(CNS): As the Development Plan Appeals Tribunal begins hearing from people and groups that submitted comments, suggestions and ideas during the consolation process on the proposed draft national development plan local activists are calling for a preliminary, strategic environmental assessment to help fuel data driven, unbiased decisions. In a new social media campaign, Sustainable Cayman is pushing seven “short asks” in relation to this long-awaited but critical document.
The efforts to replace the outdated 1997 development plan have raised controversy not just because the plan is so late in coming but because there are broad concerns in the community that the entire plan is tipped towards development. The plan’s link to the government’s national energy and climate change policies is also being questioned given the less than transparent approach that has been taken in the preparation of the draft plan.
There are also concerns about the absence of a nation-wide stormwater management plan and a more joined up approach that takes into account the country’s wider needs from population to waste-management — much more than just zoning and regulations for construction.
But one of the worries many local environmental and conservation activists have is the failure of successive governments to make plans of any kind based on data. The concern now is that this critical document has also been drafted without the benefit of important, scientific, unbiased information and that it has not been informed by expert advice.
As a result Sustainable Cayman, the country’s leading advocacy group for the environment and the better management of the country’s natural resources, wants the government to take a much more evidence based approach to the plan that will have a significant influence on the future of these islands. The activists have released a seven-part series sharing the key recommendations that the non-profit has made to the Development Plan Appeals Tribunal which is currently hearing from various groups behind closed doors.
“Each short reel highlights one priority for unbiased, data-driven planning across all three islands,” explained Melanie Carmichael from the Executive Committee. “They cover environmental assessments, population capacity, wetlands protection, coastal access, housing design, and clear planning rules. The campaign’s goal is simple: ensure growth that protects people, place, and prosperity. Voices from our community call for planning that’s guided by evidence, resilience, and care for Cayman’s future.”
The social media campaign includes seven reels that set out the areas that Sustainable Cayman says are the most important for the government to consider or rethink before the draft plan becomes law and want the public to know what the concerns of activists are and to ask for their support and ensure that government doesn’t ignore the submissions.
These include ensuring that planning considers the population capacity that the islands can sustain, to introduce full legal protection for the central mangrove wetlands and to protect the public access to and enjoyment of the beach.
The reels are now playing across social media channels and all seven can be viewed on Youtube here.
