Ombudsman On Territories Environment Report
The Ombudsman for Bermuda, Arlene Brock, advises that the Environmental Audit Committee [EAC] of the UK House of Commons released a report titled Sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories on Thursday, 16 January 2014.
The report concluded that the UK Government is failing to adequately protect the globally significant biodiversity of the UK Overseas Territories [UKOTs], despite its international treaty commitments to protect those unique species and habitats. The UKOTs contain 90% of the biodiversity for which the UK is responsible.
The Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Joan Walley MP said: “The UK Government has constitutionally subcontracted environmental management to the Governments of the inhabited UKOTs, but such constitutional arrangements cannot devolve away the UK’s ultimate responsibility under international law.”
Ms. Brock said: “My 2012 report into Special Development Orders – “Today’s Choices: Tomorrow’s Costs” – noted pretty much the same thing: the 2001 UK Environment Charter [Charter] ‘is the route by which the UK complies with its international environmental obligations with respect to the OTs.’ ”
“The UK Overseas Territories’ Conservation Forum [a non-governmental coalition of scientists and environmental advocates in the UK and UKOTs] excerpted four pages of Todays Choices: Tomorrow’s Costs in its written evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee. The Forum argued that the Ombudsman for Bermuda’s analysis of the legal obligations of the Charter is relevant to all of the UKOTs, not just to Bermuda.
“The UK Government’s written evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee stated that Bermuda will be part of an “Environmental Mainstreaming” programme [already piloted in BVI and Falkland Islands] which aims to encourage elected representatives, civil servants and the private sector to consider environmental impact in decision-making across the board.”
Ms.Brock said: “Mainstreaming is an important development that essentially implements Commitment 3 of the Charter. I hope that Commitment 4 – the requirement for Environmental Impact Assessment [EIA] before approval of major developments – will also be implemented.”
Ms. Brock added: “This would ensure that Bermuda keeps up with the rest of the world. In September 2013, I had the opportunity to meet with a senior official at the United Nations Environment Program. In preparation for our meeting, she double-checked with the regional UNEP directors and they could not identify another country [with the possible exception of North Korea] that does not require EIA either by law, policy or practice. Of course, this is not perfectly implemented throughout the world, but at least it is required.”
Ms. Brock said: “It is interesting that one of the Environmental Audit Committee’s recommendations is that the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [DEFRA] ‘must restate its commitment to Environment Charters and use them to deliver its Convention on Biological Diversity commitments in the UKOTs. Darwin Plus funding should be linked to compliance with the terms of Environment Charters’ ”.
Ms. Brock said: “This is an unequivocal confirmation that the Charter commitments must be implemented. In May 2013 the Bermuda Government announced that it had received a Darwin Plus grant of $265,000 from DEFRA aimed at tackling the invasion of lionfish that seriously threaten local fish populations.
“I suspect that the grant was not linked to compliance with the Charter. However, given all that I have learned about the importance of the Charter, I fully support the recommendation of the Environmental Audit Committee of the UK House of Commons that compliance with the Charter be required for future funding.”
Ms. Brock said: “This would also be consistent with the commitment announced 12 December 2012 by the annual Joint Ministerial Council [UKOT political leaders and UK Ministers] “to continue to implement the Environment Charters” as a priority action.”
The EAC’s report: Sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories can be found here.
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2. ensure the protection and restoration of key habitats, species and landscape features through legislation and appropriate management structures and mechanisms, including a protected areas policy, and attempt the control and eradication of invasive species.
Well done, Ms Brock, but it is imperative that our deeply respected and well established environmental and conservation organisations understand the legal jargon and how and when they can move forward to apply for funding.
And there are many examples of how that funding is critical to Bermuda. For example, rather than taking the skink out of its natural habitat and sending it here to the UK to be studied and protected, a grant would have allowed it to remain in Bermuda for precisely the same reason. Effectively by not getting access to these grants, we unwittingly give the research work and funding to the UK, and we lose out on the very valuable resource of producing our own research and publishing the results in highly respected journals overseas. And published results leads to more research grant funding from private sources and foreign governments.
London, England
Here are the links to the two volumes of the UK Environmental Audit Committee reports on Sustainability in the UK-OT:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmenvaud/332/332.pdf
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmenvaud/332/332vw.pdf
So, without compliance to the Charter, environmental and conservation organisations applying for funding from the UK probably will have their funding requests denied?
As stated by Ms Brock, “Ms.Brock said: “Mainstreaming is an important development that essentially implements Commitment 3 of the Charter. I hope that Commitment 4 – the requirement for Environmental Impact Assessment [EIA] before approval of major developments – will also be implemented.”
This may be a direct challenge to any major building projects (such as hotels) between foreign developers and the Bermuda Government. SDOs are not known to require EIAs, and the possibility of that changing seems very slim. The added costs may be unpalatable to the developers.
Therefore, complying with the Charter so that funding is granted to environmental and conservation organisations is directly contingent upon new laws being enacted. Having Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) conducted before development makes sense. However, directly linking it to funding to private organisations means that they must become pressure groups on the Government in order that their environments are protected and they will qualify for this funding, by law.
Are there any Bermudians on the NGO Board of the UK Overseas Territories’ Conservative Forum? If not, there should be.
Environmental and conservation groups, the ball is in your court.
That’s my opinion, but I could be wrong in this opinion…