New IADB coastal environment loan: Will Barbados now repair the Graeme Hall sluice gate?

Graeme Hall wetlands being destroyed for want of a sluice gate

Congratulations, folks… we got another loan! I’ve lost track of how many hundreds of millions of dollars our grandchildren owe to the IADB and other global bodies. Does anybody know?

According to Prime Minister Stuart, this new loan makes Barbados “a champion of coastal best practices”. Wow! All you have to do is borrow the money for a study (yes, a study), make an announcement and you’re a “champion”. Once again in Barbados it is words that matter, not achieved results. (See Caribbean 360 Prime Minister touts coastal management project)

The amazing thing about these loans is that without many exceptions the money is always for “studies” and “initiatives” that never seem to have a tangible result or quantifiable success. Smart guys, these politicians (for they are 99% men) – they never set themselves up for failure by announcing projects where the results can be measured and compared against pre-established benchmarks for success.

Even when they are supposed to establish a hard infrastructure component, the record is terrible. One example: We borrowed the money for a waste treatment plant then spent the money on something else. We now have no money and no waste treatment plant. Gotta love those politicians!

Also missing from the Prime Minister’s analysis that Barbados is an environmental “champion” is his government’s abysmal record on the environment. We don’t even have an Environmental Protection Act. That’s right folks… Barbados has no environmental laws pertaining to the land, air or inland water. We have no environmental regulations about the storage, use or disposal of deadly chemicals. No environmental regulations requiring pipeline operators to monitor and report leakage. We’re still pulling up jetfuel from coastal wells around the Shell airport pipeline and there’s nothing the government will do about it because there is no law against it and zero enforcement. Not to forget the government itself dumping raw sewerage into the RAMSAR protected Graeme Hall wetlands! Unbelievable.

And, one of the first acts of the new DLP Government when elected four years ago was to remove the environmental protections to allow development on the coastal watershed surrounding the last remaining mangrove swamp. Freundel Stuart and his DLP kissed goodbye to the Graeme Hall National Park so they and their developer friends could make money.

Barbados continues blocking off the coast

New Marina progresses. High Rise flats coming. That’s progress, right?

The construction of the new marina continues (above) and by the looks of things you’ll soon have to have a boat to see any of the coast at all. Meanwhile, Minister of Housing Michael Lashley yesterday announced our first high rise housing development.

I don’t view the high rise mansion blocks as a bad thing – depending upon how it is done and where. That has to happen because Barbados has about the 15th highest population density in the world – although compared to places like Monaco, Singapore and Hong Kong, we’re almost uninhabited. If done properly, high rise housing could reduce the pressure on our agricultural and natural areas and reduce the price of housing. If done properly that is.

Potential flooding forces Barbados Government to unblock Graeme Hall Wetlands sluice gate

Is it the power of blogs or a mere coincidence that late yesterday or early this morning government sent heavy equipment to remove sand from in front of the (Graeme Hall RAMSAR wetlands) sluice gate and in the canal to allow some of the water that has built up due to recent rains to be released into the sea?

Of course all of the garbage, plastic bottles etc that were trapped behind the gate will now go into the sea and wash back on the beach.

Let us wait and see how long they will allow the flow to continue. Will they wait until locals and tourists complain about the “coloured” water in the sea?

How much easier it would be to have an operable sluice gate or mechanism that allows easy and frequent management of the flow of water as recommended by the ARA study in 1997.

… posted as a comment by BFP regular reader Nostradamus

For background on how and why the Barbados Government has deliberately allowed the vital Graeme Hall RAMSAR Wetlands sluice gate fall to pieces and the channel be blocked with sand and garbage, read BFP’s article Major Environmental Engineering study slams Barbados Government over imminent death of last Mangrove wetland. Government destroying RAMSAR natural heritage site.

Dozens of contractors hired in Barbados Flood Prevention & Drainage plan – but the Graeme Hall wetlands sluice gate is still broken!

Sluice gate has been broken for years at Graeme Hall wetlands Barbados

Has a political decision been made to not repair the Graeme Hall wetlands sluice gate?

A reader sends us this quote from a government press conference carried by The Barbados Advocate and some commentary and a question: Has a political decision been made to not repair the Graeme Hall wetlands sluice gate?

“Thirty-six contractors will be awarded contracts before the end of this month for well digging and cleaning throughout the island in an effort to minimise the incidence of flooding.

Speaking to the media yesterday at a review of the wells in the St. Michael West Central area at Belfield, Black Rock, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Water Resources and Drainage, Lionel Weekes, said that the island-wide review, which takes place during the dry season, is done at this time to also ensure that drainage systems are working…”

… from the Barbados Advocate article Flood Prevention Plan

The recently announced government programme to hire contractors to clean grates, wells and generally maintain the drainage systems is admirable and long overdue. The Thompson government should be congratulated for “pre-emptive” action rather than waiting for the crisis as was the effective policy under the Owen Arthur government.

Sometime ago the Thompson government changed the name of the Ministry to “Ministry of Environment, Water Resources and Drainage” and this indicates the DLP government recognizes how critical the drainage systems are to the overall health and economy of Barbados.

