Long Bay beach, Beef Island, must now be the most beautiful beach to grace the Tortola shoreline.
There was a time when Cane Garden Bay beach held that distinction. But her lungs, the ponds, that protected her are filled in and, coupled with eutrophication, she is compromised.
Long Bay is still ringed by its ponds which carry out their sedimentation and filtration functions so the beach remains painfully beautiful.
I visited Long Bay last Saturday as the sun was illuminating a panoramic view of the surroundings; Casting sparkling diamonds on the crystal-clear water; And penetrating down to the yellow sandy seabed.
Thankfully, the rays were not hot enough to burn nor to provoke a hurried exodus from the water.
And Little Mountain, Beef Island, and the Camanoe islands witnessed the scene under a haughty but envious gaze looking down on Long Bay beach as she begun to welcome her usual, early-morning crowd.
Nature’s little secrets are beautiful secrets indeed!
But the terrestrial environment is horse of a different hue for even our visitors are commenting that BVI is losing its shine.
And while a certain amount of that shine was bound to disappear from a population centre like Tortola, we never expected that the real virgin, Virgin Gorda, would fall victim so early,
It is an advantage that a major part of our tourism trade takes place in the marine environment. The islands, coves and beaches on the itinerary are legendary for their seclusion and tranquility.
And the national parks, both marine and terrestrial, are an important piece of the puzzle.
But the trade at sea has its own risks. Are holding tanks being used? Is discharge taking place in prescribed waters.
Do we have sufficient and well-maintained mooring balls to avoid chaos? Are we destroying what remains of our reefs with illegal anchoring?
Are the marine police keeping law and order on the waters? Or are they only focused on the fishermen?
And if we do not address issues of carrying capacities, the marine environment will also lose its sparkle and where would that leave us?
Exactly where the late Bertrand Lettsome predicted when he often said, “As the environment goes, so goes the BVI.”
Environmental stewardship must be a key weapon in our protective arsenal but the stewards are absent. The Conservation and Fisheries Department no longer exists.
And cruise tourism, although important to us, begs for effective management. Ports continue to encourage the numbers without a sustainable plan. Perhaps this is where the tourism ministry can help.
We are a blink away from chaos; A step from totally overwhelming the infrastructure. The sector can benefit from strategic planning.
And then, there are the concerns surrounding crime and squalor. We must clean up our game. BVI is our home and she needs an aggressive spring cleaning.
She needs ‘all hands on deck.’
BVI cannot continue to be “The Giving Tree.” (Shel Silverstein) if we persist in our disrespectful treatment of her.
Stray animals have a field day with bags of garbage left on the roadsides and litter has become ubiquitous.
And we haven’t touched the conversion of all communities into garages with vehicles in various states of repair. And derelicts are still a story of their own.
We are losing our paradise but we can hit the reset button. We must!
Each has his/her part to play in keeping this paradise pristine. And none should rest until all BVI inspires us in the way that Long Bay beach, Beef Island does.
We love Fridays. It allows us the opportunity to stop, look, listen.
Happy Friday!