Local Governance and
Self-Determination
“This attack on our land tenure system is unconscionable.”
— John Mussington
Barbuda’s Land Governance System
According to the Barbuda Land Act of 2007, all land on the island is owned in common by the people of Barbuda. It’s been governed this way ever since slavery was abolished in Barbuda in the 1800s.
The Barbuda Council is a democratically elected local authority that manages the internal affairs of the island of Barbuda. Established under the Barbuda Local Government Act 1976, it is the only authorized administrator of Barbuda’s land.
Elected members of the Barbuda Council have been repeatedly challenging the legitimacy and validity of the PLH developments, which involve leases signed by other governmental actors who are not authorized to lease this land. The Barbuda Council is the only entity authorized to grant leases and approve development projects on the island. Projects like the Barbuda Ocean Club and international airport have violated various local laws and procedures, and are therefore being challenged as illegitimate.
Rights of access: Trespassing on your own land?
In September of 2020, elected members of the Barbuda Council, Council workers and ordinary Barbudans visited Palmetto Point. On that occasion, two members of the Council were arrested for not wearing masks and for trespassing into the contested concession area, despite the fact that – by law – all the land of Barbuda is owned in common by the people of Barbuda and accessible by the Council, as the sole authority in charge of administering the island’s land.
The developments at Palmetto Point and Coco Point have effectively cut off public access to large swaths of Barbuda’s shores. Locked fences and private security block locals from accessing the land they’ve loved and safeguarded for generations.
The Escazú Agreement
The international community knows that public participation is crucial for sustainable development: that’s why countries like Antigua and Barbuda have signed The Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, also known as the Escazú Agreement. The Escazú Agreement — which recognizes “the right of every person to live in a healthy environment” — also guarantees rights of access to information and public participation for environmental decision-making.
Under this Agreement, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda has committed to ensure that citizens have complete access to information and opportunities to get involved in public participation for decisions impacting the environment. PLH’s developments on Barbuda, which have progressed without requisite local participation, therefore violate the rights of Barbudans enshrined in the Escazú Agreement. It is essential to ensure that the citizens who will be affected by this construction have been appropriately informed and provided with avenues of participation to voice their concerns to the government.
As explained by biologist John Mussington, “The Escazu Agreement puts emphasis on the participation of the public and the public’s right to know, and to have their input considered from the planning stage.” For Mussington, Environmental Impact Assessment for the Abercorn Trust’s private development at Cedar Tree Point, which did not adequately involve public participation, is “totally null and void.”