Environmental Plan

Commitment No 3: To Ensure that Environmental Considerations are Integrated within Social and Economic Planning Processes, Promote Sustainable Patterns of Production and Consumption within the Territory. This was the third commitment made by the government of Anguilla, like other OT governments which in the year 2001 signed up to an Environmental Charter [link here] .

Dr Mike Pienkowski is the Chairman of the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum. He was engaged as a consultant to examine how we were performing under our Charter. He prepared a Report of August 2007. This Report measures performance by the year 2007 of UKOTs and the UK Government in implementing the 2001 Environment Charters. A copy of his 19-page Report can be read [link here].

According to the Report, Anguilla has done very poorly in meeting this commitment.

We do not have a Country Plan or strategic plan that refers to the Environmental Charter and its commitments.

We have not ensured that environmental considerations have been integrated into social and economic planning processes.

We have not ensured that activities are undertaken in a sustainable manner in such sectors as waste management, water resources management, tourism, fishing, and power generation.

Not that most of the other BOTs are much better than we are. Falkland Islands is the most progressive, followed by Bermuda. Cayman Islands, TCI and and BVI are at least reviewing and revising their arrangements. We appear to be simply not trying.