Repeal of Amendment to National Parks and Protected Areas Act.

Grenada's National Parks and Protected Areas Face a Crisis We Call on the Government to Repeal the Amendment Now!

For many years, Grenada's national parks and protected areas have provided critical animal habitat and bird sanctuary, opportunities for outdoor education, and recreation for visitors. Now the parks and protected areas are under threat!

The Grenada Government has amended the National Parks and Protected Areas Act. Cap 206.

The amendment states:
Amendment of section 6 of the principal Act
2 Section 6 of the principal Act is amended by inserting immediately after subsection (1), the following new subsection-

"(1A) The Governor General may by Proclamation, make an exemption,
to declare for the purposes of conveyance, possession, use or access or
both, an area declared to be a National Park or a protected area, exempt
from the provisions of subsection (1), subject to such terms and conditions
as he or she may deem necessary after consultation with the National
Parks Advisory Council."

This amendment allows the Governor General to declare for the purposes of conveyance, possession, use or access or both, any area declared to be a National Park or a protected area. It is not limited to any one area and facilitates the sale or transfer of possession of ANY and ALL National Parks and Protected Areas.

We demand the protection of the Grand Etang Lake and National Park, Levera National Park, La Sagesse, Lake Antoine National Landmark, Mt. Hartman Dove Sanctuary, River Sallee Boiling Spring, Mount St. Catherine, Concord Falls, Annandale Falls, Marquis Island, Quarantine Point, La Baye Rock, Fort George, Fort Frederick, Fort Matthew, North East Seascape, Southern Seascape, Molinere Reef and more.
(See http://www.oas.org/dsd/publications/Unit/oea51e/oea51e.pdf)

We call on the Government of Grenada to repeal the amendment to the National Parks and Protected Areas Act which is the first step in the destruction of our environment and heritage.

We also call on Government to remember and respect the principles of the various international environmental conventions to which it is a signatory, especially the Grenada 25/25 Challenge in which Grenada pledged to put 25 percent of near-shore marine and 25 percent of terrestrial natural resources under effective conservation by 2020. (http://www.nature.org/wherewework/caribbean/easterncaribbean/press/press2379.html)