Nonetheless, one vital repair to the drainage infrastructure is missing: the government sluice gate controlling waterflow in and out of the Graeme Hall wetlands has been broken, rusted and blocked by silt for many years. This integral and important part of drainage management on the South Coast has been inoperative for years, apparently because the government is seeking revenge against the owner of a facility within the Graeme Hall watershed. Thus the environmental health of a large area of the South Coast has been put at risk against the public interest.

Will the sluice gate be repaired under the current operation as seems advisable… or, has a political decision been made to continue to not repair the Graeme Hall wetlands sluice gate?

Over to you Denis Lowe, Minster of Environment, Water Resources and Drainage…

Further Reading at BFP

February 16, 2010 Barbados Advocate accurately reports Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary press release!

February 11, 2010 Barbados Environment Minister caught lying again about Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary Dispute

January 14, 2010 Barbados Government takes new steps to destroy foreigner’s US$35 million eco-tourism investment on South Coast – Part 1 in a series

Environment Minister Lowe’s speech a farce as he deliberately ignores the largest and best green space near Bridgetown

Lies Before The Election: Denis Lowe & David Thompson promising "whatever it takes to get elected, not that you can believe a word we say"

Hey friends, just found a short little reminder to myself about something I read in the Nation a few days ago so I’ll write a few lines before it slips away and I forget again…

Environment Minister Denis Lowe was recently rambling on and on about the importance of open spaces for people. Lowe said recreational spaces were important to all Barbadians, “particularly since we are becoming a fast-paced society and we need to find places where we can cool down, so to speak, and recreate”.

Right.

That man has been making the same speech for seven or eight years and I mean the SAME SPEECH. Same words, same hand gestures, same earnest “I care” expression like a preacher man on fire to save your soul. Lowe could have been successful anywhere in the deep Southern USA pitching a tent in the middle of a farmer’s field.

Yup, Dr. Lowe is pretty damn good talking about open spaces, families and green space.

Except… when it came down to it, he voted with the rest of the DLP to change the law protecting 265 acres of parkland at Graeme Hall to allow developer friends to profit from these public lands. To make this happen, David Thompson and the DLP Members of Parliament had to set aside laws that had protected the land from development since 1988. When the government was finished, 2/3 of the parkland (175 acres) was gone.

If you can stand the smell of cow manure, you might read Dr. Lowe’s comments in The Nation News article The worst of green

If you want the truth about what Dr. Lowe, David Thompson and the rest of the DLP piggies did with your irreplaceable national treasure, read Barbados Government Steals 2/3 Of Parkland For Developer Friends – Graeme Hall Environmental Disaster Continues

Barbados Police Allow Thieves To Take Home Stolen Fish – No Charges

Graeme Hall Mangrove Wetland & Watershed

GRAEME HALL NATURE SANCTUARY, INC.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bridgetown, Barbados
MONDAY, August 24, 2009
Email Contact:               news@graemehall.com
Archives and Art:          www.graemehall.com/reference.htm

Poachers Caught and Released by Police

On Saturday, August 15, 2009, a group of about 15 fisherman were found in the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary fishing illegally for its rare tarpon, the largest and most popular exhibit fish in the Graeme Hall wetland.  Five of the “ringleader” fishermen were caught and questioned by police and Sanctuary security personnel as the other ten fled.

Another incident like this happened in late March of this year.  In both instances police were called, but there was no immediate response, and insistent follow up requests by Sanctuary staff had to be made before they came.

As of Friday, August 21, police had not made any arrests or brought charges in either case, and in fact had allowed the fishermen to leave the Sanctuary with all of the dead tarpon.

According to Peter Allard, owner of the Sanctuary, the value and integrity of the Sanctuary investment depend on enforced protections of wildlife inventory.   The long term health of the Sanctuary also depends on the enforcement of Barbados’ pollution and other environmental laws within the Graeme Hall wetland and contiguous lands.

To protect his investment, Mr. Allard is making a formal request to the Government of Barbados that immediate criminal trespass, theft, and related environmental poaching charges be brought against all future violators and the ringleaders of the last trespass be immediately notified of this proposed action.

Allard noted that it is also an issue of protecting the last remaining biological reserves of Barbados.  This wildlife is part of Barbados’ natural heritage within the OS2 Natural Heritage Conservation Area, and is part of the international Convention on Wetlands Multilateral Environmental Agreement (RAMSAR) to which Barbados is a party.

The Sanctuary is also calling upon the Ministry of Environment and all conservation groups to increase their efforts to educate the mainstream public about the seriousness of wildlife and habitat protection in Barbados.

The Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary occupies 35 acres of the 81 acre RAMSAR wetland at Graeme Hall.  The RAMSAR designation is associated with the 1971 RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands Treaty for internationally significant areas of biodiversity.

More information about the Sanctuary can be found at www.graemehall.com.

