Carib Scope

分类： environment

  • Sangster International Airport achieves Level 3 ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation

    Sangster International Airport achieves Level 3 ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation

    Jamaica’s Sangster International Airport (SIA) has achieved a landmark milestone in sustainable aviation, securing official upgrade to Level 3 status under Airports Council International’s (ACI) globally respected Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) program, the leading international benchmark for airport carbon management. The certification was formally confirmed by MBJ Airports Limited, the operator that manages the Montego Bay-based airport.

    Unlike lower accreditation levels that focus on individual operator action, Level 3 accreditation requires airports to build coordinated cross-stakeholder carbon reduction frameworks, uniting airlines, ground handling firms, on-site tenants and other operational partners around a shared, measurable commitment to cutting emissions. This shift moves environmental responsibility from a single-entity initiative to a collective effort that spans the entire airport community.

    The announcement comes just days after the United Nations’ World Environment Day on June 5, the global campaign designed to drive awareness and coordinated action for environmental protection. For MBJ Airports, the new accreditation marks both a celebration of progress already delivered and a public renewal of the organization’s long-term sustainability commitments that will shape the airport’s strategic direction for years to come.

    Shane Munroe, Chief Executive Officer of MBJ Airports Limited, emphasized that this collaborative, holistic approach places SIA among a small, elite group of airports worldwide that are delivering tangible, ecosystem-wide climate action. “This accreditation validates the tireless work of our team to build a culture of environmental responsibility that touches every part of our operations,” Munroe explained. “Sustainability is not an afterthought for us—it is a core value embedded into every stage of planning, every daily operation, and every partnership we build at Sangster International Airport. We are proud of what we have accomplished so far, and we are even more energized to continue raising the bar for environmental management across the Caribbean and the broader region.”

    The achievement earned formal recognition from the accrediting body, with ACI-Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC) offering official congratulations to the MBJ team. Francisco M Medela Alonso, Industry Affairs Director for ACI-LAC, noted in his statement that reaching Level 3 is a substantial accomplishment that clearly demonstrates the airport’s dedication to engaging all stakeholders in the collective fight against carbon emissions.

    Administered locally by Environmental Minds, the new Level 3 certification adds further prestige to SIA’s already robust portfolio of environmental management credentials. The airport already holds ISO 14001 certification, the globally recognized standard for Environmental Management Systems. According to MBJ, this existing certification highlights the airport’s consistent, standards-aligned strategy for minimizing its environmental footprint across every dimension of its operations.

    MBJ confirmed that together, these dual certifications solidify SIA’s standing as a regional leader and a replicable model for sustainable airport management across the Caribbean and beyond.

  • ‘A Jamaican Path: from Hills to Ocean’ project benefits wetland and coastal ecosystems, says NEPA

    ‘A Jamaican Path: from Hills to Ocean’ project benefits wetland and coastal ecosystems, says NEPA

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — After six years of coordinated planning, field research, and community-focused action, Jamaica has wrapped up one of its most ambitious landscape and marine conservation initiatives in recent history: the “A Jamaican Path from Hills to Ocean” project. Designed to bridge watershed protection, coastal ecosystem management, and community climate resilience, the initiative concludes having delivered a robust foundation for safeguarding the island nation’s irreplaceable natural assets against the accelerating impacts of climate change.

    First announced in 2019 and launched in 2020, the project operated on a €6 million total budget, split between a €4.9 million contribution from the European Union’s Global Climate Change Alliance Plus and €1.1 million in matching funding from the Government of Jamaica. The Planning Institute of Jamaica served as the lead implementing agency, partnering closely with core national stakeholders including the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), and the Public Gardens Division under the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining.

    A core priority of the multi-year initiative was to generate foundational, science-backed data to guide future conservation decision-making across Jamaica’s key ecosystems. Between 2023 and 2024, research teams completed Rapid Ecological Assessments (REAs) across three critical watersheds: Rio Bueno, Wagwater, and Rio Nuevo. These surveys generated detailed baseline data on local flora, fauna, and habitat conditions, laying the groundwork for targeted restoration planning, biodiversity protection, and community-led management while strengthening the country’s national ecosystem monitoring framework.

