Bahamian environmentalists oppose oil refinery plans
In The Bahamas, environmental activists are voicing vehement opposition to the plans for offshore oil exploration and the construction of an oil refinery on Grand Bahama. Tribune 242 reports: A host of environmental groups have formed an alliance to appeal to the government to reject moves for offshore drilling and to …
French government to take action to combat sargassum invasion
The government of France has pledged to take action to address the sargassum situation in its Caribbean overseas departments: The French government is preparing a plan to deal with a new invasion of stinky seaweed that is covering the beaches of some its islands in the Caribbean, causing health problems …
Event: Barbados Coral Reef Symposium 2018
The Barbados Coral Reef Restoration Alliance (Corall Barbados) will be hosting the 2018 Barbados Coral Reef Symposium on Friday June 8 at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. The keynote speaker will be Dr. David Vaughan, manager of the Coral Restoration program at the Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef …
St. Maarten Nature Foundation relaunches shark conservation project
The St. Maarten Nature Foundation has relaunched its shark research and conservation project, which was put on hold in 2017 as a result of Hurricanes Irma and Maria: Nature Foundation has restarted its shark conservation programme as part of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) “Save Our Sharks” conservation project …
How low-input agriculture helps Cuba’s coral reefs stay healthy
The key takeaway from this bioGraphic article is “Every decision you make on land affects the ocean as well.” Especially for islands: [W]hen the Soviet bloc fell in the early 90s, it abruptly turned off the spigot for Cuba’s sugar subsidies and regular shipments of food, gasoline, farming equipment, synthetic fertilizers, …
Webinar: The impact of land-based pollution on coral reefs
On May 24, the United Nations Environment Programme will be presenting a webinar on The Impact of land-based pollution on coral reefs: focus on nutrients, plastics, and wastewater: Over time, our oceans have increasingly become dumping grounds for different types of waste, including sewage, industrial waste, chemicals, plastics andlitter. An estimated 80% …
Innovative community-based solutions for the sargassum problem in Saint Lucia
From the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a story about an innovative approach to dealing with the sargassum blooms in Saint Lucia: On the east coast of Saint Lucia, a local youth by the name of Johanan Dujon noticed how the piles of seaweed were causing trouble for the local fishermen …