There has been much highlighting over the past few years that has risen to almost an explosion here in the Cayman media sites on the grave need for environmental protection.

Indeed, iNews Cayman, has been one of the front runners explaining the need to protect our environment.

Sadly I had to write an Editorial only on Monday (1) titled “How Urgent is it for our National Conservation Law to be passed?” My colleague, Georgina Wilcox, also wrote on the environment that appeared on the front page, the same day, “Conservation is important but do MLA’s think so?

I have been a proponent of the Shetty Hospital to be built in East End, although our Publisher, Joan Wilson, has been worried about the wildlife there and the impact the building works will have on the environment.

She has had every right to be worried.

I must congratulate CNS on their discovery that there are no plans on the first phase of the Shetty Hospital for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be executed!

Documents released to CNS (and available on their website) show Department of the Environment (DOE) Director expressing her “frustration at what is apparently the increasing inability to do anything to protect the country’s dwindling habitats and endangered species. Pointing to what she describes as the “obscene amount” of clearance at the site, she noted that the DoE were not even asked about the planned removal of so much important habitat.”

Jennifer Ahearn, Chief Officer for Ministry of Environment, contacted Hon. Mark Scotland, Minister for Environment, informing him of the problem but there is no documents showing any reply, although there could have been verbal communication between them. She also contacted one of the local developers for the Shetty Hospital, Gene Thompson, to meet with the Environmental Impact Assessment Board but that hasn’t happened because Mr. Thompson doesn’t think they have “moved forward”. Further Thompson has said there were no plans at present to do a full scale EIA on phase one, which is a 140-bed hospital.

I am not naïve enough to ask him why as I don’t want to get angry at some gobbledygook answer.

There has been no rescue of any of the indigenous and endangered plants growing on the Shetty Hospital site and Joseph Imperato has been clearing land he owns around it with no thought to the environment.

At least Thompson has said he would allow the National Trust onto the Hospital site to rescue orchids and other critical plants before he clears the rest of the area in preparation for the start of construction. It would have been an even nicer gesture if he had added he would pay for their time and offer manual assistance. That would have been an excellent PR exercise and surely worth the price!

Why don’t developers and the elected government officials learn that protecting the environment is a cash cow. Developing and Environment protection go together. People pay lots of money to see untouched beauty, the rare plant specimens they cannot find anywhere else and let’s not forget the animals like the Blue Iguana. Visitors return again and again. A visit to a hospital is often only a very few times and sadly can be only once.

CNS reports a local conservation expert saying, “A few weeks is all it will take to destroy it all and cover it with concrete.”

How right he is.

Please tell me I am not wasting my breath banging the drum over all this!!