fp Turks and Caicos

The Consultative Forum has asked Permanent Secretary of Finance Delton Jones to provide financial reports and information on the country’s Conservation Fund.

Forum member and National Trust Director Ethlyn Gibbs-Williams told the forum at its monthly meeting Aug. 3 in Grand Turk that the National Parks Environmental Advisory Committee which was supposed to advise on spending from the fund hasn’t functioned since 2008. However, money has been spent on a number of projects.

TCI protected areas

Back in the frontier days, when the great visionaries of the TCI Protected Areas were scouting out potential areas for conservation, the now burgeoning island of Providenciales had no paved roads and was dotted only by small settlements at the Bight, Blue Hills and Five Cays.

In those days, when one flew over the island of Providenciales, a single, striking landmark stood out from a background of surrounding hues of green and blue. Today, the almost reflective whiteness of Chalk Sound still mirrors a sound perfection of ecology and beauty.