    The project also delivered a historic first for Jamaica’s marine conservation efforts: the first comprehensive assessment of seagrass health and distribution across three key coastal areas — Hellshire Bay, Half Moon Bay, and the Ocho Rios Marine Park Protected Area. To map these ecologically vital nearshore habitats, researchers combined cutting-edge high-resolution drone and satellite imagery with on-the-ground field validation, water quality testing, and geospatial modeling. The resulting maps and baseline datasets will enable consistent, long-term monitoring of seagrass ecosystems, which play a critical role in carbon sequestration, shoreline stabilization, and supporting commercial fish populations.

    A landmark hydrological assessment of the Mason River Protected Area (MRPA), completed in 2024, yielded key insights into the ecological vulnerabilities and assets of the internationally recognized Ramsar wetland site that spans Clarendon and St Ann parishes. The assessment confirmed that the MRPA supports an extraordinary diversity of wetland ecosystems, including peat bogs, freshwater marshes, and scrub savannah, and is home to multiple endemic species of birds and reptiles. However, the study also identified significant threats: the area’s naturally low soil permeability limits groundwater storage, increasing its vulnerability to both flooding and prolonged drought. Water quality testing found that while most of the reserve meets global freshwater standards, localized pollution from agricultural runoff and unsustainable land use has raised nutrient and mineral levels, highlighting the urgent need for improved farming and water management practices. Socioeconomic research additionally found that surrounding communities depend heavily on small-scale farming and trucked drinking water, underscoring the need for climate-resilient livelihood opportunities and expanded water access for local populations.

    To address these on-the-ground challenges, RADA supported the launch of Integrated Sustainable Landscape Management Farmer Field Schools across four communities: Mason River, Three Hills, Sommerhill, and Clonmel. The initiative paired hands-on training for smallholder farmers with the development of a specialized training manual covering sustainable production for pig and ruminant livestock operations. The manual outlines climate-smart farming techniques, disaster risk reduction, farm biosecurity, waste management, financial record keeping, and herd health planning. A dedicated training workshop was also held for RADA livestock extension officers to equip them to provide ongoing support to participating farmers after the project concluded.

    Among the project’s lasting institutional gains is the adoption of the new Jamaica Watershed Classification Tool (JWCT), a custom decision-support system that enables policymakers and conservationists to evaluate watershed health, model changing environmental conditions, and plan evidence-based conservation interventions. The tool features an interactive mapping platform that lets users visualize watershed boundaries and layered environmental data, making it accessible to stakeholders across the country working in natural resource management.

    The project also invested heavily in upgrading national monitoring capacity, supplying NEPA with a full suite of modern field research and environmental monitoring equipment, including rugged laptops, professional dive gear, data loggers, GPS units, and specialized marine research gear. This upgrade will allow NEPA to conduct more frequent, accurate monitoring of both marine and terrestrial ecosystems, ensuring future management decisions are rooted in real-time, on-the-ground data.

    Two key site-specific improvements were also completed as part of the initiative. Jamaica’s historic Castleton Botanical Gardens, a popular tourist and educational site, received long-overdue infrastructure upgrades, including new garden furniture, solar power installations, refurbished restrooms, stabilized gabion erosion control barriers, and repaired gazebos, with ongoing work underway for an accessibility ramp, walking paths, perimeter fencing, and a boundary wall. Most recently, on May 14, 2026, project teams completed the installation of 500 meters of protective fencing around the Mason River Protected Area, the final formal activity of the six-year initiative. The fencing will prevent encroachment from unregulated farming, grazing, and illegal dumping, protecting the fragile wetland ecosystem and ensuring the long-term effectiveness of restoration and conservation work at the site.

    NEPA described the fencing installation as the “proverbial icing on the cake” for the project, a final practical safeguard that complements the broader policy, research, and community interventions delivered through the multi-pronged initiative. As Jamaica prepares for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, the project’s outcomes position the island to better withstand extreme weather events that are growing more frequent and intense due to climate change. “In the face of natural disasters and climate change, the project is a life-jacket, helping to ensure that Jamaica’s path to recovery, from the hills to the ocean, is not a lengthy journey,” NEPA noted in its official announcement.

  • Consultant defends Roseau sand ESIA, says main risk is to fisheries

    Consultant defends Roseau sand ESIA, says main risk is to fisheries

    At a community gathering hosted by North Leeward Member of Parliament Kishore Shallow as part of his “North Leeward Matters” public engagement series, environmental consultant Reynold Murray has addressed long-simmering community tensions over a state-run sand and aggregate extraction project in Roseau, North Leeward, pushing back against claims of procedural recklessness while openly acknowledging gaps in the mandated environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) he completed for project proponent BRAGSA, a state-owned national development enterprise.

