The United Progressive Party (UPP) has issued a scathing critique of the Dominican government’s environmental policies, challenging Tourism Minister Denise Charles-Pemberton’s recent assertions about environmental protection as a “central pillar” of government policy. Opposition figures Joshua Francis and Denise Charles characterize the minister’s statements as demonstrating a “troubling disconnect between rhetoric and reality” that requires immediate correction.
The UPP’s analysis presents a stark contrast to the government’s narrative, documenting widespread ecological degradation across the Commonwealth of Dominica. The party cites sediment-choked rivers, deteriorating coral reefs, compromised watersheds, indiscriminate forest clearing, and unprecedented assaults on marine ecosystems as evidence contradicting the government’s environmental claims.
Economic concerns feature prominently in the opposition’s critique, with the UPP arguing that sustainable economic opportunity cannot be built upon the ruins of the nation’s natural resource base. The statement highlights how farmers, fishermen, and tour guides—those whose livelihoods directly depend on healthy ecosystems—are witnessing the real-time destruction of their economic foundations through poorly managed development projects.
The government’s handling of specific projects comes under particular scrutiny. The UPP dismisses the Prime Minister’s intervention in the Deux Branches project as “reactive scramble masquerading as responsible governance,” emphasizing that proper environmental impact assessments and regulatory compliance should occur before construction begins, not midway through development after environmental alarms have been raised.
Similarly, the government’s monitoring claims regarding the Mariner development are questioned, with the UPP suggesting that genuine oversight would have prevented the current ecological damage. The party further challenges the government’s citation of the international airport and Cabrits Marina as examples of successful environmental management, noting that relevant assessment reports remain undisclosed to public scrutiny.
The opposition characterizes the current situation as “devastation wrapped in development language,” where ecosystems that evolved over millennia are being obliterated by foreign bulldozers within months. This systematic destruction of Dominica’s natural assets represents more than abstract environmental concerns—it constitutes the erosion of the nation’s most valuable and irreplaceable resources.
The UPP demands fundamental changes in governance approach, calling for transparent environmental review processes, public release of all assessment reports, adequate compensation for displaced persons, halting of environmentally non-compliant projects, and establishment of genuine regulatory oversight with enforcement capacity. The party concludes that Dominica’s identity as the “Nature Island” must transcend marketing slogans to become a tangible commitment reflected in every development decision, project approval, and regulatory action.
