Barbados Environment Minister Urges Public Action Against Illegal Dumping Threatening Biodiversity

Minister of the Environment and National Beautification Adrian Forde has called on Barbadians to name and shame illegal dumpers, as he issued a fresh warning about the dangers of a practice that is endangering Barbados’ biodiversity, the variety of plant and animal life peculiar to the island.

“The time for talking is over,” Forde declared. “We are now imposing penalties for those who continue to leave their properties in a state of neglect that poses a threat to public health and the environment. We must all agree that Barbados must remain clean, green, and beautiful.”

Speaking at the ceremony to award prizes in the National Tree Planting Project’s Parish Home Garden competition, held at the National Botanical Gardens on Tuesday, Forde urged citizens to use their smartphones to record and publicly expose individuals caught illegally dumping waste. He also pointed to the recent introduction of the Health Services Amendment Bill, which would impose administrative penalties on those who allow their properties to fall into disrepair, contributing to environmental degradation.

He criticised those he described as “persons who operate with a level of environmental flippancy” for their reckless disregard for the environment and the damage they are inflicting on the island’s ecosystem.

Highlighting a recent incident, Forde shared that he had received a video from St James South MP Sandra Husbands early one morning.

“She had reason to message my phone in the nascent hours of the morning, four o’clock or so, with a video of a man throwing mattresses – four – in the gully,” he said. “When it’s not that, it’s the dead animals. All these things are going into our ecosystems and our gullies and destroying them.”

Forde expressed frustration that the ongoing illegal dumping undermined green initiatives such as the beautification competition and the National Tree Planting Project, efforts designed to preserve and enhance the island’s natural environment.

“The ministry is pushing for all these beautification efforts – we have started the ‘Gullies and Life’ project to clean up our gullies, planted over 500 000 trees since the prime minister’s announcement, and developed the National Botanical Gardens,” Forde said.

Forde underscored the need for collective action in protecting Barbados’ natural beauty, calling on every citizen to act as a “watchdog” for the environment. (LG)