“Suspicious” Bird Deaths Spark Concern:

By Erica Wells -
Nassau, Bahamas:



A team of government officials is expected to travel to Inagua today to investigate the "suspicious" deaths of a number of birds found in the Bahamas National Trust National Park.

Eric Carey, director of parks and science at the national trust told The Bahama Journal yesterday that a total of 16 birds – 10 flamingos, five roseate spoonbills and one cormorant – were found dead over a period of two days by the park’s warden Henry Nixon, who reported the incident immediately.

Mr. Carey said that according to the senior warden’s report, there was no sign of blood from a gunshot or mangling from a dog or wild hog.

"When [16] birds die suddenly from one area you obviously become concerned, and the first thing you think of is bird flu because of all the news," said Mr. Carey.

Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, Leslie Miller, confirmed to The Bahama Journal that a team from his ministry was expected to visit the area today to collect samples.

Mr. Carey, who contacted government officials immediately after receiving the report from the park’s warden, said he was happy that the concern was being taken seriously.

And noted that the warden, Mr. Nixon, was careful not to touch any of the dead birds.

Although there is no indication that the deaths are linked to bird flu – also known as avian flu – Mr. Carey said the incidents have sparked concern.

Fourteen countries – from Indian to Nigeria and Egypt to France – have reported their first cases of birds infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu since the beginning of February, the World Health Organisation has reported.

Many of the recent outbreaks were in Europe, where wild birds have tested positive for the disease.

The local Department of Agriculture has already banned all live and raw poultry imports from European Union countries and said late last year that it was gearing up for the possibility of major bird depopulations to protect against an outbreak of the flu.

The move is part of an overall effort involving a number of government ministries to protect the country from an outbreak that has so far killed hundreds of birds and dozens of people as it spreads across Asia and parts of Europe.

There are two components to the bird flu – fowl-to-fowl and human-to-human – but the most immediate concern, according local health officials, is the fowl-to-fowl transmission, as the human-to-human transmission has not yet occurred.

The flu virus, H5N1, is highly lethal, and while it does not spread easily to people, humans have virtually no immunity. International health officials are concerned that if the virus mutates into a form that passes easily among humans, it could kill millions of people around the world. The virus is continually evolving, and the number of countries where birds are infected and come into contact with humans continues to increase, according to international news reports.

The human-to-human transmission is right now only a potential threat and there are no clear signs when that will happen, health officials have emphasised.

Local tourism officials are also expected to play their part in guarding against an outbreak.

Officials are scheduled to attend the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s upcoming meeting on avian flu. As the flu spreads, the UN said it is leading a concerted effort, working with national governments and international agencies to ensure that WHO regulations are widely understood and followed.

The meeting is scheduled for March 10th in Berlin.

The Inagua National Park is in the centre of Great Inagua and covers 183,740 acres of land surrounding Windsor Lake. The park is famous as the largest nesting ground for West Indian flamingos, with flocks numbering up to 55,000.


28 February 2006

By Candia Dames -
Bahamas:



A working draft of the National Cultural Policy confirms what many observers have been saying for years: key aspects of Bahamian culture are under threat and in some cases face extinction.

The draft was prepared by Director of Culture Dr. Nicolette Bethel, and Dr. Daniel Glaser, a National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) Cultural Awardee.

The proposed policy document says the fundamental aliteracy of Bahamian society has resulted in a lack of value being placed on research and critical analysis.

"The result of this state of affairs is that traditional cultural forms are disappearing without record," the document notes. "Further, the lack of research feeds into the overall poor self-conception of the average Bahamian."


It also points out that the arts are generally seen to be spontaneous outpourigs of creativity rather than crafts and skills that must be honoured and developed.

"This romantic fallacy has led to an explosion of mediocrity in the arts, and has seriously impaired The Bahamas’ ability to compete in a global environment." Drs. Bethel and Glaser pointed out.