    Murray, who was contracted by BRAGSA to carry out the ESIA for the proposed harvesting operation, opened his remarks by reframing public debate around the project’s environmental risks, arguing that the most critical threat to local interests is not the widely cited harms of deforestation or soil erosion, but potential irreversible disruption to nearshore fisheries that support local livelihoods. He pushed back against growing comparisons between the Roseau project and the divisive, controversial Rayneau quarry operation at nearby Richmond, where residents have long accused developers and regulators of cutting corners on environmental protections. Instead, he centered local fishing communities as the key stakeholder group that must be centered in all future project planning.

    During the question-and-answer portion of the meeting, North Leeward Preservation Front representative Jill Edwards pressed Murray on whether his team completed foundational baseline ecological surveys, including a full inventory of native plant species in the project area. Murray openly conceded that this work was outside the formal scope of his mandate, which prioritized analyzing the composition of the material to be extracted and potential downstream environmental impacts. Edwards countered that baseline biodiversity surveys are the foundational first step of any rigorous ESIA, describing a complete species inventory as basic industry protocol that cannot be omitted.

    Murray also addressed widespread public pushback over a contentious claim in the draft ESIA that no active agricultural cultivation was taking place in the Roseau Valley following the April 2021 eruption of the La Soufriere volcano. Local activists have refuted this claim with on-the-ground videos and first-hand testimony showing farmers continue to grow peppers and tomatoes in the area. Murray explained that the conclusion was drawn from testimony delivered by a local farmer at an earlier 70-person public consultation, where the farmer stated all producers had relocated from the area after the eruption, and no other attendees objected to that claim. Acknowledging that the finding may now be inaccurate, Murray emphasized that the ESIA is not a static, unchangeable document, and that the error would be corrected to reflect ongoing cultivation if new evidence confirms it.

    Critics have also charged that pre-construction site clearing began at Roseau before the ESIA was finalized, arguing this follows a pattern of breaking environmental protocols first seen at the Richmond quarry. Murray disputed this characterization, explaining that the local Physical Planning department routinely grants “approval in principle” for preliminary site work that enables surveyors to design project infrastructure, including access ramps and on-site facilities. He clarified that the limited clearing that took place was not unauthorized random tree felling, but the creation of access paths required to complete detailed site surveys, and that full formal approval from planners, followed by official gazettement, will not be granted until the final ESIA is submitted and reviewed.

    The meeting also saw tensions flare over public access to the full ESIA document and associated environmental management plans. Local activist Lennox Lampinan argued that all project-related assessments, permits, meeting minutes and approvals should be made public to ensure accountability. Murray stated he supports greater transparency in principle, but noted that under prevailing regulatory practice across the Caribbean, the completed ESIA is the intellectual property of the client that paid for the work – in this case, BRAGSA – rather than the consulting expert. He explained that it falls to the local planning authority, not the consultant, to determine when and how the public can access the document, typically after it has been referenced in the official Government Gazette, pointing to a recent hotel development project he worked on in Grenada where public access required a $800 administrative fee paid to the planning department.

    Throughout the meeting, Murray walked a careful line between acknowledging widespread community frustration with past environmental mismanagement, particularly around the Richmond quarry, which many residents label an environmental disaster, and defending the rigor of his team’s work on the Roseau project. He praised activists for their passion and focus on collaborative monitoring of the project, but warned against allowing political or personal interests to distort factual debate around environmental risks, noting that weaponized environmental rhetoric has long divided communities in developing nations and enabled unchecked exploitation of natural resources by bad actors.

    Calling for a collaborative path forward, Murray drew on his decades of regional marine management experience, including a 2001 planning project with the Soufriere Marine Management Authority in Saint Lucia, where a multi-stakeholder co-management model brought fishers, tourism operators and other users together to develop a shared plan for the Pitons management area that allowed all groups to benefit from local marine resources. He advocated for applying this same model to Roseau Bay, arguing that the island’s small size means it cannot close the bay entirely to either extraction or fishing, and that a structured partnership between developers, fishers and other local users is the only way to fairly balance competing interests, accurately measure actual losses to fishing livelihoods, and design targeted mitigation measures rather than relying on one-size-fits-all compensation schemes.

    In closing, Murray reaffirmed that the draft ESIA will be updated to address confirmed gaps and errors, and that long-term accountability will require building a formal co-management framework with local stakeholders, alongside ongoing work to reform existing laws to improve public access to environmental documentation and strengthen project oversight.

  • STATEMENT: OECS World Oceans Day 2026 – Reimagining the future of the OECS through the Blue Economy

    STATEMENT: OECS World Oceans Day 2026 – Reimagining the future of the OECS through the Blue Economy

    Each June, World Oceans Day sparks global dialogue centered on protecting coastal ecosystems, organizing community beach cleanups, and safeguarding vulnerable marine species from extinction. But for the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that make up the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the ocean is far more than a scenic natural treasure to be conserved from a distance—it is the very foundation of community survival, cultural identity, and collective future.

    Home to more than 1.4 million people spread across 10 Eastern Caribbean nations and territories, the OECS region is defined by its deep, inseparable connection to the sea. Every aspect of daily life, cultural tradition, and long-term planning is rooted in ocean resources. Yet today, this interconnected marine way of life faces unprecedented threats: marine pollution, irreversible habitat degradation, and overexploitation of fish stocks, all amplified by the accelerating impacts of climate change. These stressors are rapidly eroding the healthy marine ecosystems that the region depends on for survival. To secure a viable future, the OECS argues, global and local communities must abandon short-sighted, destructive development models and consumer patterns, and reframe their relationship with the ocean around intentional, sustainable stewardship.

    Backed by World Bank funding through the Unleashing the Blue Economy of the Caribbean (UBEC) project series, the OECS has developed and begun rolling out a coordinated set of updated regional policies and targeted financial investments designed to build a blue economy that is resilient, equitable, and broadly prosperous. The initiative is organized around three core priority sectors that underpin the region’s ocean-dependent livelihoods: sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, low-impact marine and coastal tourism, and systemic waste management.

    In the fisheries and aquaculture sector, UBEC has supported the creation of the OECS Fisheries Strategic Action Plan for 2025–2030. This new framework directly tackles the long-standing structural challenges that have plagued the region’s fishing industry, including chronic underfunding for fisheries management agencies, insufficient monitoring and enforcement of fishing boundaries, and restrictive access barriers for small-scale independent fishers. The plan builds on a comprehensive analysis of the drivers of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing completed by the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), ensuring solutions are rooted in on-the-ground data.

    For marine and coastal tourism—an industry that forms the backbone of most OECS national economies— the initiative led to a full update of the original 2011 OECS Common Tourism Policy, resulting in the revised 2025–2035 framework that was formally approved by the OECS Council of Tourism Ministers in early 2025. The updated policy reaffirms the region’s collective commitment to growing a collaborative, sustainable tourism sector that directly improves quality of life and livelihoods for all OECS residents. As one of the most tourism-dependent regions in the world, protecting coastlines and critical marine habitats is not just an environmental goal for the OECS—it is an economic necessity. For decades, unregulated coastal construction and overuse of popular beach and reef sites have degraded the very natural attractions that draw visitors to the region, threatening the long-term viability of the industry. The new policy directly addresses this cycle of degradation.

    When it comes to waste management, regional leaders recognize that no reimagined ocean future is possible without tackling the land-based pollution that is killing marine wildlife, degrading coral reefs, and destroying critical seagrass habitats. As part of UBEC, the OECS completed a comprehensive assessment of commercial opportunities in the waste sector to support the development of an integrated regional waste management system. By developing actionable business models and identifying profitable commercial applications for green waste, plastic waste, end-of-life vehicles, and discarded tyres, the region is working to transition to a circular economy that intercepts land-based pollution before it can reach coastal waters and marine ecosystems.

    OECS leaders emphasize that effective policy is only as impactful as its on-the-ground implementation. To that end, all of these policy-focused interventions are paired with direct support for OECS citizens working in the blue economy, with a specific focus on empowering Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Across the three pilot countries, targeted matching grants, hands-on technical training, and expanded access to affordable financing are enabling local entrepreneurs to adopt more sustainable business practices. Whether supporting a small-scale fisher to invest in climate-smart fishing gear, helping a local tour operator transition to low-impact ecotourism operations, or scaling a waste-to-value recycling business, the UBEC project is building a sustainable regional blue economy from the ground up, centered on local communities.

    This World Oceans Day, the OECS Commission is calling on global and regional stakeholders to join in a collective reimagining of humanity’s relationship with the ocean, rejecting the outdated false choice between economic survival and environmental conservation. The long-term success and stability of the region’s fisheries, marine tourism, and pollution mitigation systems are deeply interconnected, making coordinated cross-sector management an essential requirement for progress. Embracing this new, integrated approach requires a sustained commitment to expanding and effectively managing strong marine protected areas to build a resilient blue planet, ensuring these shared waters remain productive, resilient, and thriving for future generations. For the OECS, true progress depends on recognizing a simple truth: the sea does not divide the Eastern Caribbean islands—it binds them together, unlocking shared potential for all who call the region home.

  • Sargassum Surge Pushes Belize Toward Crisis

    Sargassum Surge Pushes Belize Toward Crisis

    As calendar pages turn to June 2026, the small Central American nation of Belize is facing an escalating environmental emergency that threatens its most vital economic sector: a massive, unrelenting surge of sargassum seaweed is piling up along its Caribbean coastlines at a rate that far outpaces local cleanup capacity, pushing the country toward its highest Red Phase crisis alert.

    Thick mats of the brown algae are rapidly smothering Belize’s postcard-perfect beaches, destroying critical marine habitats that support coral reefs and local fisheries, and delivering a sharp blow to the tourism industry that anchors the nation’s economy. In the popular tourist hub of San Pedro, municipal crews have already ramped up their response — expanding team sizes, deploying heavier equipment to clear shorelines, and establishing temporary composting sites to store collected seaweed. Even with these stepped-up efforts, however, the influx of sargassum continues to outstrip the municipality’s ability to keep up.

    Local authorities are now working urgently alongside regional conservation partners to identify permanent, safe long-term dumping grounds and develop more sustainable, long-term solutions to the recurring problem. As conditions worsen by the week, public and political pressure is growing to implement a more coordinated, large-scale response to the crisis. Many on the front lines admit that some days, the battle against the endless seaweed surge feels unwinnable.

    Anthony Mahler, Belize’s Minister of Tourism, emphasized that the sargassum crisis is a regional problem that demands a regional, science-backed collective response — a level of coordination that has not yet materialized. Scientists have traced the massive sargassum blooms to nutrient runoff from the Amazon basin, which fuels growth that accumulates in the Sargasso Sea before drifting south to Caribbean coasts. Mahler noted that neighboring Mexico, which currently is absorbing the brunt of a larger sargassum drift, has struggled to contain the blooms even with a far larger national budget and active support from the Mexican Coast Guard. “You can’t operate 24 hours a day in that harsh coastal environment,” Mahler explained. “By the time crews start work the next morning, another full boatload of sargassum has washed ashore.”

    Valentine Rosado, science advisor for the San Pedro Town Council, explained that local teams are using atmospheric and oceanographic data — including wind patterns, weather forecasts, and tide levels — to predict where sargassum accumulations will be heaviest, allowing crews to reallocate resources strategically. Currently, the municipal government focuses its limited resources on a one-mile stretch of shoreline in central San Pedro, while private property owners, resorts, and local businesses are expected to handle cleanup on their own stretches of coast. Rosado pointed out that this fragmented approach is failing: only a small fraction of private property owners invest in regular cleanup, leaving massive accumulations that continue to spread to maintained areas. Many of the private operators that do participate are growing discouraged, reporting damaged equipment, costly cleanup bills, and negative health impacts for their staff from exposure to rotting seaweed.

    To better communicate the severity of the situation and call for outside support, Belize has adopted a color-coded stoplight alert system, which signals when local cleanup crews have reached full capacity and require additional regional or international assistance. Officials stress that what was once a seasonal problem has now become a year-round challenge, requiring steadily growing financial and human resources that the small nation cannot supply on its own.

  • Red Alert: Belize Heads into Worst Sargassum Phase Yet

    Red Alert: Belize Heads into Worst Sargassum Phase Yet

    A state of emergency has been declared over the massive sargassum inundation hitting Belize, with officials warning the country is bracing for the most damaging algal bloom event in its history. Even as coastal communities and local authorities mobilize every available resource to clear the impacted shorelines, projections indicate the crisis is set to worsen in the coming days.

    The San Pedro Town Council officially issued the red alert in a public statement released this Monday, laying out a comprehensive multi-pronged response strategy currently underway. Cleanup teams have been working extended 12-hour shifts, deploying heavy machinery including tractors and dump trucks alongside upgraded specialized equipment to clear rotting algal mats off public beaches. The municipality has also expanded its cleanup workforce to handle the increased volume, and has begun establishing temporary composting sites as part of efforts to reclaim impacted sand areas.

    Local officials are currently negotiating with private landowners to secure permanent long-term deposition sites for the collected sargassum, a critical piece of infrastructure needed to manage the ongoing inflow of algae. The council confirmed it is also actively lobbying national government bodies for additional financial and logistical support to scale up the response.

    Speaking last Thursday at a meeting of the cabinet’s sargassum subcommittee, Belize Tourism Minister Anthony Mahler openly addressed the gaps in regional coordination that have left countries ill-prepared to tackle the growing transboundary crisis. “I don’t think we as a region have taken this problem seriously enough,” Mahler said. “We have not collaborated collectively, backed by scientific research, to develop long-term strategies to address this issue.”

    Mahler pointed to the ongoing massive sargassum outbreak currently overwhelming neighboring Mexico to illustrate the sheer scale of the threat facing the entire Caribbean region. “We got lucky over the past month,” he explained. “Most of the migrating algal masses drifted north to Mexico, and they are taking the full brunt of the crisis right now. Even with a far larger cleanup budget, active Coast Guard support, and a fully mobilized response, Mexico still cannot keep up with the inflow.”

    Despite Belize’s unprecedented mobilization of resources, including a steadily increasing cleanup budget allocated specifically to addressing the persistent thick algal mats washing ashore daily, Mahler noted the problem shows no sign of slowing. “It just keeps coming,” he said. “By the time crews finish clearing beaches at the end of one day, another full boatload of sargassum will wash up overnight, ready to be cleared again the next morning.”

  • Docalsa says environmental project focuses on restoration, not mining

    Docalsa says environmental project focuses on restoration, not mining

    In Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Dominicana de Cales S.A. (Docalsa) has moved to publicly defend its ongoing environmental restoration initiative targeting lands degraded by historical mining activity, pushing back against growing public speculation that the project secretly opens the door to new mineral extraction.

    The company has clarified that the entire 86,000-plus square-meter project is focused exclusively on healing damaged ecosystems rather than commercial mining. Core work includes stabilizing unstable eroded terrain, reintroducing native plant life, and reversing long-term ecological damage left by past mining operations. A key centerpiece of the plan is the installation of more than 50,000 new trees, which will help restore natural carbon sequestration, prevent further soil erosion, and rebalance the local ecosystem.

    Docalsa emphasized that the full project design underwent rigorous review by the Dominican Ministry of Environment before receiving formal approval, with all permitted activities strictly limited to remediation work. The firm also addressed geographic concerns, confirming that all operational sites lie outside the government-designated protected core zone and protected buffer zone network. Any limited activity that falls within authorized buffer areas is directly tied to the restoration mandate, the company added.

    One of the most prominent points of public contention has been the potential risk the project poses to the nearby Tandem Cave, a regionally significant natural site. In response, Docalsa explained that the entire project was engineered using evidence-based technical standards specifically crafted to protect the cave and its surrounding natural resources. Critically, no explosives are being used during construction, and all work progresses under constant direct supervision from environmental regulatory bodies.

    Another widespread concern has centered on the risk of water contamination from project activities. Docalsa countered these worries by noting that no permanent rivers flow through the project’s intervention area, and all site work uses dry processing techniques that produce no toxic wastewater that would require discharge into local water systems. The only water used on site is for irrigation of newly planted saplings as part of the reforestation effort, the firm confirmed.

    In closing, Docalsa reaffirmed that every aspect of its restoration work adheres to the nation’s strict environmental regulatory frameworks, with ongoing oversight from relevant government agencies to ensure full compliance at every stage of the project.

  • Environment Ministry reports progress in protecting oceans and coasts

    Environment Ministry reports progress in protecting oceans and coasts

    To mark the annual World Oceans Day, the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has showcased the nation’s significant strides in marine conservation and coastal ecosystem protection through a series of public and expert-focused events. The commemorative activities, which included a hands-on community beach cleanup initiative and a high-level expert panel centered on sustainable ocean governance, brought together government stakeholders, private sector partners, and environmental advocates to push forward the country’s ocean protection agenda.

    Organized by the Vice Ministry of Coastal and Marine Resources in collaboration with Ecopetróleo Dominicana, the coastal cleanup effort was hosted at the historic Fort San Gil site. Operating under the unifying theme “Together for Cleaner Oceans”, the event drew teams of government staff and representatives from allied environmental organizations, who worked to clear accumulated waste from vulnerable coastal shorelines. Beyond the physical removal of pollution, the initiative served a broader public education purpose: it aimed to heighten community awareness of the growing threat of marine plastic and industrial waste, and motivate sustained public engagement in local marine ecosystem stewardship.

