Letters & Opinion

Economic Development or Environmental Disaster?

Image: An artist’s impression of the Southern Causeway. [PHOTO: By PhotoMike]

THE EDITOR:
NUMEROUS tourism developments earmarked for St Lucia offer to reshape our economy and in the process the landscape and culture of our island. Primary among those is the DSH redevelopment of Vieux Fort, which includes a 150 acre causeway connecting Sandy Beach to Maria Islands. These islands are a protected nature reserve with a sensitive ecological balance that includes some of the world’s most endangered fauna.

To me, St. Lucians are a rare species of wildlife. Out of the 7.4 billion people in the world there are only 182,000 of us. That’s 0.00025% of the Earth’s human population. We have our own language, eat our own food, dance to our own Dennery music and are endemic to this tiny rock. St Lucians are like the gentle snake and lizard that bare our name. We are unique, tenacious and determined to survive.

Our forefathers knew the value of nature and wildlife to St Lucians. This is why we sing about it in our national anthem. It is why our flag is blue. It is why Derek Walcott wrote Omeros. St Lucians are spiritually connected to the land and the sea. This is not romantic rhetoric. It is a fact of who we are.

What kind of people would we be if we destroy that to which we are spiritually connected and which forms a vital part of our identity? Do we think the St Lucia Racer or St Lucia Whiptail stand a chance of surviving a causeway being built to Maria Islands? How will the Mankote mangrove and coral reefs fare against steroid filled dung runoff from a horse racing track? What will happen to the archaeological artifacts that are likely to be unearthed in an excavation of Sandy Beach and Maria Islands? Do we ever expect to sit under a grape tree on the beach again? Is not the primary aim of tourism to improve the quality of life for St Lucians? Is it too much to ask that the development of our country be in keeping with the unique culture and history thereof?

The argument against environmental protection is always the same. We need jobs. How else do we provide employment for the 23% who are desperately waiting? I find it perpetually confusing that St Lucia markets itself as a romantic, nature lovers’ paradise yet we have such a propensity to bulldoze exactly that which makes the island lovable. I am reminded of a Joni Mitchell song. “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Paved paradise to build a parking lot.”

While we do need tourism development, we also need to balance the scales. We can choose to direct our development in whatever way we want. The decision to build this massive, high density, resort style development is just that: a choice, it is not our only option. For instance, we can also choose to focus on other forms of tourism that put less pressure on the natural resources, such as educational tourism. St Lucia already has several thriving colleges and universities both in the north and south. Put policies and procedures in place to attract more accredited international universities to the island. University students travel with their parents. This provides regular demand for airline seats. Foreign student live on the island for years, rent apartments, shop in supermarkets, eat in restaurants and make a direct contribution to the pockets of St Lucians. This is a stark contrast to the type of development we are pursuing in which millionaires sequester themselves in a resort and never experience the true St Lucia.

Apart from the economic benefits, there is also a direct social benefit of educational tourism. Vieux Fort would come to life with a liberal arts college, where we could develop the one thing in which we have the greatest comparative advantage, the creativity and native intelligence of our people. Instead of building a causeway and ten sky scrapers on Sandy Beach, why not focus on turning Vieux Fort into a college town?

Our 38 year old country is experiencing an identity crisis. This identity crisis stems from a spiritual crisis. As a nation we have to decide who we are and who we want to be. Amidst the recent independence discussions, a pundit proposed we add a new colour to the St Lucian flag. At first I thought this was ridiculous. Now I believe we will have to add a red stripe across the St Lucian flag for the blood of poor Helen in this ecological massacre.

–Andray Volney

6 Comments

  1. It is quite invigorating to read focused articles that are true to the best interests of St. Lucia’s Land , Sea, Ocean, Light and people; written by one with a prominent family name.
    Much admiration and respect for speaking truth to power.
    Let me share a recent BBC article that gives us a glimpse into the norms and mores of “Asiatic power manipulation and ascension”.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/Murder_lucky_hotel

    The rapid influx granted by the CHE$APENED CBI program would steal our political power influence and souls, in a rapid inversion of of our historical lineages, that makes Columbus’ vaunted cultural genocide of the indigenous native Americans- resemble a Girls’ Scouts Jamboree
    We need folks like you, who truly understand the magnitude of this potential cultural catastrophe to create a sonic boom against this atrocity.
    Thanks again for

  2. Well said, yesterday we studied the UNESCO Man & Biosphere programme which seeks to stimulate economic and social growth around protected areas – this is what we should be pursuing!
    You mentioned educational tourism, but also nature tourism is fast growing – you have to be careful not to overuse the natural resources but generally the people who do this type of tourism are wealthy and bring in good money, and we could encourage local educational tourism of our schools broadening their education via more field trips and leading to more local content in our curriculum.
    Cultural tourism also is a growth area – why not support those Dennery songs by sharing them with visitors to our shores, let them see the real Saint Lucia, the real people
    lastly – there’s medical tourism, sports tourism, conference tourism…we have many options

  3. I agree with the letter to the Editor and the comments written here. All the points are valid and the suggestions on point. This brings me to the question ‘Is the government listening ? Or even willing to discuss these points and suggestions?’ Not from my viewpoint, I am not seeing that happening. When are the concerned citizens going to march in protest not only in VF but also in the capital Castries? The march has to be peaceful and under the banner of civil society groups and organizations such as the Concerned Citizens of VF, the Saint Lucia National Trust etc. please let me know when this is taking place so I could join with them. This is not political and cannot be political and should not be political!

  4. Another thoughtful invigorating article that articulates clearly that this is a choice we have to make as the people of St. Lucia between valuing our heritage and using it effectively to generate economic benefits to us St. Lucian or to violate our heritage with significant irreversible consequences.
    We all need to unite as people against this rape of Helen of the West by its government and the DSH developer the hand of the Republic of China.

  5. PROTEST MARCH in VIEUX FORT this Sunday, 30 April, 3.00 pm. Starts at the Vieux Fort Town Square.
    Raise Your Voice for Respect, Justice, Good Governance and Sustainable Livelihoods. St Lucia is NOT FOR SALE.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Send this to a friend