NEWS

National Trust Opposes National Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2026

29 September 2026 – The National Trust for the Cayman Islands (the “National Trust”) opposes the National Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2026 proposed by the Hon. Christopher Saunders, MP for Bodden Town West, and urges Members of Parliament on both sides of the House to reject it.

The National Trust is represented on the National Conservation Council (the “NCC”), and the Trust’s views are consistent with the NCC’s statement issued on 21 September 2026.

Endangering Cayman’s endemic wildlife
This Bill seeks to redefine “alien species” so that any species present for 100 years would no longer count as alien. This contradicts the accepted scientific definition, which categorises any species introduced by people outside its natural range as alien, regardless of when said species was introduced. If the Bill were to pass, cats, rats, logwood and other introduced animals and plants would automatically fall outside the Act’s alien species provisions, thus undermining the legal basis for programmes that protect critically endangered wildlife endemic and essential to the Cayman Islands.

Introduced invasive plants and animals that have been introduced to habitats outside their natural range have caused widespread devastation globally, and governments and non-profits have spent billions of dollars trying to correct the balance. One only needs to look around the Caribbean where Burmese pythons, racoons, mongoose and other animals are a serious threat to the environment and domestic pets. The Cayman Islands have also experienced significant impacts that introduced species can have on native wildlife and ecosystems. The passage of time does not transform an introduced species into a native one or eliminate the ecological harm it may cause.

The introduction of this proposed definition of “alien species” is likely to have the effect of permanently undermining longstanding conservation efforts that have sought to protect and recover endangered native species of our islands and goes directly against one of the key statutory mandates of the National Trust, which is to protect our native flora and fauna.

Undermining the Council’s access to expertise

The current delegation framework of the National Conservation Act (the “Act”) is the backbone of the efficient functioning of the NCC and its ability to effectively carry out its statutory mandate. Its responsibilities are vast and require the technical expertise of the scientists at the Department of Environment and the administrative support of its staff, given that the NCC is a lay board that meets every three weeks in working group sessions to consider broad policy issues, and once a quarter it holds general meetings open to the public where its decision making takes place.

Against this backdrop, the scope of the NCC’s delegation powers has already been carefully considered by Parliament and is set out in section 3(13) of the Act. This power already limits the NCC’s powers of delegation in so far as, whilst it may delegate a broad range of technical and administrative functions to the Director or to any committee or subcommittee of its members, the making of orders and the issuing of directives remain reserved to the Council.

The proposer of this legislation has not adequately justified the mischief that this new amendment seeks to address and therefore the National Trust can only conclude that such further limits on the NCC’s power to delegate are unnecessary and unreasonable. The National Trust therefore considers that further limits on the NCC’s power to delegate risks introducing additional delays and impairing the NCC’s ability to discharge its statutory duties efficiently and effectively in the national interest.

It is also noted that this proposed change appears to be inconsistent with the spirit of this government’s own Cayman Forward initiative, which seeks to remove similar roadblocks around delegation of powers in other government agencies and therefore this proposed legislation appears to be a retrograde step.

No piecemeal changes
The Government is undertaking the Cayman Forward Initiative to look at planning and environmental reform as a whole. This amendment pre-empts the conclusion of a more comprehensive process already underway.

The Trust’s position is unchanged
The National Trust maintains that the National Conservation Act should be strengthened, not eroded. Cayman’s native flora and fauna are an irreplaceable part of our natural heritage. Changes to the legislation designed to protect them should be evidenced based and considered through a transparent and consultative process, particularly while broader planning and environmental reform is already underway.

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