Nominating Protected Areas
The National Conservation Law provides for new protected areas and expansion to existing protected areas, through voluntary purchase of land or through Conservation Agreements with landowners. Nominations of lands to be protected can be submitted to the National Conservation Council annually and any purchases that are agreed are paid for using the Environmental Protection Fund. This process began for the first time in 2016.
Nominations of areas for protected status should be submitted between 15th June and 15th September each calendar year.
- Questions and requests for assistance may be made to the Department of Environment, [email protected].
- Nominations should be made to the National Conservation Council, [email protected].
- Applications made out of time will be accepted and held until the next application period.
Nominations shall be in the form of a letter to the Council and shall contain at a minimum the information set out in section 9(1) of the Law:
- a description of the area in sufficient detail to plot its boundaries on a map or chart;
- a statement of the reasons why the area should be selected for protection having regard to the purposes and objectives in section 8(1) and the criteria in section 8(2) of the Law;
- a description of any protected species or other species of special concern known to reside in or migrate through the area; and
- any conservation problems that are known to be associated with the area and any special protective measures which may be required.
Animal Sanctuaries
Three areas originally protected under the Animals Law (1976) are now Protected Areas under the National Conservation Law 2013.
These are all ponds with associated buffer vegetation, important to resident and migratory waterbirds.
MEAGRE BAY POND
Located near Bodden Town along the south coast of Grand Cayman, Meagre Bay is a Protected Area. The limits of the protected area are generally defined by a line measured 300 feet inland from the high water mark of the pond.
COLLIERS BAY POND
Located north of East End in Grand Cayman, Colliers Bay Pond is a Protected Area. The limits of the protected area are generally defined by a line measured 300 feet inland from the high water mark of the pond.
BOOBY POND
Located a short walk eastward of Little Cayman’s airstrip, the Booby Pond is a Protected Area.
In addition to being a Protected Area, the Booby Pond is the Cayman Island’s only Ramsar site – a wetland of international importance. Owned and managed by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, the Booby Pond is a unique habitat for breeding seabirds, with large nesting colonies of Red-footed Boobies Sula sula and Magnificent Frigatebirds Fregata magnificens. Unlike other Protected Areas, the Booby Pond is owned and managed by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands.
The mangroves fringing the Marine Parks Environmental Zone in eastern North Sound are also a Protected Area under the National Conservation Law.
New Protected Areas
New areas have begun to be protected under the National Conservation Law, however, the purchase process will take a few years before the areas are completely protected. These include:
- Grand Cayman
- Barkers National Park
- Big / Vidal Key (North Sound)
- Mangrove Keys (North Sound)
- Central Mangrove Wetland
- Lower Valley Forest
- Little Cayman
- Booby Pond Nature Reserve (expansion)
- Eastern Interior Woodlands
- Cayman Brac
- Eastern Lighthouse Park
- Hemmington Forest