigation measures.

I understand that but the questions that I have are; what will happen to the turtles and hatchlings that fall into the ditch and perish? Aren’t turtles an endangered species? Is this not negligence on the part of the government to do something about this? What about the guy who was fined $25,000 for unknowingly catching and killing an endangered sea turtle? Will Coastal Zone Management also be fined for this mishap if any turtles lose their lives as a result of their negligence?

Despite all of this talk and no action we must still ensure that something is done about this during turtle season. I am asking the community and local business that if they are willing to help with labor and in kind donations I would be happy to help install and coordinate the project.

Please contact me at lani_edghill@hotmail.com if you are willing to help.

Editor’s note: This article was published as received with the exception of the titles in bold which were inserted by BFP. Some paragraph breaks were moved but no words in the story were changed.