Carib Scope

分类： environment

  • Sandals Foundation Rallies Over 700 Volunteers Across the

    Sandals Foundation Rallies Over 700 Volunteers Across the

    On September 19, 2026, communities across the Caribbean came together for International Coastal Cleanup Day (ICCD), the world’s largest single-day volunteer environmental event, led by a major regional non-profit. The Sandals Foundation, an organization focused on fostering long-term environmental stewardship across Caribbean communities, coordinated more than 700 volunteers across multiple island nations for the annual initiative.

    In the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, 60 participants gathered at the country’s northern coast to clear litter from popular shorelines and surrounding natural areas. The local volunteer cohort included staff from Sandals Grande Antigua Resort and Spa, youth members of the Antigua and Barbuda Scout Association, and individual local community members. Over the course of the day, teams worked to remove waste from Dickenson Bay, Runaway Bay, the grounds surrounding the Sandals Grande Antigua Resort and Spa, and the outer edges of a nearby salt pond, a critical local ecosystem.

    Heidi Clarke, Executive Director of the Sandals Foundation, emphasized that the annual event serves as a global moment of collective action to protect shared marine resources. “International Coastal Cleanup Day is a dedicated time where the world comes together to show solidarity and care for our oceans,” Clarke explained. “We continue to embed environmental stewardship across our region by mobilizing community members, empowering everyday people to take tangible action to protect our coastlines. Every small action adds up, and we are continuously encouraged by the steady support and collaboration from our partners and volunteers who show up year after year.”

    David Latchimy, General Manager of Sandals Grande Antigua, noted that the resort’s long-standing partnership with the foundation aligns with its core commitment to advancing regional environmental sustainability. “We are proud to stand with a shared commitment to protecting Antigua and Barbuda’s stunning natural coastline and unique ecosystems,” Latchimy said.

    Leon Norville, Sandals Public Relations Manager and Sandals Foundation representative, added that the 2026 initiative went far beyond just removing accumulated trash from beaches. “This year’s cleanup gave us a critical opportunity to turn broad environmental awareness into meaningful, collective community action,” Norville explained. “ICCD is about more than picking up litter—it’s about nurturing a deeper sense of environmental responsibility within every generation. Working alongside our community partners let us engage young people directly in this mission, showing them firsthand how vital it is to protect the natural spaces we all rely on and enjoy. We are incredibly proud of every volunteer who joined us, and deeply grateful to the Antigua and Barbuda Scout Association for their partnership on this important work.”

    The 2026 ICCD effort is just one part of the Sandals Foundation’s 17-year history of regional environmental action. Since the organization launched its conservation programming in 2009, it has mobilized nearly 200,000 people across the Caribbean to participate in a wide range of initiatives. These efforts extend far beyond annual coastal cleanups, and include long-term projects such as active marine sanctuary management, large-scale coral reef restoration, community-focused environmental education programs, and cross-regional biodiversity conservation projects.

  • Soul Sacrifice

    Soul Sacrifice

    A large-scale luxury hotel and golf course development funded by Grenada’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme has ignited fierce controversy after a senior industry expert exposed deeply flawed regulatory processes and hidden environmental threats to the island’s northern Levera region.

    Under Grenadian law, any major construction project must complete and receive official approval for an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) before ground is broken. The ESIA framework is designed to identify and mitigate harm to ecosystems and communities during the planning phase, when adjustments to project design can still be made easily. But in this case, regulators at the Planning and Development Authority (PDA) flipped the process upside down, allowing the Singaporean developer Heng Sheng (Grenada) Development PTE Ltd to start building the golf course — one of the project’s highest-impact components — without any approved ESIA in place.

    It was only after a successful legal challenge from local advocacy group Grenada Land Actors (GLA) that the PDA finally ordered an ESIA to be conducted. By that point, the golf course was already more than half complete. S Brian Samuel, a GLA board member with decades of experience in project finance consulting alongside the World Bank and Caribbean Development Bank, says this reversed process is unprecedented and nonsensical. “You cannot do an EIA on a project that is already more than half-built,” Samuel explained. “By the time construction is this far along, it is far too late to address fundamental design flaws that cause environmental harm.”

    The 500-room resort and 180-acre 18-hole golf course place unprecedented strain on Levera’s already limited natural resources, starting with water. Local residents and utility providers have long confirmed that the region is naturally arid: both the National Water and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) and power utility Grenlec have publicly ruled out providing additional water for the project. To fill this gap, the developer has quietly outlined plans to build a 2.5-kilometer pipeline that would pump freshwater from the La Fortune River estuary in Sauteurs to the Levera site. Most alarmingly, hidden in fine print of the low-resolution plans included in the ESIA is a provision for a 6,500-cubic-meter reservoir to be built on top of Welcome Stone — a beloved, culturally significant local landmark that residents consider sacred.

    “This is a travesty and must be stopped,” Samuel said. Beyond the threat to Welcome Stone, the developer’s entire infrastructure plan is riddled with unaddressed gaps and violations of regulatory protocol. Water abstraction from the La Fortune River requires its own independent ESIA and approval from the national Water Resources Management Unit (WRMU), but the WRMU is not yet operational after the legislation creating it was only passed in 2025. The coastal pipeline route requires land acquisitions via easements, leases or purchases that could take years to resolve, and no separate approval process has been completed for that work. The ESIA also omitted any details of a planned desalination plant, leaving the public in the dark about its size, location and potential environmental impacts. Even the project’s power plan, a 30-megawatt solar farm with battery storage that would require 220 acres of additional land, has not undergone a required independent impact assessment.

    Despite these massive, glaring deficiencies, the ESIA’s final conclusion claims the project can proceed with only minor adjustments to mitigate harm. Samuel called this conclusion indefensible, noting that many of the project’s biggest harms are already irreversible because construction started before the assessment could flag problems. Beyond the flaws in the assessment itself, Samuel condemned the lack of transparency around the project, saying key details about the reservoir and desalination plant were intentionally buried in hard-to-read documents to avoid public pushback.

    “It is totally unacceptable for the consultants to bury the potential for destruction of Grenada’s iconic Welcome Stone within an illegible figure in the document,” Samuel said. “In fact, it is downright shameful.”

    GLA is calling on the PDA to reject the current substandard ESIA in its entirety until all major flaws are fully addressed. In a subsequent article, the group plans to expand its analysis to cover unreported ecological and social impacts of the project and additional weaknesses in the assessment. The full ESIA is available as a public document from the PDA, and GLA is urging all interested Grenadians to access the document and share their concerns with regulators.

  • Baha Mar Climate Week brings focus to conservation and climate action

    Baha Mar Climate Week brings focus to conservation and climate action

    The Bahamas is stepping up collective action against climate change, as the Baha Mar Resort Foundation officially launched Climate Week 2026, a landmark seven-day event that gathers stakeholders from across government, scientific research, conservation, civil society, and the arts to confront the growing climate risks threatening the island nation.

    Centered around the evocative theme *At the Edge of the Water*, the event runs from September 18 to 24, with a full lineup of activities spanning educational outreach, environmental restoration projects, and creative cultural programming all tied to advancing local climate action and protecting The Bahamas’ unique natural resources.

    The official opening plenary, held Monday at ECCHO on the Baha Mar resort campus, welcomed senior government environmental officials including Obie Roberts, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, and Dr. Rhianna Neely, Director of the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection. Co-hosted in partnership with the Bahamas Protected Areas Fund, the opening session delivered a frank assessment of the most pressing climate challenges facing the archipelago, alongside a detailed overview of ongoing conservation efforts being implemented across the country’s islands.

    In his opening remarks, Robert Sands, Senior Vice President of Baha Mar, emphasized the collective responsibility required to address the climate crisis: “Climate change presents very real challenges for The Bahamas. Addressing them will require government, the private sector, conservation organizations, non-profits, the creative community and Bahamians across our islands to play a part.”

    Programming for Climate Week actually got an early start last Friday, with the opening of the signature *At the Edge of the Water* art exhibition. The show features work from 24 local and regional artists, each exploring the deep, complex relationship between The Bahamas’ island communities and the surrounding waters that shape their culture, livelihoods, and daily life.

    On Saturday, the foundation continued hands-on action by partnering with the Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority and a local environmental non-profit to host a large-scale beach revegetation project at Nassau’s popular Saunders Beach, designed to restore natural coastal buffers that reduce erosion and storm surge risk.

