Environmentalists decry destruction of Canash Mangrove
THE EXCAVATION WORK along the Canash Bay that has destroyed a stand of mangrove, has evoked reaction from local environmentalists who have made their positions public on social media and on radio.
“Every week, we, the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines, face a sad environment and social news. Our people are on a rampage, destroying our ecosystem and biodiversity, i.e. a) cutting down/clearing part of the Kings Hill Forest Reserve to expand their properties, b) secretly selling the Chatham Bay Dry Forest in Union Island to foreigners, and c) destroying the mangrove swamp at Canash and Brighton Salt Pond,” wrote Environmentalist Dr. Andrew Simmons in a Facebook post.
“ According to the laws of St Vincent and the Grenadines, mangroves and other resources are public goods. Whether mangroves are located in private or public space, the government is always responsible for their management,” he added.
Simmons expressed being shocked “by the level of destruction” he saw when earlier this week, he visited the mangrove at Canash where heavy industrial machines were destroying the area. He commented that from a government advert it seemed the Canash mangrove was part of a government-spearheaded rehabilitation project that was funded by 5C and the German government.
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