By Kenicia Francis
Members of the Barbuda Council mounted a protest on Sir George Walter Highway yesterday to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with not being officially invited to the SIDS4 conference.
As it stands, Council members are only able to access side events for the conference, not in their official capacity as local government, but only if supported and sponsored by other civil society groups.
This means they will not be able to participate in any decision-making processes that will ultimately affect the sister island.
“I was just speaking to a lady who challenged somebody and said the Council were not invited. She said she was told it was up to them to do the research and invite themselves, because they had the information in time.
“My take on that is Barbuda Council is a governing body, an independent governing body, and the law that governs it is actually in the Constitution, and they deserved a separate invitation, and they didn’t get it,” Barbudan environmental activist Jackie Frank told Observer.
“Barbuda is only 30 miles away, yet there’s no mention at all of what’s happening in Barbuda … what’s happening in Barbuda is the developments that have been encouraged by this government are actually creating climate disaster.
“When we had a day of rain [last] November and the one before — there wasn’t heavy rain; it was just a day of rain [and] some of the roads turned to rivers, and where a natural river used to flow that had been blocked off; the water just pushed everything out of the way and made its way back to the sea, where it belongs,” she said.
“The developments that are going on now are removing the coastal vegetation, which protected us during Irma [and kept us safe, so the water only came up into the village just as far as the local supermarket. Now it’s all the way up into the village.
“People could lose not just property; they could lose their lives due to the water level rise. And the breach that happened during Irma was narrow and is now getting increasingly bigger,” Frank added.
Fellow Barbudan environmental activist John Mussington was also among the protesters vocalising the demand for Barbuda’s inclusion in discussions.
“We are here to draw attention and build awareness to the plight of Barbuda, one of the most vulnerable islands going to be affected by the things that SIDS are talking about,” he said.
“We are building awareness that we need to be included, we need to be at the decision-making table. SIDS cannot work without the people. Even from the point of view of civil society organisations, basically, they are not at the decision-making table, they are at the side events, they don’t get to sit down and make those decisions that are going to affect them.
“So, it’s not just for Barbuda, it’s for all stakeholders. Barbuda represents, more than any, all those things that need to be taken into consideration when you’re involved with the people for something like a SIDS agenda action plan,” he said.
The SIDS agenda action plan is a comprehensive strategy aimed at addressing the specific challenges faced by small islands and developing states like Antigua and Barbuda.
This plan outlines specific actions and initiatives to promote sustainable development, enhance resilience to climate change and natural disasters, improve access to financing, and strengthen partnerships among SIDS and with other stakeholders.
The agenda action plan serves as a roadmap for supporting the development goals of SIDS and ensuring their long-term sustainability.
“What they face with the lands and the environmental issues, it’s a real one. We need to understand that Barbuda sits below sea level. And even in terms of development, there’s only so much that you can do, and it has to be done correctly because the land is going to sink even more,” explained UPP caretaker for the St Mary’s North constituency, Jonathan Joseph, who was also at yesterday’s protest.
“We cannot afford to continue to destroy our environment, our mangroves, our wetlands, all in the name of development.
“Barbuda is very pristine and natural, and we have to develop Barbuda with respect for the environment and inclusion of the Barbuda people. And it is very disheartening to see the nature of the discussions that would have been taking place during this week, and the Barbuda Council is being left out, especially in the discussion that affects them most as it relates to the environment.”
He added, “This government, when it comes to the environment, it’s a failing grade. It’s an absolute zero in the failing grades as to how we cheat the environment. We’re destroying the environment, our wetlands, our mangroves. There’s a point at which we have to say no, and no further.
“And I’m very disappointed in the Minister of Environment, Sir Molwyn Joseph, because I think if it’s one person who should really stand up and speak out against some of the things that we see that are happening in the twin island state of Antigua and Barbuda, it ought to be the Environment Minister.
“If the government and the rest of the Cabinet wants to go in one direction, at least we should hear some objections or some concerns from the Minister of Environment,” he added.
Another Barbudan environmental activist Gulliver Francis explained that “we as Barbudans feel that we are being used as a prime example of what is wrong with this world in terms of climate change”.
He told Observer, “We are the people who are seeing the sea level rise right in front of our face. We are suffering under disaster capitalism.
“There are literally developers digging out the sand, digging out the soil, putting down concrete structures on our beaches and endangering us as a people, removing our wetlands, removing our mangroves, doing everything that we shouldn’t be doing as a people, as a human race in this SIDS 4. And we need to be addressing these problems. And it’s ironic that we as a people, as Barbudans, are not getting a seat at the table. Yes, we have Barbudans inside the SIDS 4, but the high-level discussions are completely ignoring us.”
Another protestor, UPP member at large Jonathan Wehner, told Observer that Barbuda was important for several reasons which inspired him to join the protest.
He believes that the Barbuda Land Act, repealed in 2017 by the Gaston Browne government, is threatening Barbudans’ communal land rights for personal gain.
Secondly, he believes the PLH development group has caused ecocide in Barbuda by breaching the Barbuda Lagoon, which threatens the ecosystem and wildlife that are crucial for Barbudans’ survival, and, despite warnings from the Environmental Division, they continued construction, thereby causing a breach over two kilometers wide.
Referencing what he termed “the disaster economics or disaster capitalism by the Gaston Browne administration”, Wehner said this started after Hurricane Irma in 2017.
He explained that various governments worldwide donated millions for Barbuda’s relief, yet essential buildings like the Barbuda Council Hall and the police station remain without roofs.
“We’re here, standing in solidarity with the people of Barbuda because Barbuda lands are not for sale,” Wehner added.
