Oil refinery on hold

Good news: the Prime Minister today announced the proposed oil refinery was on hold. This is a major change to the 'oil refinery goes ahead after the EIA' stance. He said a wider view of overall economic benefits should be taken, along with full consultation with all stakeholders, before any decision is made.

The Dominica Hotel & Tourism Association recently released a press release on the refinery issue, and it's worth repeating here:

"The Dominica Hotel and Tourism Association is alarmed at the prospect of the building of an oil refinery in Dominica and the negative impact this will have on the thousands of jobs created through tourism. The tourism sector presently employs thousands of people and according to the latest IMF report, tourism contributed an estimated $186 million to the economy, creating huge foreign exchange. This growth can be multiplied substantially every year if Government demonstrates its commitment to the tourism sector and helps it move forward for the benefit of the entire country, from farmers and fishermen, vendors and tour operators, tour guides and artistes, the construction industry and to all other sectors which benefit directly and indirectly from the tourism industry.

Dominica's entire tourism industry has been developed and marketed on its rich and pristine natural rain forest and marine environment. Locals and foreigners alike have invested millions in developing a product which is unique and which has been recognized internationally as one of the most sustainable tourism destinations in the world. Establishing an oil refinery on the nature island, regardless of its location, would destroy that image and severely curtail any serious tourism investment on the island.

Dominica has an abundance of potential alternative renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass which can be explored to provide us with options that pose less threat to our environment and could create investment and jobs in cutting edge technology.

While we recognise and appreciate the assistance from friendly governments that has improved the lives of our people, we believe that an oil refinery will severely curtail one of the most promising sectors in the economy. While tourism has consistently shown incremental growth over the years, the constraints on the industry have held it back from delivering on its promise. With improved air access and commitment to marketing, it has been stated over and over again that the tourism industry would become the “driver of the economy” that the policy makers have hoped for.

The DHTA therefore wishes to reiterate its firm opposition to any oil refinery in Dominica. As the voice of the tourism sector and partners in development with the Discover Dominica Authority, we owe it to all stakeholders in the industry, and to all Dominicans, to safeguard our natural resources and the opportunities and jobs that lie within a healthy tourism industry.

We look forward to a more open consultative process that will bring all voices together to consider the effects on all segments of society. Development of the country must be planned for the long term benefit of all."

No prizes for diplomacy

Caribbean Man talks about the growing crisis we face here, and I couldn't agree more. Just the handling of the 'proposed' oil refinery has made me cringe. Surely there's someone in Govt. who thought of saying 'Look, this is a contentious issue and though we ourselves know it's going ahead regardless, we can get lots of Brownie points if we handle this well. Let's be seen to be proactive - meet with stakeholders, do the consultation we promised, maybe even throw the tourism industry a bone or two...'

Instead, there's been one press 'conference' (more of a press speaking-to in fact), one press release, one meeting with select stakeholders.

Can you, for instance imagine Govt. saying 'We understand your concerns about the possible effect on tourism. So we'll double the budget for tourism marketing!"

No, I can't either. Instead, the industry is dismissed as worthless, and critics are dismissed as 'evil'.

Ir-rationale

Dominica's government recently embarked on a 'Residence Tourism Policy', and here's an excerpt, which speaks volumes to the total reversal to declared policy that an oil refinery would be :

"RATIONALE:

5. In Dominica’s context the island would likely be of interest to certain segments of the retiree market because Dominica is viewed as an unspoilt destination with a relatively good record for security and safety and for friendly people with a relatively good living standard. Dominica is noted for its pristine natural environment and opportunities for healthy lifestyle, research in environmental and related disciplines and wellness tourism.

6. These attributes, by themselves, will not translate into investment in residence tourism on a significant scale unless a deliberate policy to promote the destination to this segment is adopted. Dominica also has other inherent constraints such as the absence of state-of-the- art medical facilities and evacuation procedures.

Dominica should seek to capitalize on this vibrant and growing industry."



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Listening to: The Police - Deathwish
via FoxyTunes

My EIA, Part 2: Jobs

Jobs don't really come under the 'environment' part of an EIA but do come under the 'impact' part. The claim is, the jobs created by a refinery would be of critical importance. Big project, lots of jobs building it. Then a few running it. But given it's claimed will be state of the art, you know it would be very automated. I suspect in both areas, they'll be more Venezuelans benefitting than Dominicans.

But you have to look it's the impact on tourism. It's the fastest growing sector for employment and the income from tourism outstrips any other sector. The Visit-Dominica.com database has 135 accommodations, 50 tour ops, 10 dive ops, 32+ restaurants, 15 car hire companies. Let's say 250+ businesses directly involved in tourism. Now for each one of those, you've got several supporting employees. Then for every person staying, you've got to feed and water them. That's employment for farmers, fishermen, and sales for the Kubuli factory. And as you wave each tourist off, we take their departure tax, and remit all the sales tax/VAT. And you also have to include all the people employed in constructing the many projects still underway.

So in short, one tourist visit employs dozens of people directly but possibly twice as many indirectly. I don't see a refinery drinking Kubuli and eat local food.

