Welcome to BEST

From the 23rd to the 27th of June 2008, the Fourth Biennial Caribbean Forum (CEF-4) was held in Grenada. BEST Chair Stuart Hayward attended on behalf of BEST and produced the following report on the Conference:

CEF-4 Report

The gathering consisted of three integrated conferences:

• The 4^th Biennial Caribbean Environmental Forum (CEF-4) which was titled: Climate Change, Water and Sanitation: a Shared Responsibility
• The 13^th Annual Wider Caribbean Waste Management Conference, and
• The 1^st Caribbean Sustainable Energy Forum

Among the opening Plenary Keynote speakers were the Prime Minister and the Environment Minister of Grenada. Also attending and presenting were the German and Austrian Ambassadors to the region.

All presentations and the proceedings of the conference will eventually be posted on the website of the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), the primary host organisation for the conference.

My own paper on Tourism and the Changing Climate (attached), focused on water supply and demand, and our cultural water conservation, then and now. There was much interest in details of our collection and storage.

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BEST has facilitated the formation of the Bermuda Association of Eco-Clubs (BASE) with the following Mission Statement and Objectives:

Mission Statement:
To mould a generation of future environmental leaders through support, co-ordination and monitoring of active eco-clubs throughout Bermuda.

1. Engage all schools and youth organisations across Bermuda;
2. Encourage the development of the elements of leadership and best practices;
3. Create a network forum for discussion;
4. Share information and resources between the clubs;
5. Encourage individual club projects as well as BASE projects;
6. Seek to extend the environmental agenda from students to teachers and parents.

The BASE Steering Committee is comprised of representatives from Eco-Clubs. At their first meeting, the SC chose Caitlin O’Doherty as Chair. Caitlin was the winner of the Bermuda National Trust’s “Young Environmentalist of the Year” Award for 2008.

If you know of or belong to a school or youth organisation that might want to link up with BASE, please send an email to BASE Chair Caitlin O’Doherty at ecodudette@hotmail.com.

Although BEST has been relatively quiet, the Steering Committee has been meeting regularly to discuss where we have been, where we are, and how we want to evolve in the future. We have had a fantastic year and our newsletter reflects our commitment to environmental accountability/sustainability. We also have many projects and activities that will be coming up. Please check out our upcoming events section in the newsletter. We continue to keep a watchful eye on planning applications. If you hear of anything that you think should get BEST’s attention, please send an e-mail to info@best.org.bm. Thanks!

Click here to download the BEST Newsletter

Response to Government’s announcement of the approval of an SDO for the Southlands development

Members of the Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) are outraged at the approval of a Special Development Order (SDO) for the Southlands development project. In March of 2007, Minister of the Environment Neletha Butterfield, made public a draft of the SDO and invited consultation – an action for which she deserved and received credit. The draft SDO was soundly discredited by planning, architectural and environmental experts. In addition, in the short period of time that was allowed for objection, thousands of island residents signed a petition against the SDO and hundreds marched in protest and sent letters of objection to both Minister Butterfield and Premier Brown.

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Despite the short notice and the early morning rain there were 200 people who came to line the road along South Shore at the Southlands Property this morning to warn their Government and fellow Bermudians that a resort at Southlands such as the one that is planned would be a crime. This crime would not just be an environmental disaster but it would be a crime against Bermudians and set a precedent for the entire island to be completely converted into a concrete jungle where few tourists are likely to visit.Thanks to everyone who came to sound the warning. Our voices were heard despite Nelson Hunt, one of the developers, trying to silence us by revving his motorcycle engine while one of us was being interviewed by VSB news.

Stay tuned for the next event.

You can join BEST and stay up to date via e.mail by clicking on the “send us an e.mail” link on the right side at the top of this page.

The Southlands developers have attempted to persuade the public that their proposal is of “national importance”.

Unfortunately, the Southlands developers passed over some very important statistics that bring the Southlands proposal into clearer perspective.

In 1986 Bermuda had almost 600,000 visitors (in 1987 the figure topped 600,000).

Anyone who lived here at the time will remember how overwhelmed our infrastructure was for those successive summers. We experienced a collective strain and exhaustion. In the shops, store clerks lost patience and were snippy with customers. There weren’t enough taxis for those who wanted them and taxi drivers also had their patience worn thin, both from the sheer volume of demand and from the heightened congestion on our roads. Even pedestrians were exasperated by the difficulty just walking in Hamilton on sidewalks clogged with visitors. (more…)

The BEST Save the South Shore Walk last Sunday was a resounding success. Close to 350 people attended and walked the stretch from Warwick Long Bay to Southlands and back. The weather was near ideal and the event proved to be a good fundraiser. We made $11,000 from t-shirt sales!

Thanks to everyone who either helped out or showed up to take part in the walk and thanks for buying our T-shirts! We couldn’t have done it without you!

By the way, we still have some t-shirts in case you or family or friends would like to add to the support. Contact cpowell@northrock.bm for details.

Check out more of our pictures on Flickr!