EDITOR, The Tribune. 

The Perpall’s Tract Wellfield was established by legislation in and around 1937 and during the period 1937 thru 1940/42 the 212 acres of land that was used for the wellfield was secured by the government by eminent domain. It was shut down in the 1970s due to over mining with the view that the water lens would repair itself and the wells would be re-opened. This was the time when New Providence was experiencing a scarcity of potable water and water was barged in from Andros for several years. In the meantime the country found a solution to this problem with the institution of the desalination system.

In 1994 when BASH moved its drug treatment facility to Chippingham, I was exposed to this amazing space and over the years of exploring it, I recognised two things.

1. If they find it they will destroy it. The fact is that the wellfield was tucked in a corner of the island where only the youth in the immediate areas knew about it; there were no roadways around it and drones were the things of the future.

2. (In 2004 a Rapid Vegetation Assessment conducted by Ethan Freid Phd. Found more than 150 species of native plants and more than 50 traditional medicinal plants in the forest) This natural national treasure had to be protected. To this end I, along with a strong team of local businessmen, drafted a visionary eco-tourist business plan (EARTH Village Ecotours). With a small investment of less than $5m, EARTH Village could have been the primary eco-tourist site in the country, with a start off of 12 eco-tours and located just 15 minutes from Prince George cruise port, this venture had (and still has the potential to employ more than 500 workers and attract more than 10 percent of those cruise passengers who stay on board when their ships are in port). That would provide a strong argument for the conservation of the forest if not for the sake of its eco-sensitivity, then at least for its economic viability. As is common with Bahamian visionary projects, the government ignored us.

Between the years 2006 and 2015 a group of protectionists, including Eric Carey and Carolyn Wardle of the BNT, a team from The Nature Conservancy, BASH and others, lobbied and eventually drafted a white paper for the protection of Perpall’s, which we presented to the government.

To date the protection of Perpall’s is mentioned in at least three pieces of legislation:

• 2007 Perpall Tract Proposal

• 2015 White Paper

• MPA Gazette for 2021

The questions are:

• Was an Environment Impact Assessment done?

• If so, by whom and is this assessment available to the general public?

• Has the government completed all of the legal maneuverings necessary to discard and overthrow existing Perpall’s Tract protection mechanisms?

• Did they consult those special interest groups who were the drivers behind the protection process? If they did I was not among them and I was the principle force behind the movement.

Sadly, even the news media has missed the critical point in their addiction to sensationalism and short, pointed headlines. This argument is not just about the utilisation of 50 acres of this protected forest for the construction of a hospital; it is about the destruction of the entire 177 acres (left over from the original 212 acres) for the hospital and for a new sub-division. It is perplexing that with all of the less sensitive pine forests still on the island of New Providence, that the government insists on demolishing such a valuable ecosystem.

To the good Minister of State for the Environment I say this, and I’m sure you will agree. There are several ways that we learn about a thing:

• We hear about it from someone else;

• We read about it; or

• We experience it.

Notwithstanding all of the official jargon, I will ask the minister, did you hear about this forest, did you read about it, or did you experience it, because if you experienced it, and if you have ANY love or appreciation or environmental knowledge, you would know, like those of us who know, that this was a sacred gift and it MUST be protected!

I will say this unequivocally, you sir and your administration, are presiding over the destruction of THE most eco-sensitive piece of environmental real estate on the island of New Providence and arguably the most diverse “natural native flora garden” in the country, with more than 1/5 of all the plants native to The Bahamas in a space less than 200 acres.

What frustrates me in these situations is that the people who are in place to oversee the protection of these spaces either they fall asleep during the discussion, they put their heads in the sand and humm lullabies, or they’re out to lunch.

The cold fact is this: the fifty+ thousand trees in this forest that absorb thousands of tons of carbon gases from our atmosphere and turn them into breathable oxygen will be gone forever, and successive generations will pay the price of vanished greenspaces, disappearing indigenous bush medicines, and increasing heat in the city.

TERRY MILLER

New Providence

September 19, 2024.