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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 NASSAU, The Bahamas - The establishment of The Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority will not only assist the government in fulfilling its commitment to establish green spaces throughout the country in order to further preserve the environment, but also lead to greater employment for Bahamians, while creating a cadre of trained public officers similar to those employed with the United States Park Service.
The Authority will be responsible for managing the parks and creating employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for Bahamians in relation to the design and development of such parks.
“The Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority will create many new and unique jobs such as park wardens, interpreters, historians, archaeologists, conservators, management officers, planners, architects, engineers, general labourers, trades people and administrative staff,” Minister of the Environment and Housing, the Hon. Kenred Dorsett said.
“There will be jobs in administration, financial management, information services and personnel services. Our island's botanical gardens and Public Parks, which are historic sites, will also have operational staff such as store clerks, labourers, trades people, equipment operators and general maintenance staff,” Minister Dorsett added.
The functions of the Authority, as set out in Section Five of the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority Act, 2013, will be to control, plan, design, develop, administer, manage and maintain the public parks and public beaches designated by the authority; to conserve the natural beauty and topographic features of public parks and public beaches; to propagate, protect and preserve the animals, plants and other organisms within the public parks and public beaches, and preserve objects and places of aesthetic, historical or scientific interest; to remove derelict objects from any public park or public beach or from public access to any public park or public beach; to maintain public access to and to provide a lifeguard service at public beaches as it thinks fit and to maintain green verges and the facilities at public parks and public beaches.
The Authority will also be responsible for securing the observance of sanitary and clean conditions and practices at and in respect of the public parks and public beaches and other such sites of national interest as the Minister may designate; to promote the study, research and dissemination of knowledge in botany, horticulture, biotechnology, arboriculture, forestry, landscape architecture, parks and recreation management and natural and local history and to provide and manage recreational, cultural, historical, research and educational facilities and resources in public parks and encourage their full and proper us by members of the public.
It will further advise the Minister on the construction, rehabilitation, restoration and remediation of public beaches and ancillary recreational facilities on public beaches; on the control of the construction in any public park or on any public beach, of huts, booths, tents, sheds, stands, stalls, bath-houses, shops, whether movable or immovable and on such other matters, relating to the public parks and public beaches, including matter pertaining to public beach control and the protection of the sea-coast of The Bahamas from erosion or encroachment by the sea.
The Authority will also be responsible for beautifying and adding amenities to the public parks and public beaches and such other areas as determined by the Minister; entering into written agreements with owners and occupiers of land adjacent the foreshore for the purpose of obtaining public access to public beaches; and naming public parks and public beaches.
Minister Dorsett said the creation of the Authority and the proper management of parks and beaches will also hopefully end the age-old problem of the unkempt conditions of public bathroom facilities at these sites.
“The Central Government spends large sums of monies to ensure that public parks and beaches are equipped with bathroom facilities. However, because of the lack of security, many of these facilities, within a short time of their construction, are no longer able to be used because the toilets have been stolen or it has been vandalized or is not kept in a sanitary condition,” Mr. Dorsett said.
“It is also envisaged that with the restoration and development of public parks and beaches that they will provide a venue for the staging of community festivals and cultural events. These events will enable our people to showcase their talents through music, art, culinary skills and provide for more local sporting events within communities to foster better neighborhoods and community outreach.”
Minister Dorsett said the development of green spaces will have “a positive effect” on the Government’s efforts “to lessen our carbon footprint.”
“Trees are known to clean the air of carbon dioxide by storing it in its leaves and bark while releasing much needed clean oxygen,” he said. “It is said that ‘an acre of mature trees absorbs the amount of carbon dioxide produced when you drive your car 26,000 miles.’ As we all know carbon dioxide is a major greenhouse gas which is created by the burning of fossil fuels and contributes greatly to climate change. With the addition of more trees and green spaces, in conjunction with our efforts to reform the energy sector, The Bahamas will be well on its way to achieving its goals as relates to environmental responsibility.”
Mr. Dorsett said the need may arise to remove some of the invasive species that have found their way into the Bahamian landscape as Government moves to restore the beaches and parks. These include the casuarina tree (commonly known as the 'cedar' tree here in The Bahamas) and the cattail.
“The [casuarina] is said to contribute to loss of biodiversity and deterioration of sand dunes in
The Bahamas,” Mr. Dorsett said. “Another invasive species is the cattail. Just this year, in commemoration of Earth Day, the Bahamas National Trust endeavoured to remove as much of these plants as possible from Harold and Wilson Ponds where those plants have grown so thick and high that they have now covered the boardwalk in some places.”
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