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(CNS): Local activists are raising concerns that proposals for the long-term redevelopment of the airports on all three Cayman Islands are being conducted without an overall master plan for the country that would explain how to expand tourism and increase visitor numbers in the face of climate change. Sustainable Cayman has said that, given the climate crisis, it won’t be business as usual in the future and the proposals do not prioritise sustainability in a time of increasing uncertainty.
The Cayman Islands Airport Authority, which has begun to work on plans covering the next two decades, is proposing to extend the Owen Roberts International Airport runway 1,000 feet into the North Sound, build a new airport on Little Cayman, and widen the runway at the airport on Cayman Brac and possiblly upgrade the terminal.
The CIAA has contracted Stantec, consultants from Canada, to help shape the new plans, which has involved a series of public meetings and surveys. At the meeting on Grand Cayman last week, Tourism and Transport Minister Kenneth Bryan said that none of the proposals were “set in stone” as the PACT caucus has yet to make any decisions, and whatever choices are made, all the work will ultimately be subject to environmental impact assessments.
While each redevelopment project poses a threat to the environment, plans for Little Cayman in particular have all been met with concern from activists and residents. The proposal for a runway extension at Owen Roberts is also proving to be a major issue for the public.
This extension into the ocean would increase the length of the existing runway to over 8,000 feet to allow larger aircraft flying long haul from Europe, Asia and elsewhere to land on Grand Cayman, which appears to be a priority for the tourism minister. Bryan has said that the Cayman Islands’ tourism product cannot depend entirely on North America to sustain growth.
The consultants have said that extending the runway west inland is not feasible because of the traffic congestion, the need for more roads and the removal of some buildings and other obstacles. The experts claimed that building into the sea would not impact marine traffic and that the area at the end of the existing runway is very shallow.
However, Sustainable Cayman said the environmental threats are significant. “The remaining mangrove fringe habitat adjacent to the proposed redevelopment is a habitat nursery and there has been no public discussion of any dredging works that might be needed to support a newly extended runway and marine taxi service,” a spokesperson for the non-profit organisation told CNS.
The activists said that the “overall impact would have a negative outcome for the marine environment” and if this extension was necessary, extending west would still be more beneficial.
While the relatively new ORIA expansion is already showing signs of strain, this is mostly during limited busy periods over the weekend. Unfortunately, because of the arrival and departure times, which the government here has almost no control over, the airport is far from busy most of the week, only to reach capacity for two to three hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
Bryan noted the danger of spending millions of dollars redeveloping an airport just to ease congestion for a few hours each week. The consultants expect that passenger numbers will increase by around 1.9% a year over the next two decades, but environmentalists are concerned that the impact of climate change is not being factored into these plans.
“Biodiversity loss and climate change remain two of the biggest threats, especially to Islands such as ours,” Sustainable Cayman said. “We need a master development plan that truly takes into account these precious assets, and that prepares and protects them from future climate events.”
With rising sea levels already directly impacting Cayman, the idea of a runway in the ocean raises obvious concerns that do not seem to have been factored into the proposal. The activists also believe that expanding protected areas, ensuring that food production is sustainable and eliminating plastic use and pollution should be considered first.
“Without an overall master plan on how these goals will be achieved… the airport proposals are not based on a decision framework that prioritises activities that will sustain the nation and its people over the long term in an era of increasing uncertainty,” Sustainable Cayman said.
Replacing the Edward Bodden Airfield on Little Cayman continues to face significant opposition from the residents there. But even though it does not cater to international flights, officials claim safety and regulatory standards require a new facility, which would be located elsewhere on the island. The current airfield is unlicensed, on privately-owned land, and operates with temporary exemptions from the Civil Aviation Authority, which has been the case for decades.
Little Cayman residents have been extremely vocal about their objection to replacing the existing set-up, concerned that increasing airport capacity would tempt large hotel development on the island, which they do not want. There is some support for a ferry or seaplane service between the two Sister Islands, but during the public meetings, the consultants dismissed those ideas and proposed building an airport on government-owned land on the south side of Little Cayman.
However, the activists note that the environmental implications on Little Cayman are far-reaching and the proposed location for the new runway runs parallel to the Ramsar-listed Booby Pond.
“Bird strikes, proposed ‘wildlife management’, jet noise, general habitat fragmentation, as well as the upgrades required to the existing infrastructure, such as roads, waste management, sewage and more, would have a significant impact. A ferry service is the least environmentally damaging and likely more cost-effective in comparison,” Sustainable Cayman stated.
The redevelopment of Charles Kirkconnell International Airport on Cayman Brac is far less controversial, focused largely on revamping the terminal and with no plans for a runway extension, just a realignment and widening. The consultants have said that previous proposals to fill in the ponds “to get rid of all the birds” received considerable opposition and were therefore shelved in favour of other mitigation measures.
None of the proposals have yet been costed, and while EIAs will be conducted before any work begins, the plans are being drawn up in the absence of the fully revised National Development Plan or an overall vision for the future of the Cayman Islands.
Many of the independent candidates that went on to form the PACT Government were largely elected as a backlash to the evident over-development of Grand Cayman in particular. But so far, there is no sign of a national conversation about population increase, the growth of tourism and the continued development catering to high-net-worth individuals rather than the people.
See all three public meetings on the CIAA Facebook page.
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