The Tribune

A leading attorney and consultant for Save The Bays has called for the urgent passage of an Environmental Protection Act, arguing that it will protect both nature and the Bahamian economy.

Romauld Ferreira said legislation and regulations that protect the environment “provide governments with the ability to develop industry in a manner which is sustainable and respects the environment”.

He added that legislation which protects also enables – unlocking incentives for the development of clean energy, green solutions, prudent waste management and construction without destruction.

Mr Ferreira was addressing the National Environmental Conclave, a three day workshop organised by the Ministry of the Environment in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy, one of nearly 15 Save The Bays community partners.

“Our environmental legislative framework ought to consist of primary legislation attended to by secondary legislation, establishing regulatory standards for all activities which impact the environment and giving the Government the flexibility to respond in a timely manner,” Mr Ferreira told participants.

Without such a framework, unregulated development will continue to plague the Bahamas, he said, with developers forging ahead, sometimes without permits and oversight.

The Bahamian people would also be unable to comment on something that will change their very lifestyle, and Mr Ferreira said there would be no consequences for felling protected trees, destroying mangroves and harming wetlands.

Mr Ferreir,a who has worked with leading international firms as an environmental attorney and consultant on several Caribbean projects financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and other entities, said there were eight separate pieces of legislation designed to deal with environmental matters. But without regulations or dedicated resources, they were often ignored and compliance was weak.

Passing the Environmental Protection Act as the ‘umbrella’ legislation, and backed by adequate regulations, was described by Mr Ferreira as the link in the chain that will pull the necklace together.

Minister of the Environment and Housing, Kenred Dorsett, opened the conclave by expressing his appreciation of the Bahamas’ beauty, but stopped short of calling for overriding legislation to protect it.

“I have said before that the environment of our nation is its greatest blessing, so much so that we have created a world-class tourism industry based on our sun, sand and seas,” said Mr Dorsett.

“In addition to these, we are also blessed with great landscapes, beautiful marine life, blue holes, coral reefs, indigenous trees and flowering plants and much more.” That diversity, he said, sustains life and livelihoods.

“Save The Bays is grateful to The Nature Conservancy and the Ministry of the Environment for their work in arranging the conclave,” said Joseph Darville, its education officer and Clifton Waterkeeper.

“When we heard how much appreciation the Minister said he has for those who try to protect the beauty and diversity of the Bahamian environment, and that the environment ‘should be protected zealously for and by the Bahamian people’, we knew the tide had begun to change.

“Let us now have the courage to take the next step and pass the laws to make that wish for environmental protection a reality.”