Photos by Robin Moore that appeared on CNN.com and are on his website.
We’ve previously discussed the threats to Jamaica’s biodiversity, herpetological front and center, but now a CNN opinion piece has brought the issue to the public at large. The article is written by Wendy Townsend who, according to CNN “writes for children and young adults, and she and her family raise lizards as pets. Her third novel, “Blue Iguana,” has just been released by namelos.”
Townsend’s op-ed appears to be based on a fantastic set of posts, videos and photos by conservationist Robin Moore. I highly recommend you check those out at robinmoore.com.
Here’s what Townsend has to say:
“Kenroy Williams, also known as “Booms,” is “Guardian of the Reptiles” in Hellshire, located near the Goat Islands in Jamaica. The region is centered in the Portland Bight Protected Area, an area of ocean and land set apart in 1999 to protect its rich biodiversity of birds, reptiles, plants, trees and marine life.
But now, the Jamaican government is preparing to sell the Goat Islands to the China Harbour Engineering Co. to build a megafreighter seaport and industrial park. China Harbour is part of a conglomerate blacklisted by the World Bank under its Fraud and Corruption Sanctioning Policy.
“They’re destroying what should be preserved,” says Booms, who has been working to protect exceedingly rare reptiles in the area for seven years, including the critically endangered Jamaican iguana.
