As it cracks down on illegal deforestation, the government has given people who are unlawfully operating and living on a tract of cleared land in the Carmichael Road area 14 days to get off before authorities move in and take action, Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe said.

“We are very clear that we will stop the trespassing on public lands,” Munroe said.

“We will stop the environmental violations that we meet there. In doing so, some of the things that I have seen personally tells me that when we send our personnel to those areas, I have to be sure that they operate completely safely.

“We’re giving the general public, any transgressors, a fortnight, 14 days, to desist from their trespasses and their violations before operations commence.

“We do not expect anyone to challenge the law enforcement officials that will come on these sites. If you are breaching the law, my best advice to you is to be completely compliant and do not — and I repeat do not — challenge law enforcement.”

The Nassau Guardian accompanied the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Munroe and other government officials on a tour of the area on Friday.

While on that tour, The Guardian observed chunks of land that were illegally excavated and at least three families – two living in school buses and one living in a trailer – in the area.

Danielle Hanek, acting director of the Forestry Unit in the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, who was also on the tour, said the area has 786 acres. She said mapping shows that over the last two years, 339 acres have been deforested.

Munroe said some people are illegally constructing structures on the land. 

There are national security threats and environmental issues in the area, he noted.

“We have seen illegal firing ranges on that property where we observe casings of some legal firearm shotgun shells but also firearms that are generally only licensed and certified through our Bahamas police force and defense force, who have their ranges, and we are certain aren’t using those ranges,” Munroe said.

“And so, there are a number of national security threats. There are a number of issues that engage social services for providing relief for some of the persons out there. There are very many environmental issues.

“We observed piles of wood that were to be burned for coal, and included among the pine is poisoned wood, which is not good as coal, and treated pine, which is treated with pesticides that [are] also burned in the coal. You don’t have to be a genius to figure out what burning pesticides over food that you’re consuming leads to.”

Munroe said the government is “very serious” about environmental protection and the preservation of the pine forest.

“We are very serious about restoring what has been lost, and so, if you’re doing it, we ask you to stop it. If you do not voluntarily stop it, then we intend to stop you,” he said.

“The minister of state in the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, Minister Jomo Campbell, accompanied me. There’s no secret that I’m a lawyer as well.

“So, we had discussions about the ways that we will address this matter. Some remedies will be criminal. There are criminal consequences for some of the actions and some remedies will be civil.”

The Bahamas Wildlife Enforcement Network (BWEN) is being established to address the issues related to the pine forest. It is headed by RBDF Lieutenant Commander Desiree Corneille.

“On briefing, she presented a concept of an enforcement agency to enforce the laws with regard to all natural resources — not just marine life wildlife but terrestrial wildlife and indeed all natural resources,” Munroe said.

“… A presentation was made to The Bahamas government – to the Cabinet – and the Cabinet concluded that we will set up, organize and launch a robust enforcement agency to protect all natural resources.”

Munroe said the government is aiming to have the agency set up within six months and operating within 12 months.

“The protection of natural resources has been neglected for some time and it needs to be addressed robustly,” he said.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian