“We are not environmental policemen and we are far more effective by buying up the land that is under threat,” said Carla Reid recently to CNS.

Carla Reid is chair of the Cayman Islands National Trust (NT) and she was replying to criticism that the NT doesn’t advocate loudly enough for the environment.

Whilst I agree with her statement that the NT is more effective at buying land because once the land is owned by the Trust it can be protected in perpetuity, I cannot agree that the Trust shouldn’t protest more loudly. If it did shout out that the environment needs to be protected M/s Reid might get more of the funds she needs to buy the land.

It wasn’t even two years ago the NT circulated a document titled:

“A National Conservation Law would protect our critical environmental sites”. We have republished the document as part of our lead story today.

However, Reid has now rightly pointed out laws can very easily be changed or overridden by government, as demonstrated by the recent removal of protection for Salt Water Pond on Cayman Brac as a result of an amendment to the Animals Law.

“However,” she said, “Once the land is owned by the Trust it can be protected in perpetuity.”

We have stingrays that need protection and the numbers are dwindling. We have received warnings from outside this country that some of Cayman’s most iconic and unique national symbols, such as the parrot and the ghost orchid, face extinction.

HE Governor Duncan Taylor announced recently “The Governor’s Conservation Awards” with four categories, “Conservationist of the Year”, Corporate Conservation Award”, “Tourism Conservation Award”, and “Heritage Preservation Award.” The awards are to be presented on Friday 2^nd November 2012 at the National Trust 25^th Anniversary Gala at Grand Old House.

All excellent ideas but will it be enough to get the real message out? Conservation needs funds and the National Trust not only needs funds to buy land to conserve our rich treasures it needs funds just to survive. If it cannot continue, even the work it has done to date will be lost.

Kerry Horek, a lady I am not allowed to reveal anything about as her website blog makes very clear (see: http://kerryhorek.blogspot.com/2012/06/national-conservation-law-please-pass.html) sent a letter to five UDP MLA’s including the premier and Gina Ebanks-Petrie with a copy to the Caymanian Compass (but not to us), saying “The National Conservation Law – Please Pass It NOW!”

I agree with her but if she wants to get her message out she needs to take off some of the limiting warnings off her site. I am almost frightened to mention her name!

So what about this National Conservation Law? It was supposed to have been on the order paper at the Legislative Assembly last September but that has passed by and nothing was said about conservation. In view of Reid’s claim that laws can be easily changed is it then so urgent?  Obviously our government ministers, who must be the highest paid people in the world for what they actually, seemingly, produce, don’t think it is important.

It is a dire message for all of us here when Reid says, “If the Trust cannot carry on doing its work in the continued absence of a conservation law and even with it, the natural and historic environment of the Cayman Islands will be lost to the bulldozer.”

So we all bandy words about. We give out prizes and awards to a handful of people who appear to be actually doing something. We shake our heads and wail and moan at the destruction of our beautiful island but we cannot get our legislators to actually pass anything to help and we can’t find the funds to help the only body, the National Trust, who can actually really do something.

The NT, in my humble opinion, doesn’t need a Government National Conservation Law urgently and it isn’t going to get one. But it does need FUNDS.