VI Standpoint.com: CGB residents move to preserve beach

CGB residents move to preserve beach
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 on 15/09/2010 17:42:12

Bishop John Cline returned to live in the Virgin Islands 21 years ago to find
his home town community of Cane Garden Bay with its pristine beach front almost
the same way he had left it. About eight years ago, though, Bishop Cline said he
started to see a change for the worse.

“I began to see the constant degradation of the quality of the beach,”
Bishop Cline stated. Cane Garden Bay beach is a large part of the Virgin
Islands’ tourism package, offering a hot spot for mostly cruise tourists and
the charter yacht industry.
Like Bishop Cline, residents and business owners in the community are mindful
that a polluted beach with poor amenities might scare away tourists, which will
negatively impact more than two dozen medium and small scale businesses. These
concerns spurred a community meeting last Thursday evening at the Cane Garden
Bay Community centre where residents started the process of lobbying the help of
relevant authorities in developing long and short term plans to stop pollution
of the community’s beach and waterways.
Not the first time
This is not the first time residents have moved to arrest the situation at the
beach. Bishop Cline told residents that eight years ago he took District
Representative, Alvin Christopher, to the beach to show him the regression, but
nothing has been done to address the problem since then.
“We have dropped the ball. I am in much dismay as to how our beach looks. The
water is beginning to look like a pond- murky. The water is beginning to lose
that crystal clear look,” Bishop Cline stated.
Most of the beach pollution is caused by sediment that comes when runoff water
gushes to the sea from surrounding hillsides. Years ago, about four ponds
collected runoff water, storing it before it slowly trickled its way to the sea.
Today, three of those ponds have been filled up. The only surviving pond is
located at the bottom of Ross Hill, but the drainage infrastructure to take the
water off the hill and to the pond is inadequate.
Shannon Gore is a Cane Garden Bay resident who sees the beach degradation
firsthand. Gore’s work at the Conservation and Fisheries Department has taken
her to many beaches, including Cane garden Bay. When Gore was asked to give a
presentation at last Thursday’s meeting, she accepted. She told residents of
the need to balance the economical, environmental and socio-cultural needs of
the community. Gore noted the 2003 incident where a large amount of sediment was
washed into the sea. In her study of the sand quality at various beaches, Gore
found that the sand at Cane Garden Bay was the worst quality. Gore still has a
test tube with the blackish residue left behind by the Cane Garden Bay sand
after the completion of her experiment. Gore also found that in Cane Garden Bay,
coral reefs have diminished and the fish population has depleted.
Sewerage from yachts
Gore pointed out that there is significant pollution from yachts which utilize
Cane Garden Bay. Some of the yachts dump raw sewerage directly into the water.
This situation, she said, is allowed to continue because of the absence of
proper legislation. She noted that most times the sewerage sits on the water top
and drifts ashore. Asked about the bacteria level in Cane Garden Bay, Gore said
it was extremely high, noting that if the bacterial level is safe for the coral,
then it is probably safe for the human skin; however, diminishing coral reef is
a good indication of the dangerous levels of bacteria in the water. Gore also
noted that charter yacht companies provide holding tanks for the raw sewerage,
but in some cases, the holding tanks are closed. This leaves yachters with
little choice, but to dump directly into the sea. Bishop Cline said the dumping
of sewerage is ‘allowed’.
“Nowhere else in the world where people are allowed to take a dump, walk away
and leave it…,” Bishop Cline stated.
More recommendations
Gore outlined that residents must develop emergency plans for beachside
properties. They must reconsider reopening the filled-in ponds in the community
so that the rain water that flows from hill tops will be stored.
“When it rains, all that water that brings with it sedimentation, has nowhere
to go except the sea where we invite tourists to come and visit,” Gore pointed
out.
Gore recommended that residents examine the development of a ‘social beach
carrying capacity’, which will seek to address the issue of over-crowding
during the tourist season. She also encouraged the development of zoning areas
and ‘green spaces’ – places where tourists can go.
“The beach should not be the only location where visitors can come and enjoy.
You might want to look at developing ruins in the community and improve the
overall experience for visitors,” Gore stated. She also urged residents to
look at the removal of derelict vehicles from properties.
In improving the beach, Gore said that the community can implement a beach
policy that can be formulated at the community level or at the Government level.
The policy and achievements should be visibly displayed. She said that while the
community awaits a Government policy, they should look at developing their own
with full participation of all the residents so that everyone will know what has
to be done. For instance, she noted that a special location for dinghies is one
way to bring order to the beach.
The policy will also seek to improve signage, communications and lifeguard
services. In improving safety at the beach, Gore recommended that lifeguards
utilize tall chairs so that they could overlook the beach during peak times.
Gore also told the community that they should be mindful of websites such as
‘Trip Advisor’, where a tourist had lamented the lack of proper public
phones in Cane Garden Bay.
The meeting was called by several residents, including Pastor Claude
Skelton-Cline. The Cane Barden Bay Community Development Association has been
playing an integral role in the effort to improve the beach.