ST.GEORGE'S - As Grenada marks Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008, it is clear that our country faces major challenges, not least of which is the need to lessen the many adverse effects of climate change now presents in our global village of which Grenada is an integral part. These effects are multi-faceted, multidimensional and completely mindboggling when we know that what we do and have done can have a lasting impact on our environment. Sometimes that impact is the destruction of the environment. Making mistakes in our dealings with nature can have far bigger consequences. It takes only the first wrong step…………….. There are moral, political and social issues when the degradation of our environment is permitted. It takes only the second wrong step………….. The desecration of our national bird’s sanctuary ( i.e. the Grenada Dove) for a hotel project in the hope that sustainable employment is created for the Grenadian public…… It takes only the third wrong step……………. The creation of a developer’s own beach at the expense and contamination of a world famous Grand Anse beach and not so famous Panday beach with their coral reefs as well as the deliberate silting of the entrance to the picturesque harbour of our main port…………… It takes only the fourth wrong step……………… Developers of projects filling in marshlands and mangrove areas, the supreme sources of filtering excessive run off from land areas and the regeneration and rejuvenation of our natural marine and natural land resources ……….. It only takes the fifth wrong step……………………… The destruction of sustainable livelihoods by the depletion of coastal resources ……… Imagine all these wrong steps occurring in unison; the pressure on food demand, the pressure on water demand and the pressure on resource demand (WHAT WE TAKE FOR GRANTED MAY NOT BE HERE TOMORROW FOR OUR CHILDREN). Nobel Prize winner, former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore, has stated, “We are witnessing a collision between our civilization and the earth. When the warnings are accurate and based on sound science, we must ensure that they are heard and responded to.” There is pressure on Grenada’s vulnerable natural and built resources. National parks and forest areas have been sold and /or up for sale. The built environment , particularly the heritage of Town of St. George may no longer qualify as such; the nondescript modern replacements can never qualify as modern heritage replacements. The degradation, contamination and destruction of mangroves, marshlands, coral reefs, sea grass beds and lagoons continue to have direct negative effects – their demise. What is perceived as sustainable development with the resultant sustainable resource-based livelihoods is really a myth. If there is sustainable development , are there also identifiable benefits of sustainable livelihoods? • Equality in wealth distribution • Stimulation of community investment • Connectedness in the local communities • Use of appropriate technology • Conservation of the environment • Social and economic returns • Placing local needs over export marketing • Support of renewable resource technologies and sustainable consumption and production • Dependence on natural resources for the generation of income There must never be a choice between the economy and the environment to the detriment of the latter, as we are now seeing in Grenada. The economy needs the environment. When we do the right things in Grenada, we will create a lot of sustainable jobs, a lot of wealth: if we do the wrong things, well……………….. By Sandra Ferguson Inside Grenada Contributor