This story came on a Caribbean mail server. The author specifically asks that it be distributed as widely as possible.
Cheers
Niels
Dear All
Below is a press release going out today related to a critical development threat (the sale of a national park to hotel developers) that will have a huge impact on the Grenada Dove. I would be interested in any feedback from you on:
1. Precedents for such actions by a government (the national Park was established specifically for the Grenada Dove - the national bird - yet still it is being sold)
2. Possible courses of action BirdLife can take to exert pressure on the Grenada government.
If you are able to get this story into the media in your countries, please do so.
With thanks and seasons best wishes, David
*****************************************
Embargoed until 00:01 hours, Tuesday December 19th 2006
Government of Grenada sells off National Park for Four Seasons resort
A 'high-end luxury resort' threatens one of the last remaining refuges for the Grenada Dove, a Critically Endangered species with a global population of just 180 birds. In an unprecedented move the Government of Grenada looks set to sell the whole of the Mount Hartman National Park to make space for a Four Seasons Resort, on the basis of its biodiverse location and "sea-view". [1]
The Mount Hartman National Park - also called 'The Dove Sanctuary' - in the south-west of Grenada, supports at least 22% of the global population of the Grenada Dove - equating to just 20 pairs. With such a low population in just a few remnant patches of forest, Grenada Dove is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the near future. [2] [3]
The Sanctuary was created 10 years ago, in order to mitigate for habitat removal elsewhere on the island, partly from development. This year saw the opening of a visitor centre to mark the educational value of the park for tourists and local people. [4] But now the proposed hotel project, supported by the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts group, plans a 150 room hotel, 300 luxury villas as well as a golf course, marina and conference centre. Dove Sanctuary was chosen on the basis of its natural surroundings, a rare commodity in Grenada today, and the unimpeded sea-views that abound throughout it.
Dove Sanctuary has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) for the Grenada Dove and for eleven other species that occur only on Grenada or in the Caribbean region like Antillean Crested Hummingbird Orthohyncus cristatus and Grenada Flycatcher Myiarchus nugatory. [5]
Of the proposed development David Wege, Caribbean Programme Manager at BirdLife International said: "There is more at stake here than just the removal of crucial habitat. The dwindling Grenada Dove population will suffer further from increased isolation, from human disturbance, from non-native animals and with the planting of non-native 'aesthetic' vegetation. Such a development in the heart of the Grenada Dove's largest and most well-protected strongholds might lead to the eventual extinction of this species." [6]
The news represents a complete turn-around in the Government of Grenada's policy regarding the island's unique biodiversity. In March of this year, Senator the Hon. Ann David Antoine, Minister of Health, Social Security, the Environment and Ecclesiastical Affairs in Grenada, spoke confidently to an audience of the Global Island Partnership saying: "Our region recognises the importance of conservation" and that "We aim to act responsibly as stewards of unique island biodiversity". [7]
However, on the basis of the recent news, conservationists based in the region and internationally are outraged and remain wholly unconvinced:
Respected authors, Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson, Honorary Patrons of BirdLife's Rare Bird Club, have notably lent their support to the protest: [8]
"There's a terrible irony in the Government's willingness to critically compromise the continued existence of the Grenada Dove - which as the island's National Bird is a symbol of the country's distinctiveness and its culture - simply to provide sea-views to people from away. They should build somewhere else."
"For the Government to sell off one the island's most prized natural resources to make space for a high-end luxury development sets a clear message: the Government of Grenada has a complete disregard for environmental protection," said Wege.
ENDS
For further details and images, please contact:
Jules Howard, BirdLife International, Communications Officer. Tel: +44 (0)1223 279809, Mobile: +44 (0) 7971069098
Email: jules.howard 'at' birdlife.org <mailto:jules.howardv 'at' birdlife.org>
NOTES:
1. The Mount Hartman National Park was established by the Government of Grenada in 1996 to ensure the protection of the endemic Grenada Dove in one of the key habitats for the bird on the island.
2. Grenada Dove is listed by BirdLife International, the official Red List Authority for birds for the IUCN Red List, as Critically Endangered. As such it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
3. For an up-to-date species account of the Grenada Dove, its population and distributions; visit the BirdLife World Bird Database: 'www.birdlife.org/datazone'
4. The Mt. Hartman Visitor Center was reopened in March 2006 after being completely destroyed by hurricane Ivan. The centre provides information on the importance of Grenada's dry forest ecosystems to visitors, both local and global.