They also indicated that the administration of culture in The Bahamas is spread among agencies too numerous to itemize. It’s partly why Prime Minister Perry Christie recently transferred the culture portfolio to his office, while noting that there will be a renewed focus on culture.

In fact, when he announced his Cabinet reshuffle last Tuesday night, Mr. Christie said, "It is important to the development of our national identity and to the deepening of Bahamian culture generally that we bring the highest level of government support to the efforts of our artists and artisans."

The proposed National Cultural Policy said that even the first steps towards a rationalization of the situation as it existed prior to the prime minister’ announcement "will bear considerable fruit".

The drafters also said that cultural activity is "stymied" by the general lack of cultural infrastructure in the form of specialist schools and training facilities, performance spaces, galleries, libraries, bookstores, recording studios, and workshops throughout The Bahamas.

"Though New Providence and Grand Bahama may have some of this infrastructure, the Family Islands are virtually bereft," the draft says.

It added, "Possible reasons for the lack of development of such facilities include a focus on populist forms of expression and a categorization of all formal training as elitist; aliteracy, which has effectively stopped the development of a national library system; ghettoization of various art forms; a general shortage of available funding for the arts, resulting in competition among art forms rather than cooperation; and a definition of Bahamian culture that privileges certain forms of expression over others."

Pointing to another aspect of culture, the drafters noted that the number of guitar, piano, banjo, and accordion players, as well as versatile drummers, is on the decline.

Very few Bahamians remain who can play the traditional Spence-style guitar and folk banjo, they said.

"This is in large part the effect of massive social changes that have made home-based entertainment technology ubiquitous, and a weakening of extended family structures," the draft document states. "As a result, the musical traditions are no longer being passed down within the family unit."

Drs. Bethel and Glaser further noted that while these social changes are commonly discussed, the specific influence on the immediate future of Bahamian music has not been analyzed, much less addressed.

They also said that Bahamian musical forms are unable to be marketed globally because the quality of the product does not meet international standards, noting that the main reason for this is because in The Bahamas, musical production is limited to live performances, and low-budget home recordings and videos.

The draft says emphasis needs to be placed on supporting and training musicians, producers, writers, arrangers, engineers, videographers and editors.

It adds that consideration should be given to providing government loan scholarships for this training, and says local educational institutions should also be encouraged to develop courses in these areas, and grants to assist with the support of this production should be made available to the public.

Another concern raised in the working draft is that far too little emphasis has been placed on valuing and preserving traditional architectural styles.

"Although isolated architects have taken it as a mandate to do this, and although architectural schools in South Florida have recognized the value of the Bahamian style and teach it in their schools, hiring Bahamian architects to do so, the Bahamian state has ignored the richness of the Bahamian architectural tradition," the draft states.

It also warns that architectural tradition, particularly in New Providence, is in the process of being erased.

New project with the IDB to be launched -


Bahamas Information Services:





NASSAU, Bahamas --- Mrs. Helen Ebong, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, announced the launch of a new project between the Government of The Bahamas and the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) on Wednesday, February 22, 2006.

Mrs. Ebong said the initiative, known as the “Information As A Tool for Negotiating Effectiveness -- Technical Cooperation Project”, is being funded by the IDB-Canada Trust Fund and will continue for 18-months.

“The objective of the project is to assist The Government of The Bahamas in building the necessary capacity required to successfully analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the various multilateral, regional and bi-lateral trading,” said Mrs. Ebong.

The trading groups include the World Trade Organization (WTO), Free Trade Area of The Americas (FTAA), Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) and the European Partnership Agreement (EPA).

The project will help The Bahamas effectively participate in these negotiations and to guide policy makers in their decision making process on implications of trade liberalization on the economy of The Bahamas.

Mrs. Ebong said it is important for all private and public shareholders to know that the project is finally being implemented.

