One Year Later: No Progress between the Barbados Government and Graeme Hall Sanctuary
Many people have asked about the status of meetings between officials from the Government of Barbados and Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary since October 2008 when it was announced that the Sanctuary would close on December 15, 2008.
With the exception of a letter from the Barbados National Trust in August 2009 asking that the Sanctuary be leased for $1 per year by the Trust, there has been no written or substantive telephone communications from Government to the Sanctuary or owner Mr. Allard regarding the future of the Sanctuary, or problem mitigation or operations at the Sanctuary.
Only one meeting in 2009 occurred (in early January) between the Sanctuary representative and the official Government contact Dr. Denis Lowe, Minister of the Environment, Water Resources and Drainage.
| October 2008 |
Sanctuary announces it will close on December 15, 2008. |
| December 2008 |
Representative for Mr. Allard travels to Barbados for a meeting with Darcy Boyce, Minister of State. Mr. Boyce indicated the matter would be assigned to Dr. Denis Lowe, Minister of Environment, Water Resources and Drainage. |
| December 2008 | The Sanctuary closes. |
| January 2009 | Representative for the Sanctuary travels to Barbados for a 30-minute meeting with Dr. Denis Lowe. Dr. Lowe's heavy schedule prevented him from attending a follow-up meeting while the Sanctuary representative was in Barbados. |
| March 2009 | The Sanctuary representative receives a call from Mr. Lionel Weekes, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment saying that a formal proposal authored by the “Graeme Hall Committee” is forthcoming within “two or three weeks” in regard to the future of the Sanctuary. Nothing arrived. www.graemehall.com/press/releases/sanctuary-waits-for-government |
| August 2009 | The Sanctuary receives a letter from the Barbados National Trust proposing that the Trust lease the Sanctuary as a nonprofit endeavour in exchange for a $1 annual lease. A telephone discussion occurred between the Trust manager and the Sanctuary representative about the core issues at the Sanctuary, and the Trust manager said he would be in touch. There have been no other substantive written or telephone communications.
www.graemehall.com/legal/papers/Natl%20Trust%20letter%20Aug%2009.jpg |
| November 2009 | The Barbados National Trust conducts a site survey of the Sanctuary. |
Resources
- Full Press Release in other formats - Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word Document
