VI has no political willpower to deal with silt pond issues– Bishop Cline
According to Mr Cline, over the years important aspects of the environment, like wetlands and ponds, have disappeared and this could bring negative impacts to the quality of water and marine biodiversity surrounding the VI.
Bishop Cline was at the time speaking during the July 3, 2024, edition of 'Eye on the Future of the Nation' on ZBVI 780 AM, alongside former legislator responsible for Natural Resources Dr Kedrick D. Pickering and co-host Mr Claude O. Skelton-Cline.
“There needs to be, a comprehensive look at what we do…. So we have to create wetlands in the back, they don't have to be as big, but it needs someplace for the water to settle and then the filter to the pond before they get to the sea,” he added.
Dr Pickering noted that one of the challenges is that the lands are privately owned and some landowners have chosen to fill the ponds to reclaim land.
Bishop Cline reminded that ponds in the VI are important to keeping the ocean clean for the Virgin Islands tourism product.
“And all I'm saying is if there's no political will for us to approach and have sensible discussions with the land owners that are there, the sea will look like the pond in the next 30 years,” he added.
Issue not a priority - Skelton-Cline
Meanwhile, Skelton-Cline added that the issues were never a priority across governments.
“What is clear is, 30 years later or 40 years later across political lines, across political government, there's clearly been nothing being done at the end of the day, that preserves Cane Garden Bay and or any vulnerable areas relative to the issue of ponds, land and when it is in private hands,” he said.
Skelton-Cline said whether there's been a lack of political will or some other issues, the net result is that the VI is still in the same condition.
Meanwhile, Dr Pickering, a former Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources, said the synopsis was not a fair one as former minister J. Alvin Christopher had done a lot in Cane Garden Bay, including addressing sewage issues.
“And he worked diligently to get that system put in place. You can argue all of the negatives about it, the technical shortfall, but something was done. So it's not fair to say nothing was said relative to the pond,” he said.
Meanwhile, Skelton-Cline added, “When it comes to the issue of the ponds in private hands, I'm saying across government… across NDP or VIP, they all have behaved the same way relative to this issue of ponds… we are still in the same place we were,” he said.
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18 Responses to “VI has no political willpower to deal with silt pond issues– Bishop Cline”
Thats how they work in this place.
The larger picture is all the more disturbing: the indiscriminate cutting of roads along steep hillsides and the environmental damage caused by cruise ships, are just two examples out of many.
and learned throughout the years, it should be illegal to fill any of them in. They are beautiful
and serve a natural purpose. No more filling in. Please and thank you.
This "Bishop" is now a self appointed carer of the environment? Both comments above are correct. 1. He built a temple to himself on land that used to important mangrove. 2. He is part of a mindset that DOES NOT care about these coastal ecosystems and never has. We need to protect them, that much is true, so points for saying that "Bishop". But we need to SERIOUSLY protect them. The salt points and mangroves and wetlands give us the ecosystem that not only attracts the tourists but gives us fish and even the air we breathe. And all the while we let people with money just push and into our coastline so they build new businesses and instead of mangroves that help all of us, they get to make money.
Government needs to prohibit this land fill golden goose gift that takes away from WE THE PEOPLE and puts our common inheritance in private bank accounts.
Among other benefits, they improve water quality by intercepting runoff, trapping sediments, pollutants, etc.. They also provide a habit for fish and wildlife, along with facilitating shoreline stabilization, storing floodwaters, etc.