BFP Editor’s Note: The above media release was printed exactly as received via email from the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary. Our previous articles about the lack of police response to crimes committed against the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary can be found at…

August 19, 2009: Barbados Police Again Fail To Uphold Law At Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary & RAMSAR Protected Wetlands

April 1, 2009: Barbados Advocate Covers Up Police Failure To Respond To Theft, Gunshots At Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary

March 30, 2009: Another Reason Why Barbados Police Commissioner Dottin Should Be Fired – Police Again Fail To Answer Call For Help

Is Rihanna About To Do Something Stupid? Rihanna & Chris Brown Attend Orlando NBA Game – Separately

At the MTV Awards The Night Of The Assault

We Hope Rihanna Isn’t Getting Stupes Again!

People Magazine reported yesterday (Thursday) morning that Rihanna and Chris Brown would be sitting together last night at Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Orlando. When game time arrived sure enough they were both there – but sitting far apart.

How unusual that both should end up at the same game, and that it should be reported in the press beforehand. Then again, Tiger Woods, Chris Tucker and Hulk Hogan also attended the game so its not as if its unknown to have multiple celebrities at an NBA Final.

But still…

What happened? Did Rihanna and Chris Brown initially intend to sit together and then change their minds after the publicity?

I hope that Rihanna hasn’t decided to “forgive and forget” after the famous incident last February when it is alleged that Brown beat her and left her by the side of the road. Rihanna has been subpoenaed to testify against Chris Brown at his June 22, 2009 preliminary hearing on assault charges.

Rihanna Fans: Before you leave Barbados Free Press, please take the time to read the following…

Help Rihanna’s Home Island Save The Last Mangrove Forest…

For any of Rihanna’s fans who are interested in knowing about her home island of Barbados and the kind of natural, quiet and peaceful place that Bajans need once in a while, please visit the website of the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary and also the Graeme Hall National Park.

We’re in a battle here to save the last natural area on the south of our island. The Government and their land developer friends want to turn the Graeme Hall wetlands into a row of highrise condos, golf course and water park. This is the last Mangrove Forest on the island!

Please help raise awareness around the world.

You can also help by joining the Facebook Group: Save The Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary.

Thank you from the ordinary people of Barbados!

Here are a few background stories…

How The Barbados Government Is Stealing Graeme Hall National Park From Our Children – With The Help Of The News Media

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary Closing – Canadian Philanthropist Gives Up On Barbados – World-Class Eco-Tourism Attraction, 85+ Jobs Gone

Barbados Government Confirms Plans To Develop Graeme Hall Wetlands. Thompson’s Million-Dollar Lie

Natural Heritage Barbados Says Environment Is A Top Priority – Just Don’t Look Too Closely At What The Government Is Really Doing…

Click to read the deceptive Barbados Natural Heritage Advert

Fine Words Hide Destructive Actions Taken By Government

As the last mangrove swamp on the island (Graeme Hall) suffocates to death because the Barbados government refuses to maintain the sea gate, the Natural Heritage Department published a full page advert in Friday’s Barbados Advocate to tell the people that the government is taking excellent care of the “biosphere” and “ecosystem”.

Yes, the full colour layout just gushes with “green” terminology that the politicians and bureaucrats picked up on their latest junket high-level climate-change conference across the pond in Norway. We do words and promises very well in Barbados and this advert doesn’t fall short on either. Why, better than half the words in each sentence can be found in the “cool environmental phrases” handbook. Lookie here at this dandy…

“The Natural Heritage Department will spearhead the legislative, regulatory and institutional framework for sustainable management of all protected areas in Barbados, including the proposed Barbados National Park.”

We’ve read all the words on the page but we’re still trying to find where it describes what the Thompson DLP government has ACTUALLY DONE or ACCOMPLISHED in relation to the environment and related legislation. You know – a REAL ACTION that produced an ACTUAL OUTCOME or a MEASURABLE POSITIVE RESULT.

What we did find in the advert was yet another promise that environmental legislation is being… spearheaded.

Yes sir… we’re all going to have environmental legislation ’bout hey someday. We know that because they – both BLP and DLP – keep promising it to us. I believe the first promised date for environmental legislation was 1972 and last promised date for its introduction was this past April, but as with the Freedom of Information and Integrity Legislation, promises are easy – it is real action that is difficult. In Barbados mostly we get the promises but the action just doesn’t happen.

Do you know that in the fifteen years since the first big Shell pipeline jetfuel spill on the south coast, no Barbados government passed a law requiring pipeline and gas tank owners to check for leakage each day, keep records and report spills? Isn’t that incredible?

Do you know that there are absolutely no environmental standards and laws in Barbados regulating the use, handling, storage and disposal of toxic chemicals? Isn’t that incredible?

But at least now we know that the promised environmental, sustainable, green, ecosystem, biosphere legislation is being spearheaded. Whew! That’s great, ’cause for a minute there I thought that no real action was taking place.

Graeme Hall Wetlands To Be Developed By DLP Campaign Funder CLICO & Leroy Parris

Parks, Promises And Reality

The Natural Heritage advertisement is extremely deceptive when it comes to the Graeme Hall Mangrove Swamp and RAMSAR wetlands. Consider the DLP government’s actions since their election…

Almost immediately after being elected in 2008, the Thompson DLP government changed the law to allow commercial development and building upon the Graeme Hall watershed — an area that had been protected in law for almost three decades.

