Friday, October 31, 2008

Cleaning up Dominica

Caribbean Net News has an interesting article today describing one of the largest environmental clean-up projects that has ever taken place in Dominica. I particularly like the idea of turning a former dump site (a public bad) into a public good.

2 comments:

Drew Moxon said...

I wonder where they are shipping all of the waste? Although it turns the area to a public good for Dominica, if it is shipped another area with environmental problems, it could just compound the problem at that location (admittedly, not a large concern for Dominica). The only way I see this working out is if the waste is being sent to be processed for recycling and then proper disposal of what is not recyclable (though I have a feeling that using this method would not pass the cost/benefit test for the site in Dominica).

Anonymous said...

I'm glad that the eyesore is being removed but the first question that came to my mind was also 'where is it being shipped to?' I'm wondering if it is to be sold to companies that process scrap metal (isn't there quite a demand for this now?) and if it is, who collects the money? Dominica's economy could certainly use a little help.
Another thing is that building a boardwalk/recreation park has implications for the marine environment. Rodney's Rock is a nice diving spot with a diversity of sea creatures. Will this coastal construction be a trade of one problem (ferrous garbage) for another (coastal and marine degradation) not just from the initial construction but from the resulting increase in traffic?