Polluter Pays

Commitment No 8: Ensure that Legislation and Policies Reflect the Principle that the Polluter Should Pay for Prevention or Remedies. This was the eighth 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. The 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]. He calls it “Measures of Performance by 2007 of UKOTs and UK Government in Implementing the 2001 Environment Charters or their Equivalents”.

According to this Report, Anguilla is one of the low performers among the UKOTs. We have no effective Acts in place to implement the “polluter-pays principle”. Unlike Bermuda and TCI, we have no record of any polluter ever paying. Unlike Cayman Islands, TCI and the Falklands we have in place no monitoring of pollution and adherence to planning conditions. Dr Pienkowski says that we have enforcement measures in place, but implementation is a problem. The result is that unlike Bermuda, Cayman, and the TCI we have no record of any enforcement cases having been brought.

Nothing happened with the Delta used engine oil spill of several months ago.

Nobody found out who brought the Cuban Tree Frogs on to the island.

The relatively recent introduction of the giant African snail has been unpunished.

No garbage collector dumping on secluded areas of private land has ever even had his wrist slapped.

No yacht emptying its bilge or toilet waste in Sandy Ground bay has ever been cautioned.

The unsanitary practice of the sewage collectors of dumping truckloads of the stuff onto other people’s land has silently been allowed to continue.

Since we do not do any monitoring for pollution, we only discover by accident when it happens.

And, I suppose, that since we do not clean-up there is no cost to pass on to the polluter to pay!

Or, is this all an unfair and mistaken perception?