Those involved in the environment sector have identified loopholes in Dominica’s environmental laws after meeting to review such legislation.
Government has recognized public consultation as a key way forward to create effective pieces of legislation in the country, Environment Minister Kenneth Darroux has said.
Stakeholders in the environment sector have met and agreed that current laws governing land, environment and resource management are too interspersed. Also of concern, is that several of the laws are archaic.
“There were about 105 of them under a lot of different departments ranging from fisheries, waste management, natural resources, bills of health, tobacco,” Darroux said on DBS radio.
He said having several pieces of legislation scattered can make it confusing if one main legislation is to be passed for the environment sector.
“A lot of those acts, some of them were as far back as 105 years old,” Darroux added.
Talk! Talk! Talk! That’s all !!!!!!
I agree! That is giving planning too much leverage to do nonsense. They want to tell you have to use your land for this and not that. Someone needs to sue that department and challenged their random indiscriminate haphazard land usage policy.
It is good to see to minister admit there are issues with the Environmental Laws. I agree. Lets now find solutions and start working on an overhaul. I know there are lots of dominicans at home and abroad who have experience in the field. Lets get expert review and proposals and get it done.
I would be delighted to help in anyway possible.
just recently Minister Darroux, sided with the big businessman Gardakan, to erect an asphalt plant close to the Layou community. Wasn’t he aware of the negative environmental impact? He sided with the Big businessman Gardakhan against the concerns of an entire community. The Layou residents pleaded consistently, took protest action to prevent the asphalt plant from being built. But to no avail.
The villagers were concerned primarily about their health knowing that the fumes from that plant contain numerous dangerous pollutants including cancer-causing chemicals. Minister Darroux, a medical doctor and his DLP Govt. paid NO HEED to the cries of the poor villagers. He is Minister of the ENVIRONMENT. SQUARE PEG IN ROUND HOLE? He must be knowledgeable of the poisonous fumes being belched out by that ASPHALT PLANT.
The Layou residents are DYING slowly from those FUMES. The youths playing football opposite the Hillsborough gas station find it extremely difficult to breath properly while running about. Minister Darroux should be ASHAMED. The Big businessman, aided and abetted by his friends in power, including the medical doctor, is KING in our land. He is allowed to pollute the community with those DEADLY FUMES. He has been given the power to rule over the many voices of the Layou people.
Those irresponsible and wicked actions against a community reminds us of the influence a few have over Govt., Planning Division, and other institutions in Dominica. Laws are on the books but daily disrespected. The ordinary, poor people of Layou have NO POWER, NO INFLUENCE, NO MONEY, NO FRIENDS in ‘HIGH PLACES.
Minister Darroux has no MORAL authority now to be talking about environment matters. He has FAILED the people of Layou and Dominica. He does not care TWO HOOTS about the HEALTH of an entire VILLAGE. MAGWE SA, medical doctor. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME.
I am very happy Dr. Darroux spoke on the matter of environmental laws that are too old and should be reviewed such as gas station in residential areas for example Newtown and elsewhere. These thing should be done very quick, less talking more action. It is not the poor people land in Pond Case’ we should be thinking of acquiring when we have some high people in society who are cutting residential lots by two acres for the said bougeois and bobolist to dwell in this place and to run those poor people. Baptiste and Associates were not considerate when they were checking the water catchment. Please leave these poor people alone. I am not saying that they should be indiscriminatly cutting done trees; it should not be wise to acquire those people land by force, I would like you all to be more considerate, we must have a referundom it is not a communist state; ca’ pa no’ ke sout.
First you need to make it illegal to burn tires or produce toxic air polution (asphalt plant). Second outlaw the use of toxic substances such as Paraquat and Roundup that are toxic and carcinogenic and used in agriculture.
And then there are the toxic moth ball with carcinogenic benzene.
And finally the landfill and the college with toxic problems. The landfill has to be lined to prevent leaching. There needs to be a hazardous substances collection site and trained personnel so that people can drop those items off there as opposed to just tossing them in the garbage and then the landfill to later poison the environment and us.
People on this island don’t seem to have much sense when it comes to freely using toxic substances……..and then they wonder later why they have cancer or some other serious illness.
Time to wake up and connect the dots.
Is it a loophole that allows the operation of a concrete batching plant in Layou. If the minister and the planning department would obey the law there would be less threats to the environment. I dear say that at least 50% of the damage to Dominica”s environment is due to the fact that the laws are not being enforced. Mr Minister, enforcing the existing laws would go a long way.
PLEASE make it mandatory for any quarrying operation to implement a reef monitoring program along the coast, the biggest export here is our island itself at a pittance. I hear it is $.80EC a ton for aggregate, yet the same ton will cost you $US8 elsewhere. No wonder they are moving in and excavating.
The quarry s (and cement plants) are smothering the reefs with a layer of silt. There is one quarry currently undertaking a monitoring program, others should be forced to do similar.
The Cement plant is the worst, ever wondered why there is no more swimming at Rockaways beach? too much lime in the water and kids getting eye complaints and UTI’s, the reef which once was incredible is now under a 30cm layer of silt you can stick your forearm into. They were asked to implement sediment tanks, and complained, claiming they would put the cost of cement up if forced to comply….now they flush their tanks at night. (Don’t think we don’t know).
if you have all this info then you need to arrange a meeting with the minister for environment… sometimes we know a lot of things but we talk instead of taking action
I am very interested in evnironmental matters and I did not hear about that meeting. It is good that the Government is taking a wholistic approach to matters concerning the environment I would have liked to have been there.