The Tribune

By Farah Johnson

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

ENVIRONMENT Minister Romauld Ferreira said the country must face the fact that climate change is a real threat, stating scientific data proves the Earth is getting warmer.

The minister made the statement while giving a presentation at Rotary Club of Nassau East on Friday.

“We just came out of one of the hottest summers on record in 2019. We are just recovering from Dorian which was the strongest hurricane in the North Atlantic...so we know that (climate change) is an issue.”

“The problem that we all face is that scientific data gives us valuable information, but it can’t really tell us what to do or certainly what the right thing to do is.

“So I’m posing a question...what would be your right thing to do in response to the broader questions of climate change and our world changing? What could (we) do in our own communities in relation to the ‘Be A Hero’ association competition?”

Mr Ferreira was referring to the beautification competition launched by the ministry to promote the importance of keeping the environment clean.

“The reason why I’m here today is that we unrolled (the) to ‘Be A Hero’ (competition) with young children,” he told Rotary members.

“That was our first task because we figured if everybody is throwing garbage out of your car, there’s nothing much we can do with you except to prosecute you and this is why we re-established the Environmental Prosecution Unit.”

He said the ‘Be A Hero’ competition was launched in an attempt to get the maximum number of children believing they can live in a country “different” than the one they are living in now.

“It’s to get that critical mass of young people thinking that they want something different and a different kind of Bahamas,” he explained.

Mr Ferreira said the campaign was now at phase two where they are opening the beautification competition to service clubs, associations and churches.

“What we would like to inspire you to do is to work along with us to beautify, clean up (and) draw attention to environmental issues.”

Asked whether his ministry was planning to charge Carnival Cruise Lines for being caught dumping in Bahamian waters again, Mr Ferreira also said: “As it stands now for spills in the oceans and in the marine environment, it falls under...the Ministry of Transport, believe it or not, and releases on land fall under the Ministry of Environment.

“This is a part of why we felt it was necessary to modernise the legislation to give this ministry the ability to respond in both areas. Right now, we do have the capability. As soon as we get the department up and running to prosecute, we will prosecute those issues. “

“We don't support it and we hope to rid our country of it and this is why we have passed the legislation. We have the most beautiful country hands down and it’s up for us to value it.”

Those interested in entering the ‘Be A Hero’ competition can choose between three beautification projects: cleaning an existing park, public place or green space including walls or an abandoned structure; creating a water feature or cooling area for residents or using recycled materials to create an art feature or statue to revitalise a derelict area in the community.

To enter, competitors can submit their community and project summary using the hashtag #BeAHero to any of the campaign’s social media pages.

The winners, who will receive $10,000 courtesy of Royal Caribbean Cruises, will be announced on February 29th.