This was done so Prime Minister Thompson’s developer friends could profit from the sale of government lands at Graeme Hall and their own lands that border the nature sanctuary. As an example, the adjoining land immediately to the west of the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary is owned by (surprise, surprise) CLICO!

Now let us consider the fact that both the Owen Arthur and David Thompson governments have for a decade deliberately neglected to repair the sea gate at Graham Hall. As a result, the last mangrove forest on the island (a RAMSAR site) is slowly being poisoned as it is denied the natural ebb and flow of sea water into the mangroves. The government’s intent, of course, is to destroy the wetlands while avoiding the responsibility for doing so. When it is all done the swamp will be dead and the condo highrises will sprout in an area that should have been declared a national park. And the last major greenspace between the airport and the city will be more houses and commercial developments.

My friends, please take the time to sit back and read the Natural Heritage advertisement (above) that appeared in the Barbados Advocate and really think about the disconnect between what the words say, and the reality of the government’s actions and inaction.

Then answer this question for yourself: What do you intend to do to save the last mangrove forest in Barbados from a government that is so intent on profiting from our children’s future?

Further Reading

How The Barbados Government Is Stealing Graeme Hall National Park From Our Children

Graeme Hall National Park website

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary website

Another Reason Why Barbados Police Commissioner Dottin Should Be Fired – Police Again Fail To Answer Call For Help

How Many “Barbados Police Don’t Come” Stories Can You Tell? Here’s Another…

GRAEME HALL NATURE SANCTUARY INC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bridgetown, Barbados
MONDAY, March 30, 2009
Email Contact:                graemehall@graemehall.com
Archives and Art:            http://www.graemehall.com/press.htm  and http://www.graemehall.com/reference.htm

Sanctuary Threatened

[ Bridgetown , BARBADOS ]   Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary officials reported that a group of eight (8) men were caught stealing wildlife inside the RAMSAR wetland site on Sanctuary lands.

Police were called when the trespass was discovered last Wednesday, but there was no response.  The men continued to stay through the afternoon, while Sanctuary employees tried to calm the situation.

One employee reported that one of the men made personally threatening gestures as if he had a gun, and within the hour gunshots were heard coming from the Amity Lodge side of the wetland where the men were last seen.

The area is recognized by the international Convention on Wetlands as an area of significant biological importance.  Both the Government of Barbados and the Sanctuary own the lands within the RAMSAR site.

After taking an estimated 100 tilapia, the intruders told a Sanctuary worker that they had a right to access and fish in the RAMSAR-protected wetland since Government had announced a Bds $1.0 million budget for it.

Police and Defence Force patrols of the RAMSAR site have stopped since the Sanctuary closed in December of last year.  Authorities have not explained why this has happened.

There is deep concern that environmental pollution and other problems are escalating because of a lack of enforcement of environmental law in and around the Graeme Hall RAMSAR wetland.

“This is but one present-day example of a major threat to the wetland and the Sanctuary,” said one official.  “If a thousand people came to take what they want, there would be nothing left.  The wetland and the Sanctuary absolutely depend on legal and environmental protections from Government.”

A police report was filed on Thursday at the Worthing Police Station.

Barbados Free Press Take…

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary filed a report with the police? Waste of paper.

If anything the report should have been for Neglect By Police, but unfortunately that’s not a crime in Barbados – its a way of life.

How The Barbados Government Is Stealing Graeme Hall National Park From Our Children – With The Help Of The News Media – Part 1

The only difference with the DLP government passing this “urban corridor” instead of the BLP government is that now the DLP friends will profit from the move instead of the BLP friends.

CLICO Will Develop On The Natural Heritage Conservation Area – With Prime Minister Thompson’s Blessing

One of the first actions taken by the Thompson DLP Government in the weeks after they won the January 2008 election was to reclassify a huge section of land at Graeme Hall from “Open space, Agricultural, Recreational Buffer” to “Residential & Urban Corridor” – a term that was invented to sound non-threatening to the government-owned open space and recreational lands at Graeme Hall.

Corridor? Have a look at the map above. See the huge area outlined in red that is north of the “OS2 Natural Heritage Area”… THAT is the area that Prime Minister David Thompson and his DLP government changed so they can sell it off to their friends for development – contrary to the National Physical Development Plan that was ratified by Parliament in 1988.

The BLP Arthur/Mottley government wanted to do that too, but they never had the political capital to change the official land use designation. The BLP tried to lease some of the north area out for the Caribbean Splash Waterpark, but a rebellion of voters made them stop. Thompson and the DLP went right ahead though as just about the first thing they did after being elected. They still haven’t fulfilled their integrity legislation promises, but by God they sure acted quickly when they saw the chance to turn a profit from public lands!

Over 25 years ago that open space was set aside for the recreational pleasure of future generations as a plan to protect the last remaining green space between the airport and the city. Land use planners in the Barbados Town and Country Development Planning Office collaborated with professional land use planners from the United Nations to recommend a large green space buffer between the two urban areas of Greater Bridgetown and Oistins.

This recommendation was ratified by Parliament as part of the 1988 National Physical Development Plan and it was clear and unambiguous:

“The Graeme Hall agricultural area is proposed to be preserved as an open space break separating the urban zones of Oistins and Greater Bridgetown.”

