Canadian Alleges Treaty Violations by Barbados

Ottawa, Canada (ots/PRNewswire) - A complaint filed by
the Canadian owner of Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary, an eco-tourist
facility in Barbados, alleges that the Government of Barbados has
violated its international obligations by refusing to enforce its
environmental laws, thereby allowing increased pollution and land
development to damage the Sanctuary.

Notice of the dispute was given to Barbados in accordance with
the Agreement For The Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of
Investments between Canada and Barbados.

The complaint alleges that Barbados has consistently refused to
enforce its domestic environmental laws and to abide by its
international obligations under the Convention on Wetlands and
Convention on Biological Diversity. This has led to a radical
escalation of polluted runoff into the Graeme Hall wetland that
serves as a Caribbean flyway stop for migratory birds between North
and South America. The Sanctuary is located entirely within the
wetland, is home to some of the heaviest concentrations of
biodiversity on the island, and has been a major environmental
education center for children, adults and visitors.

Increasing fish and crab kills have been observed in recent years
in the wetland along with unpredictable water levels and toxic algae
blooms allegedly caused by years of government-run sluice gate and
pollution mismanagement, dumping of raw sewage by the South Coast
Sewage Treatment Plant, and other factors.

According to Peter Allard, chairman and shareholder of the Graeme
Hall Nature Sanctuary, over $35 million (US) has been invested in the
35-acre Sanctuary to preserve the last significant mangrove woodland
and wetland on the island. The Sanctuary is within the last 240-acre
green space on the island's South Coast between the Airport and the
capital of Bridgetown, and is also part of the Ramsar wetland
recognized by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.

In 2008 Barbados formally reversed the original protective land
use policies embodied in the 1988 National Physical Development Plan
that showed environmental buffers and low-impact recreational lands
around the Sanctuary investment and the wetland.

New zoning for the area calls for commercial and residential
development for the majority of the 240-acre green space at Graeme
Hall, despite a 6,000 signature petition by citizens of Barbados to
create a national park.

A copy of the complaint can be viewed at:
http://www.graemehall.com/legal/papers/BIT-Complaint.pdf

Bridgetown, Barbados

Complaint copy:
http://www.graemehall.com/legal/papers/BIT-Complaint.pdf

Archives and Art: http://www.graemehall.com/reference.htm
http://www.graemehall.com/press

Additional Information: http://www.graemehallnationalpark.org

For further information: Stuart Heaslet, ghns@heaslet.com

ots Originaltext: Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary, Inc.
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
For further information: Stuart Heaslet, ghns@heaslet.com/ CO: Graeme
Hall Nature Sanctuary, Inc.