5. The Mt. Hartman site is designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International due to the fact it holds significant numbers of one or more globally threatened species.
6. BirdLife International is a global alliance of conservation organisations working in more than 100 countries who, together, are the leading authority on the status of birds, their habitats and the issues and problems affecting them.
7. The speech by Senator the Hon. Ann David Antoine, Minister of Health, Social Security, the Environment and Ecclesiastical Affairs in Grenada was made at a meeting of Global Island Partners, a high level side event at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Curitiba, Brazil on March 28th 2006.
8. Margaret Atwood is a novelist, poet, literary critic and one of the world's best known - and best-selling - authors. She has written more than 40 books, including The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace, Cat's Eye and the Booker-Prize winning novel The Blind Assassin.
Graeme Gibson is one of Canada's foremost contemporary writers and editors and is the acclaimed author of Five Legs, Perpetual Motion and Gentleman Death. His most recent work is The Bedside Book of Birds: an Avian Miscellany (2005), "a wonderful collection of poetry and prose, folk tales and myths, which pay tribute to our feathered friends. . . ." (Mail on Sunday (UK)). It was hailed by Globe and Mail as "the most spectacular bird book of the year".
As joint Honorary Presidents, Atwood and Gibson represent BirdLife International's Rare Bird Club at the highest level, advising in the growth and development of the Rare Bird Club and engaging members in supporting programs for the benefit of bird conservation, BirdLife International and the Club members.
*******************************************
David C. Wege
Caribbean Program Manager/ Jefe, Programa del Caribe
Caribbean Program - Americas Secretariat
Programa del Caribe - Secretariado de las Américas
BirdLife International
Wellbrook Court, Girton Road
Cambridge CB3 0NA, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1223 277318
Fax: +44 (0)1223 277200
Email: david.wege 'at' birdlife.org <mailto:[email protected]>
Web: www.birdlife.org/regional/caribbean <http://www.birdlife.org/regional/caribbean>
Cheers
Niels
Dear All
Below is a press release going out today related to a critical development threat (the sale of a national park to hotel developers) that will have a huge impact on the Grenada Dove. I would be interested in any feedback from you on:
1. Precedents for such actions by a government (the national Park was established specifically for the Grenada Dove - the national bird - yet still it is being sold)
2. Possible courses of action BirdLife can take to exert pressure on the Grenada government.
If you are able to get this story into the media in your countries, please do so.
With thanks and seasons best wishes, David
*****************************************
Embargoed until 00:01 hours, Tuesday December 19th 2006
Government of Grenada sells off National Park for Four Seasons resort
A 'high-end luxury resort' threatens one of the last remaining refuges for the Grenada Dove, a Critically Endangered species with a global population of just 180 birds. In an unprecedented move the Government of Grenada looks set to sell the whole of the Mount Hartman National Park to make space for a Four Seasons Resort, on the basis of its biodiverse location and "sea-view". [1]
The Mount Hartman National Park - also called 'The Dove Sanctuary' - in the south-west of Grenada, supports at least 22% of the global population of the Grenada Dove - equating to just 20 pairs. With such a low population in just a few remnant patches of forest, Grenada Dove is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the near future. [2] [3]
The Sanctuary was created 10 years ago, in order to mitigate for habitat removal elsewhere on the island, partly from development. This year saw the opening of a visitor centre to mark the educational value of the park for tourists and local people. [4] But now the proposed hotel project, supported by the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts group, plans a 150 room hotel, 300 luxury villas as well as a golf course, marina and conference centre. Dove Sanctuary was chosen on the basis of its natural surroundings, a rare commodity in Grenada today, and the unimpeded sea-views that abound throughout it.
