Last Remaining Mangrove Wetland in Barbados Disappearing due to Unchecked Pollution and Government Inaction

Migratory Bird Stop Between North and South America at risk

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, May 7, 2010 - A new environmental study sharply critical of the Government of Barbados
shows the key Graeme Hall mangrove wetland is disappearing due to outside
pollution and poor water quality.

The Graeme Hall wetland is the last remaining mangrove in Barbados - a
red mangrove forest that has existed for no less than 1,300 years. It is the
only wetland in Barbados recognized internationally under the Convention on
Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar). It acts as a Caribbean flyway
stop for migratory birds between North and South America.

The extensive 800-page study (www.graemehall.com/press/papers/Graeme Hall043010 MEA.pdf)
prepared for the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary by Environmental Engineering
Consultants of Tampa, Florida shows the Sanctuary has suffered a 77 per
cent reduction in salinity in the past ten years due to an inoperative
government-run sluice gate. The huge reduction signals "an inevitable
failure of the mangrove ecosystem" as freshwater flora and fauna take over.

The study also cites damaging factors including: dumping of raw sewage
into the wetland instead of the sea by the South Coast Sewage Treatment
Plant; contaminated storm water runoff originating from 1,150 acres of
government-managed drainage systems; and, commercial and residential
pollutants from adjoining properties.

"The government owned and operated sluice gate failure confirms our
worst fears," said Stuart Heaslet, an official with Graeme Hall Nature
Sanctuary. "It means that as the mangrove forest dies, it will not grow
back because freshwater plants are taking over."

The original environmental investment was based on the area being
protected as a brackish mangrove ecosystem.

"The study confirms that Government-controlled pollution is being dumped
into the wetland. Despite our formal offers of technical and financial
assistance to government, there has been no response. We can't defend
ourselves against pollution and environmental mismanagement outside our
boundaries. Bird counts are down, crabs are disappearing, and we are seeing
environmental degradation everywhere."

Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary occupies 42 per cent of the Ramsar wetland
at Graeme Hall, and is owned by Peter Allard, a Canadian investor and
philanthropist who has put more than US $35 million into the 35-acre
eco-tourism site to preserve the last significant mangrove woodland and
wetland on the island.

"The investment in the Sanctuary was supposed to be part of a
sustainable environmental initiative, dependent on government leadership,"
said Allard. "As the largest private environmental stakeholder in Barbados,
we continue to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to maintain
the Sanctuary, but we all have to face the fact that it's Government who is
killing the wetland. The study shows that our environmental commitment and
investment cannot withstand this assault."

The Sanctuary in fact closed its doors to the general public in late
2008 when problems of pollution and water quality became overwhelming.

"This isn't just a problem for the Ramsar environmental wetland and our
investment, it's also a health and human welfare problem for the people of
Barbados," said Allard.

Despite a 6,000 signature petition by citizens of Barbados to create a
240-acre national park at Graeme Hall, a new government zoning policy calls
for commercial and residential development for the majority of the area.

As the Canadian owner of the Sanctuary, Allard has filed several
complaints alleging that the Government of Barbados has violated its
international obligations by refusing to enforce its environmental laws,
thereby allowing increased pollution and land development to damage the
Sanctuary.

See study: www.graemehall.com/press/papers/Graeme Hall 043010 MEA.pdf

Related articles:

graemehall.com/press/releases/bilateral-investments-treaty-complaint/20091028-BIT-Complaint.pdf

graemehall.com/press/releases/barbados-endangers-wetlands/20091203-Barbados-Endangers-Wetlands.pdf

For further information: Stuart Heaslet, +1(246)-428-2776 (Barbados),
news@graemehall.com

For further information: Stuart Heaslet, +1(246)-428-2776 (Barbados), news at graemehall.com