Tourism continues focus on coastal awareness
From bahamaislandsinfo
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama — United behind the theme “Yours. Mine. Ours… Let’s Protect Our Coast… It Needs Us Most!!” Director of Tourism for Grand Bahama, Karen F. Seymour, emphasized the Ministry’s ongoing focus on coastal awareness, “Because as an archipelago, the Islands of The Bahamas are all coasts, and rely heavily upon the coastline for tourism, and upon the waters for sustenance.”
The promotional schedule for Grand Bahama includes a series of school visitations to encourage students to be good environmental stewards, and as much as possible Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. And the traditional “walk the coastline and beach clean–up” will take place on May 4th, 2013 The communities of East, West and South Grand Bahama will engage in clean-up projects of their own, as well.
The Ministry of Tourism’s Sustainable Tourism Committee plans to mobilize Grand Bahama in partnership with the Keep Grand Bahama Clean (KGBC) Committee by extending an invitation to service groups, corporate businesses and environmentally concerned citizens to work in concert to participate in an island-wide clean-up on April 20, 2013; and will continue to draw attention to the five major threats to environmental health; those being, Climate Change, Habitat Destruction, Invasive Species, Pollution and Overfishing. During National Coastal Awareness Month (NCAM) 2013, stakeholders are once again reminded to bear in mind threats to the coastal environment with activities throughout the month of April 2013.
The NCAM Committee typically includes other relevant government agencies, as well as private companies and NGOs actively involved in environmental awareness. The committee consists of representatives from Department of Environmental Health, Department of Local Government, Ministry of Education, Bahamas National Trust, Grand Bahama Port Authority, Bahamas Inter-Island Ecotours, EarthCare, Grand Bahama Nature Tours, Calabash Eco Adventures, Pinetree Stables, Grand Bahama Scuba, Blue Green Outdoors.
According to the committee the subject of human impact on climate change continues to receive pushback, and it should be noted that it is the general consensus of the scientific community that while climate change has happened naturally throughout the history of earth, human impact has resulted in its occurrence at a more rapid pace.
Habitat destruction can lead to an imbalance of marine population in terms of their having a place to breed, feed and/or rear their young. The major habitats for marine life are coral reefs and mangroves. Coral reefs are super organisms made of smaller organisms known as polyps, and are formed over centuries, and regenerate very, very slowly. While these structures can be quite hard/solid, they are quite sensitive to biochemical changes, and something as simple as humans touching them can have a harmful effect. They also fall victim to negligent boat drivers, destructive fishing practices, climate change (as they cannot tolerate a wide range of temperature.), and pollution
Mangrove destruction tends to come from a general lack of understanding of the value of mangroves, and have been filled in for developments, or cut for ‘aesthetics’. In addition to being highly important as feeding/breeding grounds for marine life, coral reefs and mangroves are also important as windbreakers, and surge protectors during stormy weather.
Invasive species whose impact is most directly related to our coastal environment are the lionfish, and the Casuarina/Australian pine. Management measures can be implemented to reduce these threats over time, including systematic replacement of the Casuarina/Australian pine and education on the culinary value of the lionfish.
Pollution’s detrimental effects have been continually communicated, but some residents of the community continue to pollute the environment. Direct ways pollutants can enter our waters are through spillage of oil/fuel when servicing a boat, destructive fishing activities like pouring bleach into the water, or by directly throwing garbage into the water. Greater effort must be placed on properly securing garbage disposal in an effort to reduce unintended dispersal.
Overfishing results in an imbalance in the predator: prey ratio and may be curbed by the introduction of seasons on certain fish that are more susceptible to overfishing; and of course sustained public education.
Photo: Gold Rock Beach
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