Dove Sanctuary has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) for the Grenada Dove and for eleven other species that occur only on Grenada or in the Caribbean region like Antillean Crested Hummingbird Orthohyncus cristatus and Grenada Flycatcher Myiarchus nugatory. [5]
Of the proposed development David Wege, Caribbean Programme Manager at BirdLife International said: "There is more at stake here than just the removal of crucial habitat. The dwindling Grenada Dove population will suffer further from increased isolation, from human disturbance, from non-native animals and with the planting of non-native 'aesthetic' vegetation. Such a development in the heart of the Grenada Dove's largest and most well-protected strongholds might lead to the eventual extinction of this species." [6]
The news represents a complete turn-around in the Government of Grenada's policy regarding the island's unique biodiversity. In March of this year, Senator the Hon. Ann David Antoine, Minister of Health, Social Security, the Environment and Ecclesiastical Affairs in Grenada, spoke confidently to an audience of the Global Island Partnership saying: "Our region recognises the importance of conservation" and that "We aim to act responsibly as stewards of unique island biodiversity". [7]
However, on the basis of the recent news, conservationists based in the region and internationally are outraged and remain wholly unconvinced:
Respected authors, Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson, Honorary Patrons of BirdLife's Rare Bird Club, have notably lent their support to the protest: [8]
"There's a terrible irony in the Government's willingness to critically compromise the continued existence of the Grenada Dove - which as the island's National Bird is a symbol of the country's distinctiveness and its culture - simply to provide sea-views to people from away. They should build somewhere else."
"For the Government to sell off one the island's most prized natural resources to make space for a high-end luxury development sets a clear message: the Government of Grenada has a complete disregard for environmental protection," said Wege.
ENDS
For further details and images, please contact:
Jules Howard, BirdLife International, Communications Officer. Tel: +44 (0)1223 279809, Mobile: +44 (0) 7971069098
Email: jules.howard 'at' birdlife.org <mailto:jules.howardv 'at' birdlife.org>
NOTES:
1. The Mount Hartman National Park was established by the Government of Grenada in 1996 to ensure the protection of the endemic Grenada Dove in one of the key habitats for the bird on the island.
2. Grenada Dove is listed by BirdLife International, the official Red List Authority for birds for the IUCN Red List, as Critically Endangered. As such it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
3. For an up-to-date species account of the Grenada Dove, its population and distributions; visit the BirdLife World Bird Database: 'www.birdlife.org/datazone'
4. The Mt. Hartman Visitor Center was reopened in March 2006 after being completely destroyed by hurricane Ivan. The centre provides information on the importance of Grenada's dry forest ecosystems to visitors, both local and global.
5. The Mt. Hartman site is designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International due to the fact it holds significant numbers of one or more globally threatened species.
6. BirdLife International is a global alliance of conservation organisations working in more than 100 countries who, together, are the leading authority on the status of birds, their habitats and the issues and problems affecting them.
7. The speech by Senator the Hon. Ann David Antoine, Minister of Health, Social Security, the Environment and Ecclesiastical Affairs in Grenada was made at a meeting of Global Island Partners, a high level side event at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Curitiba, Brazil on March 28th 2006.
8. Margaret Atwood is a novelist, poet, literary critic and one of the world's best known - and best-selling - authors. She has written more than 40 books, including The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace, Cat's Eye and the Booker-Prize winning novel The Blind Assassin.
Graeme Gibson is one of Canada's foremost contemporary writers and editors and is the acclaimed author of Five Legs, Perpetual Motion and Gentleman Death. His most recent work is The Bedside Book of Birds: an Avian Miscellany (2005), "a wonderful collection of poetry and prose, folk tales and myths, which pay tribute to our feathered friends. . . ." (Mail on Sunday (UK)). It was hailed by Globe and Mail as "the most spectacular bird book of the year".
As joint Honorary Presidents, Atwood and Gibson represent BirdLife International's Rare Bird Club at the highest level, advising in the growth and development of the Rare Bird Club and engaging members in supporting programs for the benefit of bird conservation, BirdLife International and the Club members.
*******************************************
David C. Wege
Caribbean Program Manager/ Jefe, Programa del Caribe
Caribbean Program - Americas Secretariat
Programa del Caribe - Secretariado de las Américas
BirdLife International
Wellbrook Court, Girton Road
Cambridge CB3 0NA, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1223 277318
Fax: +44 (0)1223 277200
Email: david.wege 'at' birdlife.org <mailto:[email protected]>
Web: www.birdlife.org/regional/caribbean <http://www.birdlife.org/regional/caribbean>