Moir's Environmental Dialogues, Ocean River Shields of Achilles

20. Saving the British Virgin Islands, Precious Salt Ponds & Flamingos

Marine biologist, Lianna Jarecki, PhD, takes Rob into a threatened British Virgin Island salt pond. Lianna explains the complex biology from blue-green algal mats to mangroves with clapper rails, to black-necked stilts and flamingos atop the salt pond food pyramid. In the second half, Noni Georges of the Virgin Islands Environmental Council (VIEC) tells a local version of the David and Goliath story. The largest developers in the world spent millions planning to develop with government permission to disregard all environmental regulations. This would destroy the most pristine portions of the Tortola, Beef Island. Islanders were outraged with the potential loss of mangrove shores, salt ponds and most of all, the Fisheries Protected Area. They took action. A senior paper by a young law student Noni Georges began the legal process. The court case became a first for the Caribbean, where Islanders stood up to developers. Noni explains how VIEC won the case and how this is only the beginning with the developers appealing the decision.