    The remainder of the week’s schedule includes a range of targeted engagement activities: school outreach visits to teach K-12 students about climate science and local conservation, an interactive World Cafe dialogue session hosted in collaboration with the Organization for Responsible Governance, and a closing celebration titled *Poetry of the Natural World* — a poetry night and reception to be held at ECCHO on Thursday that will wrap up the week’s programming.

    Conservation is a core institutional priority for the Baha Mar Resort Foundation, forming one of its three foundational pillars alongside community development and cultural preservation. Beyond Climate Week, the foundation maintains a robust portfolio of ongoing environmental initiatives across The Bahamas, including large-scale mangrove and coral reef restoration projects, the national Queen Conch Education Program, and Baha Mar’s industry-leading Climate Friendly Travel initiative that works to decarbonize the country’s key tourism sector.

  • Hurricane Polo rapidly intensifies to Category 5 off Mexico’s Pacific coast

    Hurricane Polo rapidly intensifies to Category 5 off Mexico’s Pacific coast

    On September 22, a dangerous weather event unfolded off Mexico’s southwestern Pacific shoreline, when Hurricane Polo completed an extraordinary and rapid intensification surge to reach Category 5 status — the highest ranking on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale. What began as a moderate Category 1 hurricane ballooned into a catastrophic Category 5 storm in less than 24 hours, a speed of strengthening that has become increasingly common amid warmer ocean temperatures linked to climate change.

    As of Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and Mexico’s National Meteorological Service (SMN) were tracking the powerful system around the clock. The storm had already registered maximum sustained winds of roughly 260 kilometers per hour (160 miles per hour), with even more powerful gusts that can cause catastrophic damage to infrastructure. At the time of monitoring, Polo was positioned south of two major coastal destinations: Zihuatanejo in the state of Guerrero and Manzanillo in Colima. Though the storm’s center remained offshore, a tropical storm warning remained active for a long stretch of Mexico’s southwestern coast, keeping local communities on high alert.

    National and state officials have issued urgent warnings about the range of life-threatening hazards the storm will bring to multiple coastal states, including Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, Oaxaca and Jalisco. Even with the storm’s core staying over open ocean, its large atmospheric circulation is projected to push dangerous conditions onshore, including torrential downpours, damaging sustained winds, extreme high surf, widespread flash flooding and deadly landslides across mountainous and low-lying coastal areas.

    In a proactive precautionary move, education authorities in Guerrero and Michoacán announced the immediate suspension of all classes across both states on September 22 and 23, moving instruction online and closing campuses to protect students and staff. To further bolster response capacity, Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission pre-deployed emergency response teams, specialized utility vehicles, portable backup generators and a full suite of storm recovery equipment to high-risk regions, positioning crews to restore power quickly in the event of widespread outages.

    Meteorologists continue to emphasize that the storm’s track could shift closer to shore in the coming days, urging residents in all watch areas to stay tuned to official updates and follow evacuation orders if issued by local authorities.

  • New glass pulveriser commissioned to strengthen Grenada’s waste management

    New glass pulveriser commissioned to strengthen Grenada’s waste management

    Grenada has taken a major step forward in its national waste management and recycling strategy with the official launch of a commercial-grade glass pulveriser, a EC$486,000 investment delivered through the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association (GHTA) and its dedicated Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF). The new equipment has been handed over to the Grenada Solid Waste Management Authority (GSWMA) to expand the country’s glass recovery infrastructure, cutting down the volume of recyclable glass that ends up in general landfills and waste streams.

  • IHO Nature Rangers And Partners Remove 462 Pounds of Waste From Spencer’s Bay Wetlands

    IHO Nature Rangers And Partners Remove 462 Pounds of Waste From Spencer’s Bay Wetlands

    On September 19, 2026, more than 25 youth and local community volunteers gathered at Spencer’s Bay Wetlands to honor International Coastal Cleanup Day with a targeted waste removal effort, pulling a total of 462.80 pounds of discarded trash from the ecologically vital wetland and coastal habitats of Antigua and Barbuda.

    Organized and led by the IHO Nature Rangers and Volunteer Litter Prevention Wardens, the event drew widespread participation and collaborative support from a diverse array of local and regional stakeholders, including JCI Antigua, Antigua Cruise Ports, the EcoShores Sustainable Futures Network (ESFN), the Community Policing Division of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, the Antigua and Barbuda Girl Guides Association, and the Antigua and Barbuda branch of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN).

