PM's wife opens environmental expo

June 9, 2004

By RAYMOND KONGWA,Guardian Staff Reporter

The world's seas could no longer be regarded as a disposal site for cruise ship waste, said Mrs Bernadette Christie on Tuesday.

Officially opening an exhibition at the Marathon Mall as a contribution to the 32nd annual World Environmental Day, the Prime Minister's wife said that land-based pollution represented another significant threat to marine life and human health and livelihood, as 80 per cent of sea pollution came from land-based activities. Death and disease caused by polluted coastal waters cost the world's economy $12.8 billion, she said, adding that the annual economic impact of hepatitis from tainted seafood alone was $7.2 billion.

Expressing concern for marine mammals, ocean-going birds and fish killed due to tons of plastic bags and containers that end up in the seas, Mrs Christie warned that "the animals killed by the plastic waste decompose but the plastic does not. It remains in the ecosystem to kill and kill again."

Mrs Christie said the difference between marine problems faced by The Bahamas and the ones faced by the world, was in the degree of gravity. "Many of our local fishermen are complaining about the declining fish and conch populations once prevalent in New Providence," she said, adding that "throughout the archipelago our beaches are being littered with plastic bottles, bags and cans."

"We have a choice, act now and save our marine resources, or stand idly by and witness the disappearance of the rich diversity of life in our seas and oceans, and its decline beyond the point of recovery," she warned.

Mrs Christie, who is patron of the "Clean, Green and Pristine" programme, said this year's World Environment Day theme "Wanted! Seas and Oceans: Dead or Alive" brought clarity to the importance of stopping ocean dumping.

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Ron Pinder, said Bahamians did not live in a vacuum, and therefore had to accept their obligation, alongside other nations, to protect and safeguard the environment. Drawing attention to the global importance of environmental protection, Mr Pinder said the upcoming G8 summit had the protection and maintenance of the environment at the top of its agenda.

The Uriah McPhee school band provided live music for the opening and Mr Pinder and Mrs Christie ended by sharing a zestful dance.

World Environment Day is observed on June 5 of every year and was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. On that same day the General Assembly also adopted another resolution which led to the creation of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), considered the world's leading organisation for environmental issues.