Update: Dredging of Coral Reef for Coast Guard base in St. Vi ncent and the Grenadines

Noah, Michael D POJ Michael.D.Noah at poj.usace.army.mil
Mon Feb 19 19:37:48 EST 2001


On a similar note, has there been any attempt to fully document the baseline
condition of the reef system prior to impact (including photos), and then a plan
developed to follow up with other assessments during and after the project has
commenced in order to fully document the impacts?  Facts often speak louder than
perception.  It may mean the loss of this particular reef system, but it'll be
another round or two of ammunition to help protect the next one.

Michael


-----Original Message-----
From: dallison [mailto:dallison at email.msn.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2001 6:37 AM
To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; caribwa at egroups.com; Kurt Cordice
Subject: RE: Update: Dredging of Coral Reef for Coast Guard base in St. Vincent
and the Grenadines


Kurt:

Perhaps it would be of some value for folks who, like me and some of my friends,
visit and vacation in the Caribbean a couple of times each year to send a note
to the minister to let him know that we will not be including SVG in our
vacation plans if they persist in their efforts to dredge the coral reefs in the
area.  I would be happy to deliver such a note if I had the address and or email
or fax numbers and the name of the Prime Minister and Senior Minister.

Dave Allison
Allison Associates


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
[mailto:owner-coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov]On Behalf Of Kurt Cordice
Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2001 1:54 AM
To: caribwa at egroups.com; coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: Update: Dredging of Coral Reef for Coast Guard base in St. Vincent and
the Grenadines


Hello Again Everyone, 

A further update for those who are interested in this issue here in St. Vincent
and the Grenadines. 

In short, it seems that the pier is going to be built. There has been no answer
to the letter I wrote to the Prime Minister and Senior Minister. There also has
been no answer to an official request for an appeal hearing of the Planning
Board decision regarding the project. 

The Senior Minister (who recently resigned as our Prime Minister after 15+ years
in office) did speak of the topic in an address made to the people of Union
Island, which is the site of the Base. He made reference to project(s) in the
past that had been opposed for environmental reasons, and how that opposition
had failed. He also made it clear that the pier would be build no matter what,
and that no environmentalist would stop the project. 

It was a heavy blow to the marine protection movement here, and I wrote another
letter to the Senior Minister regarding this fact. Once again, no response. 

The dredging has not started yet, and the necessary equipment has not arrived.
No one seems to know when it will be done. But the deadline for the military
personnel her is sometime in the first week of April, so it will probably be
soon. 

I'm not quite sure what else can be done regarding the issue. It is now clear
that the Government is not willing to consider evidence or appeal which
questions the decision to dredge in the area. The funds just are not available
to consider using a legal process. 

Please do not take this as an admission of failure. The dredging has not started
yet, so there is a chance. And regardless of the dredging, a positive thing has
happened in this country. The issue is now in the hands of the people, and has
found some murmuring of support. I don't think this marks the end of the battle,
but the beginning. The next step will be to look for some support in a campaign
towards the establish of a Trust organization here in SVG, one which might be
able to prevent a situation like this from happening again. 

I'd like to thank all of you for listening, and especially thank those who have
discussed and/or taken action regarding this situation. I've heard about some,
like an inquiry made by the Coral Reef Task Force, and I'm sure that there has
been much that I am not aware of.  The attention from all of you have made a
huge difference, both locally and beyond. The emails of support have also made a
big difference, and helped keep a positive tone in all of this. 

Best wishes to you all

Kurt

Kurt Cordice, Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

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