And building a refinery would without a doubt impact on tourism. We market ourselves as an eco-tourism destination. As I speak of here, our tourism product has an inbuilt wow factor that generates untold publicity for us. Replace that wow factor with a 'what a shame' factor and we're just another Caribbean island that's harder than the rest to get to. And that will impact on jobs.


Next: the environment

My EIA, Pt 1: Location

Given that the public haven't been given the first EIA (was it critical?), I'm doing my own EIA for the proposed oil refinery. Part 1 will look at possible locations.

Jimmit
Too close to people, especially the good people of Belfast. Can you imagine them looking north to the smoke stacks of the refinery?

Layou
It's got the water you'd need, and therein lies the problem - there are also millions of tons more held back by the natural but flimsy dam of Miracle Lake. Plus the issues of flooding from the Layou.

Pointe Ronde
Flat for sure, but dry, so not much water. And isn't it earmarked for a golf course? Still, you'd have a great view of a refinery there from the entire Portsmouth area. Including Ross School of Medicine, the Cabrits, and the soon-to-be under-development Cabrits marina. Mmmmm.

Dominica in general
Volcanoes & earthquakes. And hurricanes.

Recommendation
Best location: Venezuela


Next: Jobs


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Listening to: Soul II Soul - Mood
via FoxyTunes

EIAs R Us!

Just as we love outside consultants (because we don't pay for them), we love Environmental Impact Assessments (because we don't follow them).

Every project has one. We do them, but rarely are they made public, and as far as I know, a project has never had a critical EIA. That's as much because we just churn them out - people actually make a living from writing them, not because of their environmental background and knowledge, but because they'll say the right thing.

Recent pronouncements from official sources in Dominica even talk of doing the EIA for the refinery, then going right ahead with it!

Blowing in the wind

Being a small nation, we tend to take what's given. However much it contradicts what we may have been given just a short while ago.

So one day, we take what Taiwan offer, then the next we take what China offers and sing the One China Policy song as if we have all our lives.

Personally, if I was the European Union I'd say 'Are you taking the mickey? We give you millions of Euros to develop your eco-tourism product, then you turn around and want to build an oil refinery???'

On oil and energy

As our Government takes a step closer to turning Dominica into an oil refinery for Hugo Chavez, it's worth remembering what they said in 2006. I will start with the closing paragraph first:

"The pursuit of cleaner and environmentally friendly sources of energy is in keeping with Government’s aim of lessening the island’s dependence on fossil fuel while at the same time maintaining Dominica’s reputation as the Nature Island of the World. "

Now here's the full press release:

"Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing, Lands, Telecommunications, Energy and Ports, Dr. Colmore Christian has outlined the strategy being employed by the Government of Dominica to harness Dominica’s renewable energy resources, mainly geothermal and wind in response to the escalating price of oil on the world market and the need to pursue reliable and affordable sources of energy.

Dr. Christian was at the time addressing an Alternative Energy Symposium, organized by the Environmental Coordinating Unit (ECU) in partnership with the Global Environment Facility Small Grant Project (GEF-SGP) and the Florida Association of Voluntary Agencies for the Caribbean Action (FAVACA), USA.

Speaking at the symposium on Thursday, Dr Christian noted: “ The increase in world prices for oil have had and continues to have devastating effects on small developing economies and economies in transition.

“These international developments have forced countries and development strategists to explore options for sustainable renewable sources of energy. Surely, the current high price of oil on the international market and the call for a reduction in the use of ozone depleting substances globally have made some non-oil based sources of energy much more economically attractive and environmentally desirable….”

The Government of Dominica, through the Ministry of Housing, Lands, Telecommunications, Energy and Ports has embarked on a multi-pronged approach, the primary elements of which include:

· Development of Hydro: Presently Hydro makes up 40% of Dominica’s energy production. Although there are no plans to expand that percentage in the short term, the goal is to at least maintain and consolidate that level of hydro energy production into the future.

· Dominica’s geographic location presents opportunities for harnessing the abundant supply of available solar energy. The State has invested in a totally solar-powered facility at the Morne Diablotin National Park at Syndicate.

· Wind Energy Research has confirmed the potential for wind energy generation in some parts (Woodford Hill and Delices) of the island.

· Geothermal Initiative- Phase I of the GEF-funded and OAS coordinated sub-regional initiative, involving Dominica, St. Lucia and St.Kitts/Nevis.

A funding proposal for Phase II of this initiative is presently before the GEF for consideration. Further investigations to be undertaken and the possibility of developing a pilot project in Dominica has been proposed under this second phase.

· Collaboration with the French (funded under Intereg)

· Government is actively pursing the development and commissioning of a 5-megawatt geothermal plant by December 2008.

Also addressing the symposium was FAVACA’s Chief Engineer, Dr. Bill Young., also from the Florida Solar Energy Centre. Dr. Young delivered a presentation on photovoltaic/ wind energy.

On the invitation of the Environmental Coordinating Unit, Dr. Young was on island from April 17-21, 2006 to undertake an assessment of Dominica’s potential in regard to the generation of solar/wind energy. While in Dominica, Dr. Young also made site visits to a number of communities including Penville.

The pursuit of cleaner and environmentally friendly sources of energy is in keeping with Government’s aim of lessening the island’s dependence on fossil fuel while at the same time maintaining Dominica’s reputation as the Nature Island of the World. "