NEMMA Mind the ABSEZ
Image courtesy of the Whitley Fund for Nature.
NEMMA Mind the ABSEZ
History quickly repeats itself
under the shroud of short-term memory.
Another deal, another opportunity
for unrealized prosperity. Investors
tied to a railroad company with country
in its name jet in on the back of a deal
making it like they’ve always been there.
Nature almost prevailed.
Now a zone already called special
will supposedly become so.
A real special zone
where stars will be made
of dredged up sand dust
and transparent waters will flow
down corrupted mangroves emptying
into a fish-strained sea.
The Antiguan racer was thought extinct
not once but twice, capturing the world's attention.
Now Nature sits on the sidelines of competition.
This poem is based on a Newsweek article titled “China Building New Outpost on U.S. Doorstep, Leaked Documents Reveal” that was published last month by a colleague of mine at the Atlantic Council. I was struck by the fact that this story actually goes back at least nine years when the original investor, Yida Zhang, signed an agreement to develop—and ultimately failed to do so—the Antigua and Barbuda Special Economic Zone (ABSEZ) in the country’s North East Marine Management Area (NEMMA).[1]
While I typically would have honed in on the geopolitical aspects of this development given my professional background, I couldn’t stop thinking about the potential environmental repercussions, especially once I learned that this SEZ is in a marine reserve. The Antiguan racer snake calls the islands in the NEMMA home, and was mistakenly declared extinct twice, although there were only around 50 left in 1995. It is no longer considered the world’s rarest snake thanks to efforts by both national and international organizations.[2] [3] [4]
[1] https://antiguaobserver.com/antigua-and-barbuda-special-economic-zone-absez-undergoing-sale-to-new-investor
[2] https://issuu.com/thecitizenantiguabarbuda/docs/antigua_barbuda_the_citizen_14s/s/16749346
[3] https://www.fauna-flora.org/species/antiguan-racer
[4] https://whitleyaward.org/winners/antiguan-racer-snake-conservation-project