She said the public and private sector have been instrumental in advising the Government on measures, which are necessary to build capacity to deal with the myriad of trade matters and will be very instrumental in playing a critical role in ensuring the successful outcomes of the exercise.

“I wish to add… any recommendations for market access, offers in services, recommendations on the required legislative reform and the potential gains and losses to The Bahamas due to trade liberalization, will be based on the input made by experts in your sector,” she said.

The project comprises four components:
· Consultancy on WTO Awareness and Compliance – This will assist The Bahamas in meeting WTO standards and the regulatory changes required to comply with WTO standards.
· Consultancy of Investment Policy – Will examine the implication of the WTO Trade in Investments (TRIMs) Agreement on the traditional instruments used by the Government of The Bahamas to attract investment.
· Consultancy on Free Trade Zone – Will examine the implications that multilateral, regional and bilateral trade initiatives will have on the current operational practices of Freeport Free Trade Zone and examine policy options to ensure its viability.
· Consultancy on Services – Will examine the services sector and assist the Government, with the assistance of the private sector, in formulating a market access and services negotiations strategy.

Mrs. Ebong expressed the Government’s gratitude to the IDB’s support and said the Government looks forward to its continued assistance.

The IDB’s mandate is to contribute to the acceleration of the process of economic and social development of the region’s developing member countries, individually and collectively.

Representing the IDB was Anneke Jessen, Operations Specialist; Christopher Vignoles, Consultant; and Colin Forsythe, Operations Specialist.

Representing the public and private sectors were Mrs. Wendy Craigg, Governor of the Central Bank; and Mr. Raymond Winder, charterered accountant; Mrs. Debra Frazer, Director of Legal Affairs, Mrs. Tanya Wright, President of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce.


02/24/2006

Bahamas Information Services:





NASSAU, The Bahamas---Minister of Social Services and Community Development the Hon. Melanie Griffin and Minister of Transport and Aviation the Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin said recently that the Urban Renewal Project will continue to remain a key focus of the Government’s plan to develop its inner-city communities.

Addressing a function hosted by the Englerston Urban Renewal Project Office in conjunction with the Disability Affairs Division of the Ministry of Social Services and Community Development, Ministers Griffin and Hanna-Martin said there is “no doubt” that the programme, launched in May, 2002, has had a positive impact on the residents and communities where they have been established.

They said that as a result of that success, the Government has decided to allocate more resources to expand the programme into other communities throughout The Bahamas.

“At the end of the day, we only have each other and I am happy to be associated with a programme that recognizes that it is not necessarily only about the wealthy, rich or famous, but that it is about providing opportunities for every single one of us in this country, regardless of where he or she may come from,” said Minister Hanna-Martin.

“This is about people developing their true meaning as human beings. This is so important for us as a nation, (as) every single person born under the sun in this Commonwealth has the right to access everything that is good and necessary to improve themselves and help build the country, and the Urban Renewal Project has done just that by enriching the lives of the persons in those communities where programmes have been established,” Minister Hanna-Martin added.

Minister Griffin said the programme provides the Government with additional opportunities to “reach out to our people in communities throughout the country while simultaneously enhancing their quality of life.”

She said this is done through the establishment of viable community-based programmes, many of which were unavailable to persons living within the inner-city.

Minister Griffin said the establishment of computer classes, after-school classes, senior citizens associations, parenting skills classes, life enrichment programmes, literacy programmes, job-skills training programmes and boys and girls clubs, among others, have all had a dramatic impact on persons living in inner-city communities.

Minister Griffin said the formation of marching bands in a number of the project areas has provided countless Bahamian youth with an opportunity to develop musical skills that may have otherwise gone unnoticed or undeveloped if not for the establishment of the Urban Renewal Project.

“The Urban Renewal programme has been a life-changing and life-enriching programme for many of the residents who have participated in any one of a number of the programmes that fall under the auspices of the project, be they senior citizens, adults, children and persons living with disabilities,” said Minister Griffin.