    Beyond just removing accumulated debris from the region’s shorelines and adjacent land areas, the event was designed to help participating volunteers build firsthand understanding of the range of waste materials that threaten sensitive wetland ecosystems. The haul of collected trash included large discarded items such as four old televisions and full pieces of luggage, alongside smaller common pollutants including glass fragments, single-use plastic bottles, petroleum containers, automotive parts, disposable packaging, and a wide variety of other improperly disposed consumer goods.

    Volunteers implemented a rigorous data collection process, weighing every bag of collected waste individually to ensure an accurate total waste volume calculation. The four large televisions recovered from the wetland were assessed separately, with their estimated weights added to the final total. The wide variety of waste types recovered during the cleanup underscores the ongoing challenge of unregulated trash accumulation in already vulnerable coastal and wetland environments, where discarded materials disrupt native wildlife habitats and degrade water quality over time.

    To ensure responsible handling of the collected waste, event organizers coordinated in advance with the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), which arranged for full removal and proper disposal of all debris at the region’s official landfill.

    Following the hands-on cleanup activity, participants joined an interactive educational session led by the EcoShores Sustainable Futures Network. The session connected the day’s on-the-ground conservation work to broader conversations about long-term environmental stewardship, the critical ecological role of wetlands, systemic improvements to regional waste management, and the power of collective community action to drive lasting change.

    As a gesture of gratitude for their time and effort, all participating community members were provided with a complimentary breakfast from Blow Way Bakery, a local food business based in Pigotts.

    Saturday’s event is just one component of the IHO Nature Rangers’ ongoing long-term initiative to expand conservation action and boost youth engagement in protection of the North East Marine Management Area (NEMMA). The organization has already led similar community cleanup efforts in Parham, Seatons, and Glanvilles, with local youth and resident volunteers consistently turning out to address littering and preserve irreplaceable coastal habitats across the region.

    Britney McDonald, Project Manager for the IHO Nature Rangers, emphasized the collective impact of the cross-sector collaboration in a post-event statement. “Saturday’s cleanup proved what we can achieve when young people, community members, local organizations, and institutional partners all come together around a shared responsibility to protect our natural spaces,” McDonald said. “Removing 462.80 pounds of waste from these wetlands and coastal spaces is a meaningful win, but it also makes clear that we have to keep building public awareness, stopping waste at its source, and investing in the local people who are on the ground taking action to protect these critical ecosystems.”

    Looking ahead, the IHO Nature Rangers and its partner network are already planning the next phase of regional conservation work, including upcoming mangrove replanting initiatives, ongoing environmental education programming, continued community outreach, and additional habitat restoration projects. On September 26, 2026, the organization will partner with EcoShores Sustainable Futures Network to support ESFN’s Do it Twice Campaign for McKinnons Wetlands.

    The coalition is actively seeking additional partnership support to expand the scope and reach of these ongoing conservation activities. Organizations, local businesses, and individual community members interested in volunteering, sponsoring, or supporting upcoming cleanups, educational sessions, restoration projects, and other conservation efforts are encouraged to reach out to get involved.

    The Spencer’s Bay cleanup is part of the larger “Strengthening Conservation Actions in the North East Management Area, Antigua and Barbuda” project, led by the IHO Nature Rangers. The initiative receives funding from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the World Bank, with implementation support from the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute, alongside core partners Integrated Health Outreach and EcoShores Sustainable Futures Network.

    For media inquiries or additional information about the project, interested parties can contact Project Manager Britney McDonald at (268) 785-5169.

