Save
The Bays (STB) commends the government for bringing a package of Bills
before Parliament to regulate and govern oil exploration in The Bahamas.
We
also welcome the statement of Minister of the Environment Kenred
Dorsett that environmental protections enshrined in the regulations will
follow
international best practices adopted since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon
Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
STB
will reserve further comment on the regulations themselves until our
directors have had a chance to study the documents tabled today by
Minister
Dorsett.
It
is important to note here, however, that regardless of its contents and
structure, a regulatory regime can only be as effective as the
commitment
and integrity of those tasked with enforcing it.
In
this regard, STB feels compelled to point out the long record of dismal
and at times virtually nonexistent enforcement of the environmental
protocols
already in place under a wide array of laws. Indeed, The Bahamas has
suffered and continues to suffer due to the failure of successive
governments to uphold their sacred duty to preserve the country’s
natural resources for the benefit of future generations.
Nowhere
has this failure been more pronounced than in the blind eye turned to
the egregious culture of unregulated development, which has been allowed
to destroy huge swaths of ecologically unique and culturally invaluable
marine and terrestrial habitats throughout the country, in the name of a
boost in jobs and revenue generation in the short term.
As
the advocates of oil exploration project that its economic impact will
be comparable or even greater than that of resort development, STB fears
a similar culture will ensue, but at the risk of far graver
consequences. To be clear, regulation of this sector is not a matter to
be taken lightly by any Bahamian: a major oil drilling accident in
Bahamian waters could bring this country to its knees overnight.
Meanwhile,
a lax attitude to environmental protection in general can easily lead
to a failure to penalize smaller incidents and accidents, which in
turn, over time, could ruin our domestic fisheries industry and
compromise the very assets upon which our tourism industry is based.
Anyone doubting this need only look towards Clifton Pier, where leaks
and spills of heavy fuels and toxic materials have gone
uninvestigated (should that be unpunished?) for years, continuing
unabated to this day.
There
have been a number of reasons for these failures in enforcement, among
them the bewildering array of laws that touch on environmental
protection.
For this reason, STB has been campaigning for over a year for a
comprehensive Environmental Protection Act that would harmonize and
rationalize these requirements and regulations into one comprehensive
conservation and protection regime.
The
other leading cause is the lack of an enforcement agency with any real
power. The existing body, the Bahamas Environment, Science and
Technology
Commission (BEST), has repeatedly been described by STB as
“a toothless tiger”,
having stood by while large-scale outrages were perpetrated upon areas
of rare ecological significance around the country. BEST has had no
choice in the matter; it does not possess a legal mandate to prevent or
penalize substandard or destructive activities,
but acts merely as an advisory board to government.
Therefore,
STB takes this opportunity to renew its call for the creation of an
Environmental Protection Act along with strong relevant regulations
and a truly independent, well-funded and effective environmental
regulator, before oil exploration is allowed to begin. This body should
be created by Act of Parliament, and its independence from political or
any other form of interference should be enshrined
in law.
Otherwise,
any and all environmental regulations and protocols run the risk of
ending up being worth less in practice, than the paper they were written
on.
While
we cannot speak for the more than 17,000 friends on Facebook who
believe, as we do, that the environment matters, we can say with
certainty
that those 6,000-plus who have signed the petition at www.savethebays.bs echo
the urgent call for an Environmental Protection Act.
The
imminent reality of oil exploration makes enacting that legislation
more pressing than ever. Thus, Save The Bays commends government on its
tabling
of regulations and seeks further confirmation of its meaningful
goodwill in this regard by announcing it will introduce an Environmental
Protection Act in the immediate future prior to the issuance of any
exploration permits. In that way and only in that way
will the people of The Bahamas know and trust that the Government of
The Bahamas has the interest of the future of this country and its most
spectacular natural resource
– the waters, coral reefs and marine life
– at heart.