By Brenton Henry- Observer Media - Thursday, January 24th, 2013.
St. John?s Antigua- Fifty-seven year-old Rolston Knight couldn?t be more excited about the prospects of transforming his community, now pregnant with environmental issues, into a thriving eco-tourism village.
But Kareem, as he is fondly known, can speak with authority about a looming concern, which threatens the viability of the McKinnon?s Pond.
The pond, an expansive body of salt water, is a stone?s throw away from Yorks Village where Kareem has resided for the past 20 years.
He has seen for himself the blatant disregard shown to the pond.
?This (pond) carries a high odour which is not healthy for the community,? Knight pronounced.
The stench that Knight speaks of is the result of decades of dumping garbage directly into the pond, disposing of human waste, dead animals and sewage.
Over the weekend, the York?s Community Group in partnership with the Environment Division and the Sandals Green Team made a small dent in the problem, collecting over twenty bags of garbage.
Knight and other Yorks villagers believe, however, that if this effort is to be sustained, a mysterious oil leakage, the biggest problem facing the pond, must be addressed.
?When I go by my father, the smell of oil is really bad. It?s not so bad by my home because I live lower down,? said one villager who did not want to be named.
?There are daily sightings of oil in the gutter that runs through the McKinnon?s Pond,? the female resident added.
The McKinnos Pond is where residents say the oil eventually settles so Rolston Knight knows that efforts to restore the pond to its former glory will be difficult.
A multi-faceted programme funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) offers the best hope for saving the pond according to residents. The project will put structures in place for waste culminating in the pond to be managed. The natural water treatment method known as the ?floating island? is expected to improve the pond?s water quality.
Optimistic about the future of the salt pond, Knight and his team have already shortlisted a number of tourism related activities that can be deployed there for recreation.
?We are going to installing a boardwalk over by the salt pond,? he said adding that kayaking and sport fishing are also options
However, the oil problem which neither the Antigua and Barbuda Public Utilities Authority (APUA) nor the West Indies Oil Company (WIOC) have publicly accepted responsibility for could undermine revitalisation efforts.
Both companies have massive oil storage facilities in close proximity to the pond and residents are convinced this is the source of the problem.
Talks are underway with one of these companies toward clean-up efforts and Knight appeared optimistic about the prospects.
?I really would like to thank West Indies Oil who has played a great role with us over the years. They are doing well with us and we are working together to solve that problem,? he said.
WIOC?s Country Manager Joseph Fernandez told OBSERVER Media he is aware of the problem.
?We take all precautions to ensure we don?t spill anything into the pond,? he said, adding ?there have been oil spillages into the pond? although not confirming the source.
Fernandez said there could be ?more than one source.?
?York?s is our neighbour and we make every effort to support them in any activity that they are having. We do our best to ensure that even if we spill five drops it is investigated,? he said.
Energised by that pledge, Rolston Knight and his team, in addition to the commitment given by neighbouring hotels, said the environment could realise some real progress in transforming this important ecology for the good of their community.
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Source: http://www.antiguaobserver.com/?p=86902
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