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The Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) condemns in the strongest possible terms what appears to be nothing less than catastrophic environmental damage unfolding in the Deux Branche area.
That a foreign construction company, together with the government technocrats responsible for oversight, can operate in such a brazen manner, is yet another indication that this government has systematically dismantled every guardrail meant to guide, restrain, and protect us from reckless state action.
Where is the alarm from the Environmental Health Department?
Where is the outrage from the Ministry of Forestry, Wildlife, and Parks?
Where is any institutional voice from a government elected to safeguard our land?
In the midst of this deafening silence, the DFP has no choice but to stand with the citizens in protest. Someone must defend the land we love before it is destroyed.
To date, the government’s response has been defensive posturing – insisting that “all the necessary environmental studies and assessments were done.” In other words, the government seems to believe that because someone wrote a report, it has fulfilled its duty. This is a textbook example of what the Freedom Party has repeatedly warned: this government does not care about outcomes. It cares about illusions – documents to wave around, narratives to control, perceptions to manipulate.
But which sensible person does not know that an environmental assessment means absolutely nothing if the recommended mitigation actions are ignored, or if the analysis clearly reveals that a project should not proceed because the ecological costs are too severe.
Further, in any functioning, rule-of-law society, a company behaving like this would face lawsuits so severe it might cease to operate. But here in Dominica, does this action of this company and its government backers suggest that we are too primitive or too backward a people to hold them accountable? That with government blessing they can simply run roughshod over our land and our dignity?
The Dominica Freedom Party, together with the citizens of this country, rejects that notion entirely.
We therefore call for immediate public release of the alleged environmental impact assessment (EIA) originally done. The public has a right to understand how this EIA failed to protect us.
Further, we call for an immediate halt to all open-pit mining operations in the Deux Branche area until an independent review of the ongoing environmental damage is undertaken. Another box-ticking exercise will not be accepted. Concrete action plans must follow – because even the least technical observer can see that the current operation is nothing short of an environmental catastrophe. And if the evidence confirms that this quarry is inflicting unacceptable environment and social costs, then this site must be immediately abandoned, repaired, and relocated in an acceptable location.
We simply must rid ourselves of the dangerous belief that means justifies end in Dominica. If we do not, we may arrive at destinations only to discover that we have destroyed our soul and our surroundings in the process. Building an international airport to attract eco-tourists – only to present them with silted rivers, stripped hillsides, and dying forests – is the height of cynicism and a tragic loss of perspective.
Let us commit to building our nation on the right principles – with respect for human dignity, for life, and for the natural environment that makes Dominica incomparable among nations.
Bernard Hurtault
Political Leader
The Dominica Freedom Party
The Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) condemns in the strongest possible terms what appears to be nothing less than catastrophic environmental damage unfolding in the Deux Branche area.
That a foreign construction company, together with the government technocrats responsible for oversight, can operate in such a brazen manner, is yet another indication that this government has systematically dismantled every guardrail meant to guide, restrain, and protect us from reckless state action.
Where is the alarm from the Environmental Health Department?
Where is the outrage from the Ministry of Forestry, Wildlife, and Parks?
Where is any institutional voice from a government elected to safeguard our land?
In the midst of this deafening silence, the DFP has no choice but to stand with the citizens in protest. Someone must defend the land we love before it is destroyed.
To date, the government’s response has been defensive posturing – insisting that “all the necessary environmental studies and assessments were done.” In other words, the government seems to believe that because someone wrote a report, it has fulfilled its duty. This is a textbook example of what the Freedom Party has repeatedly warned: this government does not care about outcomes. It cares about illusions – documents to wave around, narratives to control, perceptions to manipulate.
But which sensible person does not know that an environmental assessment means absolutely nothing if the recommended mitigation actions are ignored, or if the analysis clearly reveals that a project should not proceed because the ecological costs are too severe.
Further, in any functioning, rule-of-law society, a company behaving like this would face lawsuits so severe it might cease to operate. But here in Dominica, does this action of this company and its government backers suggest that we are too primitive or too backward a people to hold them accountable? That with government blessing they can simply run roughshod over our land and our dignity?
The Dominica Freedom Party, together with the citizens of this country, rejects that notion entirely.
We therefore call for immediate public release of the alleged environmental impact assessment (EIA) originally done. The public has a right to understand how this EIA failed to protect us.
Further, we call for an immediate halt to all open-pit mining operations in the Deux Branche area until an independent review of the ongoing environmental damage is undertaken. Another box-ticking exercise will not be accepted. Concrete action plans must follow – because even the least technical observer can see that the current operation is nothing short of an environmental catastrophe. And if the evidence confirms that this quarry is inflicting unacceptable environment and social costs, then this site must be immediately abandoned, repaired, and relocated in an acceptable location.
We simply must rid ourselves of the dangerous belief that means justifies end in Dominica. If we do not, we may arrive at destinations only to discover that we have destroyed our soul and our surroundings in the process. Building an international airport to attract eco-tourists – only to present them with silted rivers, stripped hillsides, and dying forests – is the height of cynicism and a tragic loss of perspective.
Let us commit to building our nation on the right principles – with respect for human dignity, for life, and for the natural environment that makes Dominica incomparable among nations.
Bernard Hurtault
Political Leader
The Dominica Freedom Party
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It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
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