Coral reefs should not be removed from any beach as they are very important to marine lives and offers protection to the coastal areas.
That’s the view of Executive Director for SVG Environment Fund Louise Mitchell who continues to be vocal against an application to have coral reefs removed from Indian Bay. Mitchell was a panelist on SVGTV’s View Point program on Sunday, discussing the topic, how do we balance the need for job creation with the need for protecting the environment for generations to come?” Is it possible to restore a coral reef that is dead or dying without removing it from it’s natural habitat?
A public notice for the application was published in the Searchlight newspaper on July 2nd, which stated that Raffique Dunbar a hotel investor, made an application to the Physical Planning and Development board to remove the coral reef from the beach area.
In a recent telephone interview with SVGTV News, Mitchell said the idea for the application is to remove the coral reef which they considered to be dead at Indian Bay and replace it with imported sand, and build a barrier reef that is made out of concrete blocks across the beach area. Mitchell maintained that the coral reef in the area is not dead as has been put forward.
Her position has been supported by marine biologist Joshua Gooding who on the View Point program on Sunday outlined some of the coral reefs that are present at Indian Bay.
Mitchell said developments in the country are often done in an aggressive way and this needs to stop as they can cause lasting damage to the environment.
The SVG Environment Fund (SVGEF) has gain over 4-thousand signatures thus far for a petition against the removal of the coral reef at Indian Bay.