“….The Graeme Hall area is proposed to be maintained as an agricultural area and as an urban open space in order to create an environmental break between the two urban areas.  Parts of the open spaces are proposed to be used for sports and recreational purposes.”

Powerful Entities Want To Possess And Profit From This Public Land!

Prime Minister Thompson and the DLP are pulling a fast one on the people of Barbados. The area they have just changed to allow development at Graeme Hall is currently owned by the people of Barbados. Thompson and the DLP will be selling the land to their developer friends. Heck, maybe they will sell it to themselves or to companies owned by their wives and relatives – after all, there is no law against such unethical insider trading in Barbados!

CLICO In The Mix

Look at the lower left corner of the map and you’ll see a chunk of land right next to the Nature Sanctuary and the RAMSAR wetlands. That land is owned by CLICO, but for some reason it wasn’t included in the area designated as protected under the RAMSAR wetlands treaty. Prime Minister David Thompson just gave ten million to his good friend and CLICO CEO Leroy Parris, but I guess it never occurred to Thompson to get a little something in return for the people of Barbados… like land for the Graeme Hall National Park.

Graeme Hall Wetlands To Be Developed By DLP Campaign Funder CLICO & Leroy Parris

Why That Open Space & Recreation Buffer Matters

The area that Prime Minister Thompson and his developer friends want to build on is part of the Graeme Hall watershed. Without that area, the RAMSAR protected wetlands at Graeme Hall will die. It is the DLP Government’s plan to end up with a small bit of green space surrounded by housing and condos. CLICO will develop their current land and friends of government will develop that huge valuable piece of prime Barbados real estate that Thompson has chopped off the proposed Graeme Hall National Park.

Declaring the Graeme Hall National Park would legally protect the last mangrove forest, the last major wetland, the largest inland lake, and the most concentrated biodiversity in Barbados. It would provide an easily accessible park area for the enjoyment of all and would be a lasting legacy to future generations – a refuge from the tightly-packed urban living that is crawling across this small island with a speed never before seen.

The great cities of the world are great in part because they are not mile after mile of urban development and nothing else. The leaders and visionaries of New York City set aside Central Park over a hundred years ago. Think what a concrete jungle that city would be without Central Park.

Think of what Barbados will be in 100 years – or 30 years – or even 10 – if everything is done for profit and nothing is done for quality of life and the future.

NEXT In This Series: How the Barbados News Media Pushes The Government’s Agenda To Develop The Graeme Hall Public Lands

Further Reading

Graeme Hall National Park Land Use Conflicts Q&A (pdf here)

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary Press Centre (link here)

Click on thumbnail for larger, clearer map of Graeme Hall National Park

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary – 85 Employees To Be Terminated, Barbados Government’s Double Standard Against Canadian Philanthropist

Sanctuary officials confirmed that there was still no word from Government on their intentions regarding the future of the Sanctuary…

…Saying that that the future of the Sanctuary and Graeme Hall National Park is in the hands of the Government of Barbados, Allard believes that the Friends of Graeme Hall and the citizens of Barbados must decide what their priorities are.  “We have great affection and regard for the people of Barbados.  This has been an incredibly painful and saddening decision, but ultimately it is not for us to initiate or set national goals and long term environmental legacies for the nation.”

… from a press release by Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary covered at Bajan Reporter

The Double Standard From Prime Minister Thompson

It seems that David Thompson and other Ministers of the Barbados Government have been everywhere lately trying to save jobs and convince businesses and investors not to cut back on employment in these hard times. Whether talking with LIME about keeping a hundred jobs at the call center open, addressing business people at the Chamber of Commerce, giving away tens of millions to rich horse owners and Thompson’s close friend and legal client Leroy Parris, or making secret deals and guarantees to keep the Four Seasons project abuilding, the Barbados Government has been in frenzied efforts to save jobs everywhere.

Everywhere that is, except for the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary where the Government of Barbados has not even bothered to send a letter or make a phone call to the management.

Why the Double Standard?

On Wednesday, Barbados Free Press will present a compelling argument (complete with visual evidence) that the Government of Barbados is carrying out a strategy designed to allow certain friends of government to make huge profits from Graeme Hall: the last natural green space between the airport and the city. This profit will come at the expense of the citizens of Barbados who will be denied their Graeme Hall National Park. To effectively carry out the plan, the Barbados government would like to seize land from Peter Allard – the Canadian philanthropist who offered to GIVE the land to people of Barbados as part of a National Park.

The Barbados government is happy to have the gift of the land of course – but government officials want no strings so they can later sell or lease the land to friends and family members in their quest for personal wealth.

Don’t forget to visit BFP on Friday for part 2 of this article, with details that should interest every foreign investor and foreign landowner in Barbados. If it can happen to Canadian Allard (and a few others we’ll talk about) it could happen to you!