    Alongside the on-the-ground cleanup, the Ministry convened a dedicated expert panel titled “Advances in Marine Conservation in the Dominican Republic”. During the discussion, leading marine scientists and environmental policymakers reviewed key milestones achieved across multiple core areas of ocean protection: from the expansion and improved management of marine protected areas to targeted species conservation programs, expanded systematic scientific monitoring of coastal and marine habitats, and ongoing work to boost the ability of vulnerable coastal ecosystems to withstand the impacts of climate change.

    Panel speakers emphasized that all current progress under the Dominican Republic’s national marine conservation framework is aligned with the country’s international commitments to global sustainability and biodiversity preservation targets. Among the standout success stories highlighted during the event were long-running marine turtle conservation initiatives, expanded collaborative scientific research programs, and the high-profile successful reintroduction of a rescued manatee, nicknamed “Juan Pedro”, back into its natural wild habitat.

    Closing out the day’s activities, senior government authorities reaffirmed the Dominican Republic’s unwavering commitment to long-term protection of the nation’s ocean and coastal resources. Officials underscored that healthy marine ecosystems are foundational to the country’s success: supporting critical biodiversity, driving the vital tourism sector, underpinning national food security, and strengthening the nation’s overall climate resilience in the face of accelerating global environmental change.

  • SPECTO: Early closure of turtle watching tours for 2026 Season

    SPECTO: Early closure of turtle watching tours for 2026 Season

    The St Patrick Environmental and Community Tourism Organisation (SPECTO), a Grenada-based group focused on leatherback turtle conservation and responsible ecotourism, has announced an immediate, early end to all remaining turtle watching tours for the 2026 leatherback nesting season, marking the second straight year the organization has been forced to take this step.

    The difficult decision comes after weeks of sharply declining observations of nesting female leatherbacks on Grenada’s Levera Beach, one of the Caribbean’s key nesting sites for the vulnerable marine species. While SPECTO has always noted that wild turtle encounters cannot be guaranteed in its nature-focused tours, the ongoing sharp drop in nesting activity left the organization unable to deliver the consistent, high-quality visitor experience that tourists have come to expect from its programming.

    SPECTO leadership confirmed that the repeated early closure has raised serious alarm, as the organization’s core mission centers on protecting leatherback turtle populations and advancing community-centered sustainable tourism. Preliminary observations from regional partners have added further context to the concerning trend: similar dramatic declines in nesting activity have already been recorded in Trinidad, which hosts one of the largest and most significant leatherback nesting colonies in the entire Caribbean region. This cross-border pattern suggests that the drop in nesting numbers is not an isolated issue limited to Grenada, but may stem from broader regional or global ecological and environmental shifts impacting the entire species.

    Moving forward, SPECTO has announced it will collaborate closely with local government agencies, independent marine researchers, international conservation groups, and regional ecological partners to collect comprehensive data on the decline and identify its root causes. The organization aims to contribute to a robust, evidence-based understanding of the threats facing leatherback turtle populations, and to help develop targeted conservation actions that can support the species’ long-term survival.

    In a public notice, SPECTO also reiterated longstanding protections for Levera Beach during the annual nesting season, which runs from April through August. Under Grenada’s 2010 Statutory Rules and Orders No. 15 and the national Fisheries Act, the beach remains a restricted protected area throughout the nesting period. Unauthorized entry is strictly prohibited, as limiting human disturbance is critical to protecting nesting females, newly hatched turtle hatchlings, and the fragile coastal dune habitat that leatherbacks depend on for successful reproduction.

    The organization closed its announcement by extending sincere gratitude to all tourists, volunteer stewards, local community members, and institutional partners that supported the 2026 tour season. SPECTO noted that participation in its regulated ecotours delivers multiple benefits beyond direct conservation action, supporting local livelihoods and expanding public awareness of marine environmental issues across Grenada.

  • COMMENTARY: Reimagine beyond the world we know

    COMMENTARY: Reimagine beyond the world we know

    For billions of people around the world, the ocean feels like a distant, disconnected entity—an endless expanse separate from everyday routines, too often taken for granted. But this long-held narrative could not be further from the truth. The ocean is woven into every corner of human existence: it fills the air we breathe, feeds billions, and regulates the climate that makes life on Earth possible. Each year on June 8, the United Nations’ World Ocean Day brings millions of advocates across more than 180 countries together to shine a spotlight on the ocean’s irreplaceable role in sustaining global life and drive collective action to protect fragile marine ecosystems.

