United Progressive Party response to Minister of Tourism’s statement about environmental concerns over airport project

The United Progressive Party has reviewed the recent press release issued by the Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Denise Charles-Pemberton, regarding ongoing government projects and environmental concerns. While we acknowledge the Minister’s attempt to address the national outcry, her statements reveal a troubling disconnect between rhetoric and reality that demands immediate correction.

On Environmental Protection as a “Central Pillar”

The Minister’s claim that environmental protection forms the central pillar of government policy rings hollow against the backdrop of current realities. The evidence contradicts this assertion. Our rivers are being choked with sediment, our reefs are dying, our watersheds are under attack, our forests are being cleared without adequate safeguards, and our marine ecosystems are under unprecedented assault.

On Jobs and Economic Opportunity

The Minister fails to address a fundamental truth: sustainable economic opportunity cannot be built on the ruins of our natural resource base. The farmers who depend on healthy watersheds, the fishermen who rely on thriving marine ecosystems, the tour guides who showcase our pristine natural assets—these Dominicans are watching their livelihoods being destroyed in real time by poorly managed development projects.

On the Deux Branches Response

The Minister celebrates the Prime Minister’s “swift and decisive” action in pausing the Deux Branches project. This mischaracterizes a reactive scramble as responsible governance. Due diligence, environmental impact assessments, and regulatory compliance are meant to occur before projects begin, not midway through construction after environmentalists and ecologists sound the alarm.

On the Mariner Development “Monitoring”

The claim that the government continues to monitor the Mariner development and understands the importance of our dive sites strains credibility. If genuine monitoring were occurring, how did obvious and extensive sedimentation continue unchecked for an extended period? The Minister’s assurance that remediation will be “expedited” to address deficiencies is particularly galling—it amounts to an admission that damage has occurred on her government’s watch, despite their supposed monitoring. This is not oversight; this is negligence followed by damage control.

On Development Strategy and Regulatory Oversight

The Minister points to the international airport and Cabrits Marina as examples of development paired with environmental management and strong regulatory oversight. But how so when the relevant environmental assessment reports if any, have not been released to the public. What regulatory oversight exists when citizens cannot review any environmental analysis supposedly guiding these massive projects?

Pattern of Destruction

What we are witnessing is devastation wrapped in development language. Ecosystems that took millennia to evolve are being obliterated by foreign bulldozers in a matter of months, all in the name of progress. The physical evidence surrounds us: sediment-laden rivers, damaged reefs, cleared forests, disrupted watersheds. These are not abstract environmental concerns; they represent the systematic destruction of Dominica’s most valuable and irreplaceable assets.

Our Position

The UPP is calling on the government to account for the reckless mismanagement of our land, our waters, and our natural heritage. Environmental stewardship cannot be reduced to press releases and reactive interventions after public outcry. Dominica’s identity as the Nature Island must be more than a marketing slogan. It must be a commitment reflected in every development decision, every project approval, every regulatory action. Our natural environment is the foundation of our economy, our food security, our water supply, and our future. Once destroyed, it cannot be restored by press releases or belated remediation efforts.

We call on this government to immediately implement transparent environmental review processes, release all relevant assessment reports to the public, ensure adequate compensation for displaced persons, halt projects that cannot demonstrate environmental compliance, and establish genuine regulatory oversight with enforcement capacity. The people of Dominica deserve better than reactive governance and damage control masquerading as environmental stewardship. We demand accountability, transparency, and a fundamental change in how this government approaches development in our Nature Island.