Meanwhile, head over to Bajan Reporter for the story of the layoffs and the full press release…

Bajan Reporter: BREAKING NEWS – Final Employee Termination Schedule At Sanctuary, Let’s Try And Stop This Please

Kiss Graeme Hall National Park and Nature Sanctuary Goodbye – Developers Circle For The Kill

Graeme Hall Wetlands To Be Developed By DLP Campaign Funder CLICO & Leroy Paris

Last night, we received the following press release from the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary…

No Word on the Future of Graeme Hall

An official at Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary confirmed Monday that there was still no agreement with the Government of Barbados to negotiate the means to transfer the Sanctuary and create the 240-acre National Park at Graeme Hall.

“I have been available to them, but have not heard or received any indication of what they (government) will do,” said Stuart Heaslet who represents Peter Allard, owner of the Sanctuary.

In the last two months Heaslet has made two trips to Barbados from his home in Oregon in an attempt to reach a formal agreement to negotiate with government, but with no success.

Employees who were laid off in mid December will be formally severed from the Sanctuary in early March if no agreement is reached to re-open the nature facility.

The Sanctuary closed on December 15th last year, after years of providing educational and environmental programmes to tens of thousands of children and adults.  A small maintenance and security staff is now maintaining the bird aviaries and providing minimal ecosystem services at the Sanctuary.

In 2007 over 6,000 Barbadians signed a Friends of Graeme Hall petition in favor of preserving the approximately 240-acre green area at Graeme Hall in accordance with the 1988 Barbados National Physical Development Plan.   This would protect  its RAMSAR wetland and wildlife reserve with low-density open and recreational upland buffers.

Much of the information needed by government to develop a “Master Action Plan” for creating the 240-acre Graeme Hall National Park has already been produced and consolidated by Coastal Zone Management Unit staff.

More information can be found at www.graemehall.com/press.htm and www.graemehallnationalpark.org .

The More Things Change…

We find it so interesting that Prime Minister David Thompson inserted himself into the LIME – Cable & Wireless mess to try and save 130 call center jobs… not to mention the gift of almost $20 million for his rich horse-racing friends at the Barbados Turf Club.

But with 85 to 100 direct jobs gone at the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary and that last major green space on the south about to slide away into development by CLICO and other land owners in the watershed, the government hasn’t bothered to lift a finger. And even worse, the DLP government approved the BLP’s “Development Corridors” within the Graeme Hall watershed. Why do you think that is?

Notice the careful wording of the press release… it seems to us like the Barbados Government has Mr. Allard on “ignore” as they watch yet another abused foreign investor make his exit – much wiser into the ways of Barbados where the rule of law is whatever the government elites and their ex-Attorney-General-and-Master-Politician-turned-Chief-Justice say it is at any given moment.

Meanwhile, the greedy developers and their shiftless political friends are licking their chops at the thought of developing the Graeme Hall watershed.

… The More That Things Stay The Same!

Philanthropist Peter Allard had volunteered to give the majority of the nature sanctuary lands to the people of Barbados if the government would finally declare the National Park at Graeme Hall so the wetlands and mangrove forest would be protected for future generations. Two successive Prime Ministers and their governments wouldn’t give Peter Allard the time of day because his generous offer made it difficult for certain folks to profit from public lands.

What about that Integrity and Transparency Legislation that was supposed to be in declared within 100 days of the DLP being elected? What about those Ministerial Conflict of Interest rules that were supposed to be put in place “immediately” upon the DLP forming the government?

What about all those rules that were supposed to make it illegal for elected and appointed government officials to profit from their insider knowledge and authority? The rules that would have made it illegal for government officials to receive “gifts” from land developers?

Give your head a shake, friend…

Same old, same old ’bout hey.

Clico On Life Support – Will Barbados Prime Minister Thompson Favour His Patron Leroy Parris, Or The People Of Barbados?

Corporate Beggar CLICO Says It Is Payback Time For All The Free BizJet Rides!

The government of Trinidad & Tobago is refusing to say how much money it is giving to bail out the CL Financial Group and CLICO, but the estimated liabilities amount to US$16 Billion dollars.

Yes, BILLION with a “B”.

Prime Minister David Thompson of Barbados has yet to make a statement about CLICO’s narrowly averted bankruptcy, but soon (and probably already secretly done) his longtime friend, client and patron Leroy Parris will come asking for addtional concessions from Barbados. That means that CLICO and associated companies will be asking the Prime Minister to give your tax money to a company that has an estimated 100 billion dollars in assets, but has run out of cash.

What Happened To CLICO?

What has happened to CLICO is actually very simple. Let’s say that you bought a number of houses over the years and have rented them out. The rent money comes in and with that cashflow you maintain the houses, pay taxes on them and even buy more houses so at the end of a few decades you own many houses and are very rich.

But then the rent money stops and now you can’t maintain the costs to keep all your houses.

You are in trouble because the people you owe money to are at the doors and you have no money. If you don’t come up with the money, your creditors will petition you into bankruptcy and sell off all your houses at firesale prices.

If you were smart enough to plan for a downturn and not too greedy, you could have sold off a few of your houses beforehand to generate the cash needed to keep the others going, but you didn’t. So now you have to go begging to friends and relatives for help so that you don’t lose all your houses and other assets.

And that, my friends, is exactly what has happened to the CLICO, CL Financial family of companies.

“Here Is A Ten Dollar Gift For You – Now, Can I Borrow A Hundred Million Dollars?”