“The programme has been able to throw open its doors, to throw open its windows and to throw open its arms of love to many of our citizens to let them know that they are special. To let them know that they can make a difference despite their earlier or existing circumstances.

“This is more than a clean-up campaign. This programme is about the Government helping its citizens in the inner-cities to develop the necessary skills they need to make themselves more productive citizens of our society. This is about providing citizens with the opportunity to be whatever they want to be as long as it helps to build a better Bahamas,” Minister Griffin added.

Minister Griffin said the Urban Renewal Project further allows the Government to help transform the mindsets of persons living within the communities to understand that they have to take charge and play vital roles in the development of those communities.

She said the programme allows the Church, State, community and residents to come together to provide solutions to problems individual communities may experience.

“If Urban Renewal had to build a community centre to host programmnes, that course of action could take tens or maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars to do so and we may not be able to do it all on our own,” said Minister Griffin. “But what Urban Renewal has been able to do is to utilize all of the resources in the various communities to bring about the best results.

“Urban Renewal has been able to partnership with community organizations such as churches and businesses that have in turn provided access to facilities to house a number of the programmes. As a result, it has brought these groupings that much closer together.

“This is more than just a party. This is more than just a short-term thing. This is life transforming experience that we believe will and can have a long-term positive impact on this country over the long haul,” Minister Griffin added.



02/24/2006

Bahamas Information Services:






NASSAU, The Bahamas---Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs the Hon. Allyson Maynard-Gibson said recently that The Bahamas continues to be a major player in the success of South Florida’s economy.

The Attorney General said The Bahamas ranks 14th among the 25 top countries in total U.S. exports - based on dollar value - via Florida.

She said Florida continues to accrue “considerable economic benefits” as a result of its relationship with The Bahamas as merchants in Florida “continue to demonstrate their confidence in the Bahamian market to Florida by regularly advertising sales and other bargains in our local press in an attempt to attract shoppers to Florida.”

She said Florida is expected to benefit from the impending construction boom that will hit The Bahamas as a result of “several billion dollars of investments in big tourism developments that are in the pipeline”, because a significant amount of the raw materials to be used in the construction of those developments will be imported from Florida.

Addressing a luncheon hosted in honor of Florida Governor Jeb Bush in one of her final acts as Minister of Financial Services and Investments, Attorney General Maynard-Gibson said the dollar amount of exports from the United States to The Bahamas, as of October, 2005, was approximately $1.4 billion dollars, while the import amount from The Bahamas to the United States was approximately $624 million, representing a trade imbalance of $823 million.

She said the figures were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division through its Data Dissemination Branch.

Attorney General Maynard-Gibson said The Bahamas’ contribution to the success of the economy of Florida goes even further, as the country ranks 26th out of the top 50 merchandise import origins and 19th among Florida’s top 50 merchandise trading partners.

“These statistics are significant given the size of our country and its population when compared to other countries on the same lists,” Attorney General Maynard-Gibson said. “Furthermore, these figures do not take into account the vast number of Bahamians in schools or colleges in the United States of America.”

The Attorney General said Florida continues to “benefit tremendously” from the fact that many of the more than five million visitors that now annually visit The Bahamas do so through Florida.

She said the Port of Miami, Port Everglades and Cape Canaveral and Miami and Fort Lauderdale International Airports are the primary beneficiaries of the influx of travelers to The Bahamas.

“The relationship between the United States of America and The Bahamas has always been special,” Attorney General Maynard-Gibson said. “Today, The Bahamas and Florida remain linked through strong cultural and family ties, as well as trade and business relationships.

“As Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie recently stated, ‘The good faith relationship between Florida and The Bahamas, not just as a trading partner, but as a state that has an enormous number of Bahamians or descendants of Bahamians living there, should ensure that any issues affecting either Florida or The Bahamas, be dealt with in a constructive manner’,” the Attorney General added.


02/24/2006