  • Omwonenden vragen NMA Halliburton-projecten opnieuw te beoordelen

    Omwonenden vragen NMA Halliburton-projecten opnieuw te beoordelen

    A group of stakeholders with interests tied to Suriname’s coastal area has launched a formal legal challenge to two planned Halliburton projects near Paramaribo, calling on the country’s National Environmental Authority (NMA) to revisit and reverse earlier environmental approvals that greenlit the developments. Through legal representation, the group has submitted an official request that pauses all pre-construction work on Halliburton’s proposed new operational base at Sir Winston Churchillweg 426, as well as halts ongoing permitting for an on-site radioactive materials storage facility linked to the energy firm’s regional operations. The challenge targets two separate environmental assessment dossiers: MEA 0049/2025, which covers the operational base, and MEA 0054/2025, the regulatory file for the radioactive storage facility. Stakeholders say they have raised fundamental concerns about how the projects were screened, classified, and evaluated for potential harms to local ecosystems and communities, arguing that earlier assessments failed to account for key risks. At the core of the dispute is the classification of the radioactive storage facility. The NMA previously categorized the project as an activity with low environmental impact but high site sensitivity, a designation that allowed the project to move forward with only a limited environmental review in the form of a standard Environment Management and Monitoring Plan (MMMP), rather than a full, comprehensive environmental impact assessment. Stakeholders argue this classification is incorrect and inconsistent with the risks of storing radioactive materials in a populated area near critical environmental resources, and are pushing the NMA to re-evaluate the designation in light of new evidence and research they have presented. The group is asking the NMA to investigate whether the original classification remains justified, and whether the decision to accept a limited MMMP review instead of a full assessment should be withdrawn or revised. Pending the outcome of this reassessment, stakeholders are calling for all further permitting work on the storage facility dossier to be suspended immediately. In their formal request, they also emphasize that any new environmental review must go beyond traditional ecological harm assessments, and include full analysis of the projects’ potential social and economic impacts on nearby communities and local industries. The NMA has been given a deadline of October 1, 2026, to issue a substantive response to the stakeholders’ claims and requests. It is important to note that the submission of the formal challenge does not automatically invalidate earlier environmental approvals or halt work on the projects at this stage. The NMA will first review the request to determine whether there is sufficient merit to reopen the assessment processes, revise earlier decisions, or implement the requested temporary suspensions. Halliburton, a major global energy services firm, has been expanding its operational footprint in Suriname amid growing offshore oil and gas exploration activity in the country’s waters, making the planned base and storage facility a key part of its regional strategy. The challenge comes amid growing public debate in Suriname over environmental regulation of the energy sector, and whether existing rules provide sufficient protection for local communities and fragile ecosystems. The outcome of the NMA’s review is expected to set a precedent for future large-scale energy infrastructure projects in the country.

  • Whale Protection Coalition Urges Antigua and Barbuda to Stop Scapegoating Whales

    Whale Protection Coalition Urges Antigua and Barbuda to Stop Scapegoating Whales

    A prominent international coalition dedicated to marine mammal conservation has issued a formal public appeal to the government of Antigua and Barbuda, calling on the Caribbean nation to halt what the group describes as unfair scapegoating of whale populations for ongoing challenges facing the local commercial fishing sector.

    The coalition, which brings together dozens of marine ecologists, conservation organizations and indigenous ocean advocacy groups from around the globe, argues that current claims linking declining fish catches to whale feeding activity are not backed by peer-reviewed scientific data. Instead, the coalition points to overfishing, climate change-driven ocean warming, and habitat degradation as the primary drivers of reduced fish stocks in regional waters.

    Conservation leaders warn that targeting whales not only undermines decades of progress in protecting endangered and vulnerable baleen whale populations that migrate through the Caribbean each year, but also distracts policymakers from implementing evidence-based reforms needed to restore the long-term sustainability of local fisheries. The group has offered to partner with the Antigua and Barbuda government to conduct independent, transparent research on marine ecosystem dynamics, as well as to support sustainable fishing initiatives that balance livelihood needs with marine biodiversity protection.

    As of the coalition’s latest statement, the Antigua and Barbuda government has not yet issued a formal response to the appeal.

  • Could three Saint Lucian communities become UNESCO Biosphere Reserves?

    Could three Saint Lucian communities become UNESCO Biosphere Reserves?

    A new community-led conservation and development initiative is pushing forward plans to designate three communities in Saint Lucia — Babonneau, Mabouya Valley, and Monchy — as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves under the global Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme. If approved, the designation would equip local stakeholders with targeted resources to balance environmental conservation with inclusive community growth, by strengthening the interconnected relationship between people and their natural surroundings.

    The MAB Programme operates on a voluntary, collaborative framework, centered on launching location-specific projects that advance equitable sustainable development through customized local economic initiatives, uplift resident livelihoods, safeguard unique cultural heritage, and foster cross-community knowledge exchange. Unlike UNESCO’s World Heritage designation, the biosphere reserve status is not a legally binding designation; it instead empowers local stakeholders to take ownership of their environmental stewardship efforts.