A few days before the CLICO crisis was announced, newspaper accounts say that CLICO “gave” land for a daycare centre and a school to Barbados – although the Nation article is ambiguous about whether CLICO is giving the land and doing the construction too. Pardon us for being a bit cynical if we point out that this “gift to the people” came only two days before Parrish and company announced that they were the recipients of taxpayer bailouts and guarantees that probably total hundreds of millions if not more.

How much will Barbadian taxpayers eventually be on the hook for? Good luck finding out the truth because the amount of taxpayer money and concessions being given by Trinidad, Barbados and other countries is being kept secret from the taxpayers.

Graeme Hall Wetlands To Be Developed By DLP Campaign Funder CLICO & Leroy Paris

CLICO Connection Harming Graeme Hall National Park

According to more than a few of our sources, CLICO owns about 10 acres of land in the middle of the proposed Graeme Hall National Park. Our sources also say that the government’s refusal to declare a national park at Graeme Hall is partially about pressure from Leroy Parris and CLICO who have big plans to develop the land in the Graeme Hall watershed.

OK, Prime Minister Thompson, here is where you have to choose between your friendship with Mr. Parris and your duty to the people of Barbados.

If CLICO wants our taxpayer dollars either directly or in the form of concessions, then part of the deal should include turning over the ten acres at Graeme Hall for a national park.

Your choice, Mr. Prime Minister…

Who will you favour? Leroy Parris and CLICO building condos in the Graeme Hall watershed… or saving the area for the long term good of future generations?

Your choice, Prime Minister Thompson – and all the people are watching.

Barbados Environment Minister Denis Lowe, DLP Government – Plan To Build On Graeme Hall Wetlands

Graeme Hall Wetlands To Be Developed By DLP Campaign Funder CLICO & Leroy Parris

We were sitting around as usual on Friday having a few beers and solving all the world’s problems over a late lunch when Robert asked the question, “Can someone tell me one positive environmental action actually accomplished in the first year of the Thompson administration?”

After some scratching of heads we were unable to come up with one real action that happened. Sure, lots of talk, lots of speeches and promises, but as to a real and positive action – nada.

Now it might be that we at BFP missed something. Perhaps there was some real and substantial environmental action taken by the two environment ministers we’ve seen in the Thompson government so far.

But we’ve been asking DLP supporters for months to please let us know of one real and substantial positive environmental action taken by the DLP government and so far no one has taken the time to write a comment with that information. We know that the government and DLP supporters read this blog, so we have to assume that the answer to our question is evident. Nada. Nothing real and positive has been done with the Environment Ministry and the environment in an entire year.

The Only Action Taken By The DLP Government Has Been To Make It Legal To Build On The Graeme Hall Wetlands!

In fact, if we’re talking environment, the only real and substantial action taken by the Thompson government has been NEGATIVE.

The DLP government ratified the BLP government’s Amended 2003 Physical Development Plan which establishes an “urban corridor” for the Graeme Hall green area seaward of the ABC Highway. This “urban corridor” parcel is well-known, as it was the scene of the infamous Caribbean Splash Water Park application. This is in sharp contrast to the recommendations of the 1986 National Physical Development Plan and the 1997 ARA Barbados Tourism Development Programme Study. It is also contrary to the National Park proposal which recommends the land be used for low-impact family recreation, walking and bicycle trails and other related uses.

The only difference with the DLP government passing this “urban corridor” instead of the BLP government is that now the DLP friends will profit from the move instead of the BLP friends.

Environmentalists also assume that in the minds of many influential government officials and developers, the RAMSAR site where the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary resides exists as a 100-year floodplain sump to be used for contaminated stormwater, instead of as a vibrant and living wetland.

Thompson, Lowe & Parris: What’s The Connection?

Despite all the nice words from Environment Minister Denis Lowe and PM Thompson about not turning the south coast into another concrete jungle, both Lowe and Thompson voted for the Amended 2003 Physical Development Plan which establishes an “urban corridor” in the Graeme Hall wetlands. The Thompson – CLICO – Leroy Parris connection is well known and established. After all, one of Thompson’s first official acts as a newly-elected Prime Minister was to “borrow” an executive jet through Leroy Parris and to refuse to provide transparency about the costs of that jet. (See BFP’s Will Rayside Construction Be Awarded Barbados Government Contracts To Thank Leroy Parris For The Use Of The Bizjet?)

And, bye the way… who do you think owns land in the “urban corridor” of the Graeme Hall wetlands? Why, CLICO, thats who!

Yup. Same old, same old ’bout hey.

It looks like Thompson and his CLICO mentor/financier Leroy Parris are going to get their wish to develop and profit from what is one of our last remaining natural treasures.

Free Admission For Artist Days At Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary

“Ten Days in December”
Artist Days At Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary

Free entrance is being offered to artists, photographers, poets and writers to the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary December 3-12, 2008.    In exchange, artists are asked to share their interpretations of the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary and the RAMSAR Wetland with the Sanctuary and the nonprofit organization working to save it.

The Sanctuary’s owner, Peter Allard, has announced that the Sanctuary will close on December 15, 2008.

