Mrs Duncombe is a local environmentalists who is pushing for a more independent review of the day-to-day operations of the US Navy’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) in Andros after three whales were found beached near the facility in a span of two months.
AUTEC officials have promised an extensive investigation into the beachings, and has called for calm and understanding while the work is undertaken.
However Mrs Duncombe said that in the meantime, she and other environmentalists will continue to educate the public and create a forum through which Bahamians and residents can ask more “in-depth” questions about sonar testing.
A press conference is set for Sunday, when the environrnentalists Dr Marsha Green, of the Ocean Mammal Institute, and Susan Noward, of Animal Welfare, are scheduled to arrive in Nassau.
A town meeting is set for May 22 in Andros and another will be held in New Providence at the College of the Bahamas the following day,” she said.
“I think people are quite concerned about what is going on,” Mrs Duncombe said, “and what it means for the future of the ocean.
“One of the reasons that they say they test in the Tongue of the Ocean (TOTO) is because it is one of the most quiet places. Shouldn’t there be anywhere in the ocean where these animals can live without being harassed by humans?
“Their very reason for wanting to do it (testing) there is the very reason they shouldn’t be doing it there; because everywhere else is noisy,” she said.
Mrs Duncombe said that there is no other place in the world like TOTO, and that it should therefore be protected and off limits to military testing.
She added that support for the environmentalist’s efforts has been “a little bit lacking” from government officials, but mentioned the efforts of the new minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
Leslie Miller.
Mrs Duncombe had an often heated and contentious relationship with Mr Miller over environmental issues when he held the post of minister of Trade and Industry.
“The fact that the minister of Agriculture has made a point to try to find out something is a step in the right direction. But from what I understand the meeting he called was ‘his meeting’ and I know that people who presented to our government at AUTEC weren’t necessarily Navy people.
“So why is it that their side can have whoever they need to speak and ours can’t? If the government requested some of its citizens to be present at the meeting then that should have been honoured. It is an issue that I have been following for some time,” she said.
Mrs Duncombe said that the residents of Andros are looking forward to the town meeting, where they hope to get definitive answers to what is going on at AUTEC.
“The more that people understand and know about the issue, the better they are going to feel about how to address the issue.
“So I think they are very anxious to find out what is going on and what we need to do to mitigate the problem. But I think they are very committed to find out what is going on in their backyard – literally,” she said.
By PAUL TURNQUEST Tribune Statf Reporter