    The exploratory process is being led by the Saint Lucia National Commission for UNESCO (SLNCU), which has already launched a series of public consultation sessions to gather input from local residents and ensure the initiative aligns with community needs. The first round of consultations was recently completed in Babonneau, with sessions scheduled to begin shortly in Mabouya Valley, and planned for Monchy in the coming weeks.

    Speaking on a government podcast last month, SLNCU Secretary-General Marcia Symphorien outlined the core mission of the programme, noting that its central goal is advancing harmonious coexistence between humans and natural ecosystems. “The programme advocates for the harmonious coexistence of man and nature; how we as human beings can protect our environment so that our environment can also provide for us,” Symphorien explained. She added that the designation would also help the island nation address pressing climate change-related challenges, including growing water scarcity, while supporting progress on both global sustainable development goals and local community development targets.

    Local stakeholders in Babonneau have already expressed strong support for the initiative. Aldric Edward, a Babonneau resident and owner of local tour operator Exotic and Leisure Adventures, highlighted the unique ecological and cultural value of the region that makes it an ideal candidate for the status. “I believe this is very welcoming for Babonneau considering the vastness and richness in biodiversity within the area,” Edward told local outlet St. Lucia Times. “Babonneau is extremely rich in culture and heritage, including wide varieties of endemic species of plants and animals. The area also has non-timber items of great economic value and can contribute to sustainable livelihoods.”

    Beyond conservation, Edward noted that the programme would create meaningful new opportunities for the community, including expanded education on sustainable agricultural practices and the creation of new local employment opportunities. “We are all pleased with this initiative and fully endorse this MAB project,” he added.

    Currently, the MAB Programme counts 797 established biosphere reserves across 145 countries worldwide. In the Caribbean region, existing reserves are already located in Aruba, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guadeloupe. If approved, Saint Lucia’s designation would join this regional network, opening up new opportunities for cross-regional knowledge sharing and collaboration on sustainable development and climate adaptation.

  • Braganza wacht nog op kap- en milieuvergunningen voor landbouwprojecten

    Braganza wacht nog op kap- en milieuvergunningen voor landbouwprojecten

    Three planned large-scale agricultural projects in western Suriname have not yet secured all mandatory government and environmental approvals required for full construction to begin, Braganza Marketing Group director Lionel Blokland has confirmed in written responses to local outlet Starnieuws.

    Blokland outlined three outstanding preconditions that must be satisfied before the full 34,185-hectare initiative can get underway. First, the company is still waiting on formal logging permits to clear land for production. Second, it has not received preliminary approval from the National Environmental Authority (NMA) to launch full activities. Third, it requires government cooperation to ensure that participating Mennonite migrants continue to comply with Suriname’s immigration regulations.

    While preliminary site preparation work including limited deforestation is already underway at the project locations along the Weg naar West-Suriname corridor, Blokland emphasized that all current activities fall within the scope of a pre-negotiated agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (LVV). Under that agreement, the company is permitted to construct work camps, mark project boundaries and complete other pre-development groundwork, and Braganza maintains it has not conducted any work that requires unapproved permits at this stage.

    The public law agreement between Braganza and LVV requires all site preparation, agricultural infrastructure work and land development to adhere to strict existing regulatory conditions, including binding environmental protection requirements and full compliance with all Surinamese national laws. Environmental scrutiny of the project has been particularly intense due to the large scale of the proposed soy and maize production operations, which are planned for the Tibiti and Kabalebo regions.

    Braganza has previously stated that internal surveys of the project area found no evidence of primary old-growth forest on the site, a claim intended to address concerns about widespread ecological harm from large-scale industrial agriculture. However, final authority to assess the project’s environmental impact rests with the national environmental regulator, not the developer itself.

    Blokland’s recent confirmation makes clear that both logging approval processes and full environmental assessment procedures are still ongoing. As of yet, there is no public timeline for when the required final approvals will be granted, nor is there clarity on what specific binding conditions regulators will attach to the greenlight for full project implementation. Intensive consultations between Braganza, LVV and other national regulatory bodies are currently underway to resolve the outstanding approval issues.