Bulletin

The Bahamas National Trust offers the following response to an article calling for a ban on development within national parks. The article appeared in the Tribune on Friday October 29th 2010, written by Tribune Reporter Megan Reynolds.

Notwithstanding our firm commitment to the protection of our natural resources, The Bahamas National Trust holds the view that there is a distinct and fundamental difference between the unrestricted exploitation of public resources within a national park and the acceptance of reasonable access for non-commercial use of private property.

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, of which The Bahamas National Trust is a longstanding member, national parks are protected areas "managed to achieve the long-term conservation of nature." The BNT has adopted this approach for the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, which was created in 1958, and designated a no-take zone in 1986.

In addition to the conservation benefits of protecting a relatively undeveloped portion of the Exuma Cays, the park is a significant talking point for our national tourism product. We have successfully prevented commercial development in the 176-square-mile park, but we have to acknowledge the unconstitutionality of banning all private development or of applying confiscatory taxes on property owners.

About a third of all land within the Exuma park has been privately owned since well before the park was created, mostly by international persons who pay significant taxes, which have been welcomed by the government as part of the national revenue.

We certainly do not agree with those who are calling on the government or the BNT to trap people into owning valuable and highly taxed land but not allow them reasonable access and use. Successive governments have chosen not to do this, and taxes have been collected over many years while owners have been allowed to buy and sell their properties.

The BNT has no interest in engaging in a militant campaign to destabilise private property rights over the issue of minimal localised development proposals conducted under strict environmental protocols and using best management practices.

Dredging is sometimes required to develop and maintain navigation infrastructure and for other purposes. Our goal must be to achieve a balance between the need to dredge and the application of proper environmental safeguards.

The BNT hereby also refutes the claim that dredging at Bell Island has already begun - our Exuma Park Staff confirm this is not true. No dredging will be allowed until the Environmental Management Plan has been completed and presented to the BNT and the BEST Commission for review.

Some on-land site preparation work is underway, as well as the clearance of invasive casuarina trees, but dredging may not begin until there is an approved Environmental Management Plan in place, which meets the stringent environmental safeguards prescribed by the BNT and BEST.

Most of the planned work at Bell Island is on land and will not disturb the seabed except for the provision of navigable access. In line with our respect for private ownership within the park, it is worth noting that the BNT is not necessarily opposed to environmentally compatible, non-intrusive and limited development on these private islands within park boundaries.

However, we note with interest that the new Planning and Subdivisions Act offers an unprecedented opportunity to control inappropriate and environmentally destructive development both inside and outside park boundaries. In fact under this progressive new environmental legislation, the BNT will shortly begin working with the Ministry of the Environment to develop a carefully crafted land use plan for the entire Exuma Cays – both inside and outside the park.

It is true that in the past people have enjoyed traditional access to resources such as thatch or fish within the park, but it became imperative for the BNT to stop those activities 25 years ago in order to achieve our conservation goals. In the 1950s there was an abundance of marine resources throughout the Bahamas. In fact, lobster was often used as bait back then.

But over the years these resources came under heavy pressure and suffered significant declines. Bigger and more efficient fishing vessels began sweeping the cuts of all the cays - both inside and outside the park, and there were more and more excursionists coming from Nassau and elsewhere to fish in the park.

We do not believe that the designation of the Exuma park as a no-take zone in 1986 caused any hardship for Exumians or other Bahamians. In fact, all the evidence shows that the protection of marine resources within the park has led to larger and healthier fisheries outside the park.

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