During this Environment Month, we are pleased by some recent progress toward a greener Virgin Islands, but we caution that protecting the territory’s delicate ecology will take greater sustained effort over the long term.
Two relatively high-profile initiatives have been announced in recent weeks: The territory was declared a sanctuary for sharks and rays, and plans were unveiled to establish new protected areas on Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke.
We support both measures. Neither, however, will be maximally beneficial if not accompanied with comprehensive reform.
The proposed new reserves, which include the greater Baths on VG and extensive wetlands on Anegada, seem well chosen. They also appear to be in keeping with the BVI Protected Area Systems Plan 2007-2017.
Still, there is a long way to go. Seven years into the 10-year plan, most of the proposed reserves have not been established.
Moreover, we fear that protected status, though typically a permanent designation, is not always a guarantee of adequate protection in the VI. To be effective, protected areas must be properly patrolled, and rules must be enforced. Too often they are not. Additionally, effective management requires scientific study and long-term data that are often lacking.
We also support the government’s recent ban on commercial fishing for sharks and rays. In a territory where such fishing is not a mainstream industry, the ban makes sense, and the media buzz it has generated will doubtlessly benefit the tourism industry.
But we would caution that this one-off move will need to be complemented with broader improvements to fisheries management.
Here again, there is much to be done. Currently, the fishing industry is loosely regulated at best, and some penalties under the existing laws are too lax to be dissuasive. (At $1,000, the maximum fine for commercial shark fishing might well fall into this category.)
Meanwhile, a dearth of comprehensive fisheries data doubtlessly poses challenges for policymakers.
For the recent measures to be effective, then, broader environmental reforms are needed.
One way forward was recommended by the Law Reform Commission in 2008. In a report submitted to the Cabinet, the LRC stated that much of the territory’s environmental legislation is lacking, and it proposed various solutions.
The cornerstone of the LRC’s recommendations is an environmental management law that would establish a trust responsible for managing the territory’s natural resources. Unfortunately, this bill has not made it to the House of Assembly, in spite of promises made by successive governments since at least 2008.
We hope new legislation comes soon. It seems clear that protecting the environment necessitates coordinating, prioritising and streamlining the territory’s efforts across many different agencies and organisations.
The importance of this goal cannot be overstated. The 2007 Constitution, after all, guarantees residents’ right to a healthy, protected environment.
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