Protected Wetlands
Codrington Lagoon National Park
Codrington Lagoon National Park was established in 2004. It has been protected as a Category II Protected Area under the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and a designated Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention (Ramsar Site 1488), since 2005.
Ramsar Protective Status
The Ramsar Secretariat, a Geneva based body, is in charge of overseeing the implementation of the intergovernmental Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.
The Ramsar Convention is the only global treaty that focuses specifically on the protection of wetlands. It has been signed by 171 countries and strongly rely on transparency, communication, self-assessments and peer-control.
Source: The Ramsar Secretariat.
“The declaration of the Codrington Lagoon National Park and attainment of the status of Ramsar site #1488 was one of our most progressive achievements.
Today this achievement, earned through decades of collaborative work and millions of dollars worth of funding, is now under threat of being reversed and lost as a result of the actions of those who believe that their monied wealth should supercede the rights of the many.”
— The Barbuda Council
Corporate Responsibilities
When foreign investors undertake businesses in the State of Antigua and Barbuda — directly or through subsidiaries — they have to comply with the national legal system and its obligations, as well as with those linked to their country of origin. For example, PLH, Discovery Land Company and many of their contractors and affiliates are all incorporated in the United States. Like Antigua and Barbuda, the United States is a Party to the Ramsar Convention.
Projects like the Barbuda Ocean Club, which privatize and invasively build upon the wetland, are fundamentally incompatible with the Ramsar Convention and the protections it extends to sites like Codrington Lagoon National Park.
Government Responsibilities
As a signatory of the Ramsar Convention, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda has a series of obligations vis-à-vis the Ramsar site, of which several have been breached in the case of the Codrington Lagoon. They include to “formulate and implement their planning so as to promote the conservation of the wetlands” (Art. 2), to “promote the conservation of wetlands and waterfowl” and “provide adequately for their wardening” (Art. 4.1), and to inform Ramsar of any possible change to the wetland’s ecological character by human interference (Art. 3.2). If the government acts in urgent national interests to remove or restrict the wetland boundaries, it must compensate the loss of the wetland resources and create additional nature reserves accordingly (Art 4.2).
“We are calling for urgent intervention by the Ramsar Secretariat to ensure the government of Antigua and Barbuda complies with its obligations under the Ramsar Convention.
Concrete action is also needed within the US to tackle the conduct of developers and their investors who are contributing to violations of international law.”
— Dr Gearóid Ó Cuinn, Director of the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN)
Ongoing Legal Action: The Ramsar Secretariat
On 9 December 2020, the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) submitted a complaint to the Ramsar Secretariat to urgently intervene to arrange an independent advisory mission to visit and advise on ongoing and future threats to the protected wetlands of the Codrington Lagoon. GLAN was instructed by the Barbuda Council, the democratically elected representative of the people of Barbuda and the entity that is in charge of administering the land of Barbuda.
Under the Ramsar Convention, Antigua and Barbuda is obliged to promote the conservation of wetlands, formulate and implement their planning so as to promote their conservation and notify the Ramsar Secretariat of any changes to the character of the wetland. The Secretariat has the power to request for further information and recommend an advisory mission to visit and advise on wetlands threats. To date 79 missions have been organised by the Secretariat, some of which have occurred after contact from environmental organizations.
GLAN’s submission also asks that Codrington Lagoon is added to the Montreux Record, a register of wetland sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance that guarantees further protection in those cases where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference.
By taking this action with the Ramsar Secretariat, GLAN and the Barbuda Council are aiming to hold the State of Antigua and Barbuda and international investors to existing national and international law standards, to strengthen OECD-based corporations’ respect of human rights, climate change adaptation and mitigation goals, and to facilitate the establishment of an independent and third party assessment of the environmental impact of the Barbuda Ocean Drive development project.
Barbuda Council released the following statement on the complaint to the Ramsar Secretariat:
“The declaration of the Codrington Lagoon National Park and attainment of the status of Ramsar site #1488 was one of our most progressive achievements. Today this achievement, earned through decades of collaborative work and millions of dollars worth of funding is now under threat of being reversed and lost as a result of the actions of those who believe that their monied wealth should supercede the rights of the many. The destruction of mangrove wetlands, coastal sand dunes and the critical ecosystems they sustain to make way for exclusive private luxury residences at Palmetto Point and Cedar Tree Point will have serious consequences for the marine resources of the island and the environment and people they sustain. These consequences will also extend to the neighbouring islands of the subregion. The leaching of effluents containing nutrients and chemicals into the waters of the lagoon and ocean is an example of one such consequence. The livelihoods of local fishers and tour guides will be put at risk. Barbuda could lose one of our most significant tourism treasures and the National bird. The Barbuda Council condemns the actions of the police against Barbudans who exercise their rights to question and protest these destructive real-estate schemes carried out in the name of ‘development’. Our members will continue to defend the rights of Barbudans to practise our system of common ownership of our lands and resources.”
“The small island of Barbuda, its wetlands, dunes, and communal land tenure system are under attack. Not only by climate change, but by policy makers and foreign investors that see the island as a place to build luxury resorts and remunerative opportunities for US individuals.”
— Dr Tomaso Ferrando, Legal Advisor, the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN)