In response to recent reports of a proposed new tourist resort on the so-called Mount Hartman Estate in the south of Grenada and the abolition of the bird sanctuary there, the Government of Grenada has issued a statement in order to avoid, it says, any misunderstanding or misinformation. According to the statement, the assumption that the entire Mount Hartman Estate had been declared as a restricted zone (National Park, Bird Sanctuary) is incorrect. The fact is that a part-area of approximately 30 percent of the total Estate was declared as a restricted zone; the non-restricted area having always been zoned for a tourist development. The rumour that the Government has abolished the said restricted area is incorrect and groundless, the statement says. The Government says it has not abolished the sanctuary nor will it do so. On the contrary, the Government has said it will ensure that any development on the Mount Hartman Estate will have to respect an area of the size of the present sanctuary as a restricted zone exclusively earmarked for the preservation of the Grenada Dove. The Government has denied a rumour that it has signed a land transfer contract with a developer regarding a resort on the Mount Hartman Estate. The fact is, it says, that several projects have been presented and that one particular project has attracted the specific interest of the Government, since it meets many basic criteria of the Government, among others, measures to ensure the due preservation of the Grenada Dove. The Government has therefore given the said prospective developer the time and means to enter into detailed studies, in order to present a coherent concept including master plan, dove conservation, future operation etc. No final decision has been taken so far. The Government says it is as determined to realise, after many years, a flagship resort as it is to ensure the preservation of the Grenada Dove by maintaining an adequate restricted zone and by creating enhanced habitat, management and maintenance conditions for the Doves therein. According to the statement, by aiming for the said win-win situation the Government as the democratically elected and accountable executive body intends to meet both its constitutional mandate to act in the best interests of the country and its people as a whole in accordance with the will of the overwhelming majority of the citizens of Grenada and to discharge its duty to protect the natural and environmental assets of the country. The Government says it is ready to take at the appropriate time genuine concerns and balanced proposals into due consideration as well as it rejects any false rumours, imputations, prejudices, one-sided positions and undue pressure. The Government of Grenada has called upon all parties that have published and disseminated one or more of the inaccuracies referred to in the statement to abstain from dissemination of the incorrect statements. Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com