Barbuda Council Decries Central Government's Attempts to Fractionate Communal Lands

The Barbuda Council’s call for a boycott against the government’s land adjudication process, which seeks to dismantle their island’s traditional communal land system, which has sustained and united Barbadians for generations.
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Why Communal Land Systems Matter

  • Shared Prosperity and Security: Communal ownership ensures that everyone in the community has a stake in the land and its resources. This fosters a sense of shared responsibility and helps prevent the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. It also provides a safety net, ensuring that even in times of hardship, everyone has access to the resources they need to survive.
  • Sustainable Resource Management: Communal systems often prioritize long-term sustainability over short-term profit. Decisions about land use are made with the well-being of future generations in mind, promoting practices that protect the environment and preserve natural resources.
  • Cultural Preservation: Communal land ownership is often deeply intertwined with the cultural identity and traditions of a community. It provides a sense of connection to the land and ancestors, fostering a strong sense of place and belonging.
  • Community Empowerment: In communal systems, decisions about land use and management are typically made collectively, giving everyone a voice in shaping the future of their community. This fosters a sense of empowerment and self-determination.

Why Privatization is a Threat:

  • Widening the Wealth Gap: When land becomes a commodity, wealthier individuals or corporations can accumulate large tracts, pricing out locals and creating deep economic disparities.
  • Foreign Profits, Local Losses: Foreign investors often prioritize short-term gain, building resorts and projects that bring them wealth but offer little to the community. Barbudans may end up with low-wage jobs while most profits leave the island, eroding self-sufficiency and cultural heritage.
  • Environmental Destruction: Privatization can lead to reckless development. Natural barriers like mangroves and wetlands, essential for protecting Barbuda from hurricanes and sea-level rise, could be destroyed. New infrastructure could disrupt delicate ecosystems, making the island even more vulnerable to climate change.
  • Silencing Local Voices: Privatization shifts power away from the community. It weakens local voices in critical decisions regarding land use and disaster planning. Outside investors would control large swathes of land, pushing aside the knowledge and needs of locals. This loss of control over land use and disaster planning will leave Barbuda less resilient and less prepared for the future.

#NoToPrivatization #ProtectOurLand #SaveBarbuda

Remember: Sharing this post and spreading awareness are crucial steps in protecting Barbuda’s communal land system. Encourage your friends and family to join the fight!
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Showcasing stories of Caribbean organizations at the foreground of the struggle against disaster capitalism in the Caribbean. Our network of participants in the Greater Caribbean region connect, learn, share their hands on responses to the impacts of the twin threats of the climate crisis and disaster capitalism in our region.

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Participating Organizations

Agroprovidencia

Bernard Lodge Farmers Group

Grenada Land Actors

Island City Lab

Julian Cho Society

WAVE (Progressive Reform Movement)

Raizal Youth Organization

Ubad Educational Foundation

Save Barbuda

Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña

The Breadfruit Collective

The Karl Lévêque Cultural Institute (ICKL)

Tèt Kole

La Colmena Cimarrona

Amplify Cayman

Institutional Support

The University of the West Indies

Bristol University

Funding Support

Global Challenges Research Fund

Open Society Foundations

Climate Litigation Accelerator

Legal Associates

Freedom Imaginaries

Global Legal Action Network

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All Rights Reserved – strongercaribbeantogether.org 2022

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In the tumultuous aftermath of disasters, it is easy to feel isolated and alone, but you are not.

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Responses

Barbuda

  • Barbudans Take Their Pleas to the Privy Council

Belize

  • Strengthening Communal Land Governance Institutions
  • Community Awareness Campaigns
  • Advocacy for Environmental Law Ammendments

Cayman Islands

  • Advocacy for #DemocracyOverDestruction
  • Practice and Normalization of Direct Communication
  • Community Solidarity Actions

Colombia

  • Community Seed Bank
  • Post Hurricane Housing Challenges of the Raizal Continue

Grenada

  • Grenada Physical Planning Department to Court for Ignoring Their Rights
  • Grenadans Go to the Privy Council to Enshrine the Right to Challenge the Government

Haiti

  • The Montana Agreement: Broad Haitian Political Consensus

Puerto Rico

  • Community Land Trust Formation
  • Sewing Food Sovereignty Through Collective Agriculture

Challenges

Barbuda

  • Natural Hurricane Protection Removal for Vacation Luxury
  • Heritage of Communal Land Ownership Under Threat

Belize

Cayman Islands

  • 'Wildfire' Construction Spells Widespread Wetland Destruction
  • Stagnant Local Salaries Meet Skyrocketing Real Estate Prices
  • Public Calls to Deaf Political Ears

Colombia

  • Threats to Food Security in the Colombian Archipelago
  • Post Hurricane Housing Challenges of the Raizal Continue

Grenada

  • Grenada Less and Less for Grenadians
  • Unregulated Projects

Haiti

Jamaica

  • Food Insecurity :Ploughing the Land to Palnt Concrete

Puerto Rico

Partners

Legal Associates

Institutional Support