    Covering more than 70% of Earth’s surface, the ocean is the planet’s primary life support system. It generates at least 50% of the world’s oxygen, hosts 80% of all global biodiversity, and serves as the main source of protein for more than one billion people. Beyond supporting natural ecosystems, the ocean is a foundational pillar of the global economy: projections estimate that ocean-based industries will employ 40 million people worldwide by 2030, acting as a critical source of livelihood for coastal communities across the globe.

    Yet decades of overexploitation have pushed marine ecosystems to a breaking point. Today, 90% of global large fish populations have been depleted, and half of the world’s coral reefs—one of the most biodiverse habitats on the planet—have already been destroyed. We have extracted far more from the ocean than it can replenish, creating an unsustainable imbalance that threatens both marine life and human survival.

    Against this urgent backdrop, the 2026 theme for World Ocean Day, “Reimagine”, calls on people, governments, and global institutions to fundamentally reshape how we interact with and protect our blue planet. This shift toward renewed stewardship comes as the United Nations marks a historic milestone in global ocean governance: the entry into force of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, the world’s most groundbreaking regulatory framework for high seas conservation to date.

    This legally binding UN treaty governs the two-thirds of the world’s ocean that lie outside national borders, known as the high seas, and the international seabed. It establishes new, science-backed rules for marine resource management, the creation of protected marine areas, and mandatory environmental impact assessments for commercial activities in international waters. Designed to ensure the high seas are managed collectively for the benefit of all humanity, the BBNJ Agreement is also the first legally binding ocean instrument to center inclusive governance, with explicit provisions mandating the engagement of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, as well as requirements for gender balance in decision-making. It strengthens the existing international legal framework built on the 1994 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, often called the “constitution for the oceans”, which has guided global maritime rules for three decades.

    Beyond global policy, the article highlights a critical, often overlooked dimension of ocean conservation: its deeply gendered landscape. Across the world, women make up roughly half of the global workforce in informal nearshore harvesting, fish processing, and aquaculture, even as men dominate commercial offshore fishing. Yet their contributions to marine stewardship are frequently marginalized. Traditional gender roles that assign women primary responsibility for household food security and water management in coastal communities also mean they bear the brunt of ocean degradation and climate change-driven disruptions to marine ecosystems. Even in academic and leadership spaces, women remain underrepresented: while many pursue advanced degrees in marine biology, they make up a small minority of senior researchers, lead principal investigators, authors in top peer-reviewed journals, and high-level fisheries policy decision-makers. This exclusion weakens global conservation efforts, erasing the on-the-ground expertise of half of the marine workforce.

    One of the most pressing emerging threats to ocean health today is deep-sea mining, a destructive industrial practice driven by excess demand from Global North economies that is pushing oceans closer to collapse. The practice involves extracting rare minerals—including manganese, nickel, and cobalt—that have formed into potato-sized deposits on the deep seabed over millions of years. Gigantic mining machines heavier than blue whales scrape these deposits from the seafloor, thousands of meters below the ocean surface, before pumping the material up to surface vessels and dumping mining waste, including sediment, sand, and excess rock, back into the water column. This practice destroys irreplaceable deep-sea ecosystems and disproportionately harms vulnerable coastal communities in the Global South, who face the worst impacts of ecological damage despite contributing the least to overexploitation.

    Regulation of deep-sea mining falls to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), established in 1994 under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica, which governs all commercial activity on the international seabed.

    As the world marks World Ocean Day 2026, the call to reimagine our relationship with the ocean demands action at every level—from individual behavior to national policy and global cooperation. Individuals can step into active stewardship by joining local coastal cleanups, supporting grassroots ocean conservation organizations, and reducing single-use plastic consumption that clogs marine ecosystems. For global leaders and governments, the priority must be to halt the expansion of destructive industries, including restricting new deep-sea mining licenses that put already vulnerable ecosystems at irreversible risk.

    This World Ocean Day, it is time to move beyond the narrative of the ocean as an infinite resource for extraction and unite the global community around a new vision: one of sustainable, inclusive stewardship that restores the ocean’s vibrancy and secures its benefits for generations to come. Happy World Ocean Day.