“Peter Allard asked us to open the Sanctuary so that Barbadian artists can produce expressions and archives for the historical record,” said Harry Roberts, General Manager of the Sanctuary.

Allard supports the arts in North America and Europe.

Announcement:    Free Entry announced to Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary for artists, photographers, poets and writers
Period:            December 3-12, 2008
Requirements:        Entry is for the artist alone, and a release is required allowing the Sanctuary or the Friends of Graeme Hall to use derivative works from the visit to help foster environmental awareness and preservation of the Graeme Hall lands on a non-profit basis. Artists are asked to send photographs on DVD/CD’s to Graeme  Hall Nature Sanctuary.

The Artist Release can be found HERE, or one can be signed at the Sanctuary.

To obtain a free pass, registration is required.  Call the Sanctuary at 435-9727.

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary Press Release

GRAEME HALL NATURE SANCTUARY, INC.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bridgetown, Barbados
Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Contact:                Harry Roberts, General Manager
Telephone:            (246)  426-3610
Email:                    hroberts@graemehall.com
Photos and Archives: http://www.graemehall.com/press.htm

Massive Turnout at Graeme Hall

No Solution Yet for Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary

Massive attendance at the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary stopped traffic once again in Worthing on Monday, forcing Sanctuary staff to help facilitate traffic in and out of the Sanctuary’s entrance.

“We estimate 9,500 people passed through the gates on Monday,” said Harry Roberts, General Manager of the Sanctuary.

“Hundreds of people kept telling us that they want to see the Sanctuary stay open, and that they want the surrounding lands up to the ABC Highway reserved for open green space, and that this was their way of showing their support.”

“Frankly, we were completely shocked at the how many people came yesterday, because 8,000 people had already visited during our open day last month on November 9,” said Roberts.

Sanctuary staff scrambled to accommodate people who wanted to see the park one last time before the scheduled closing on December 15.

As of this past weekend, Peter Allard, owner of the Sanctuary confirmed that he had not received any substantive solutions or proposals from government in regard to preservation of the Sanctuary and its upland buffers to the ABC Highway in perpetuity, but acknowledged that he had heard that government officials were discussing the matter internally.     Allard reiterated that he continues to be available to discuss progressive good faith solutions to create a new park within the approximately 240 acre environmental and recreational green space at Graeme Hall, inclusive of the Sanctuary and public and private lands within the RAMSAR wetland, as well as the Ministry of Agriculture complex and surrounding uplands.

This Graeme Hall green space is the last significant area available for parkland between the Airport and Bridgetown.

“We have no confirmation yet that government will preserve the buffer lands up to the ABC Highway as open space,” said Allard.   “We believe strongly that the environmental health of the RAMSAR site and the Sanctuary is absolutely dependent on the uplands being preserved as open space.”

The Sanctuary is scheduled to close on December 15, 2008 after an investment of US$35 million over the past 14 years.

More information about the Sanctuary and the proposed Graeme Hall National Park can be found at…

www.graemehall.com/press.htm and     http://www.graemehallnationalpark.org

Barbados: Ten Thousand Say Goodbye To Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary

Government Members Hostile To Graeme Hall National Park

An estimated ten thousand people came to say goodbye to the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary yesterday on Monday, December 1, 2008 during the last “Free Day” before the sanctuary closes for good on December 15th. The Nation Newspaper headline again said a misleading “Hundreds” just as it misinformed last November 10th in another article that seemed designed to minimise the public support for the Graeme Hall National Park.

Opposition Leader Mia Mottley was the only politician to have attended the sanctuary yesterday. Conspicuously absent were members of the DLP Government. Not a one showed up as government members intend to develop the area for profit.

It is all over folks. The Government of Barbados will not establish a Graeme Hall National Park. The Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary will close forever on December 15th.

You can expect to see residential and business development in the Graeme Hall wetlands buffer zone as declared in the official Land Use Plan passed by the David Thompson government earlier this year.

That plan showed the government’s determination to profit at the expense of the natural heritage of our country.

Here are a few photos taken on Monday…

December 1st Last Chance To See Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary For Free

Sanctuary Admission is FREE on MONDAY, December 1st

Eight thousand people showed up on the previous Free Day at the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary.

Yup… eight thousand folks who value the natural heritage of our country and want to preserve it for our children’s future took a walk on November 9th to see the mangroves, birds and wildlife that don’t exist in such a natural state anywhere else on Barbados.

Monday, December 1, 2008 is your last chance to see Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary for free because…

Graeme Hall Will Close December 15th As Canadian Philanthropist Driven From Barbados

Over the years thousands upon thousands of Bajans and tourists alike enjoyed the peace and learning experience of the last remaining mangrove wetlands on the island. Thousands of school children on learning tours encountered Graeme Hall in a way that their parents never could in the days when they were in school.

A generation ago, the last mangrove wetland at Graeme Hall was an abandoned, difficult-to-access, polluted garbage strewn mess. One man decided to rescue this precious piece of natural heritage for Bajans, Barbados and the world. One man and he wasn’t even a Barbadian!

Peter Allard, a philanthropist from Canada, poured some US$35 million into cleaning up the wetlands and creating the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary. He asked for nothing in return, and in fact received less than nothing.