Keeper of the land
Man of the earth
Roy Lawaetz
He is a passionate spokesperson for all those concerned about our natural and cultural heritage. A native of St. Thomas who now lives in St. Croix, Olasee Davis, is a rare blend of the scholarly and the practical.
He is just as much at ease hiking up a mountain with a group of people trekking behind him as he is on his computer writing researched articles about serious issues affecting the places we live. His impressive credentials in the field of ecology include advanced degrees, numerous awards, his work as a professor of earth sciences at University of the Virgin Islands in St. Croix, and researcher, lecture and environmental advocate throughout the Caribbean.
Davis shows us what the future can promise or what it can truly lose. People from all over the world write him concerned that St. Croix’s natural beauty is at a serious crossroad. They ask: How can the island conduct sustainable development without destroying its most precious assets?
Davis says it isn't just about jobs. Future generations have to be taken into account. He says everyone is a stakeholder. Davis points to other U.S. Virgins - St. Thomas with its shopping identity and St. John with its protected National Park beaches. These two islands have branded their identity, and he feels St. Croix must do the same. He says this non definition is St. Croix’s dilemma right now.
There are those who believe the answer is a casino environment for identity branding but Davis vehemently disagrees. He says we don’t realize what we have in natural resources. Barbados has one baobab tree. St. Croix has 114. And people from all over the world come to see them. At the moment the proposed $120 million resort and casino, known as the Williams and Punch project, in Frederiksted is a vital concern to him.
Davis emphasizes he is not against development but he wants a balanced approach to its implementation. He would like to see the island extract its historical and cultural context intact for preservation the way a chemist must do to create a new formulation. He says the Williams and Punch marina formula is a no no for him. Davis cites the project’s dredging process affecting the beach’s coastline, salt water intrusion within areas of historical stuctures, the moving of the road, competition of the proposed resort’s shopping arcades with Frederiksted’s own shops, and plans for an in house botanical garden that would compete with the long established St. George’s Botanical Gardens.
Davis’s other area of environmental concern is the $500 million dollar development at Annaly Bay on the island’s northwest shore. The developers promise that seventy percent of the 2,000 acres will be preserved as a green belt for eco activity. But Davis has his doubts. He hopes to plot out these development proposals on a tracking board, not in manuals of hidden reports but almost billboard in scale. Here the public would have access to exact visual location, proportion, and direction. He says this would create dialogue and encourage community involvement, which could be a beneficial tool for the developers- and not necessarily a negative one. He observes that planners involved in the Caribbea often do not have first hand knowledge of our special environment and history.
The huge Annaly Bay Complex on the drawing boards is such an example, says Davis. He believes the scale of projects in a formatted presentation could evaluate each new development, and be a visual litmus test and a graphic revealer of truth. Despite his concerns about St. Croix’s development, Davis says there are some positive steps being taken. A bill presented by the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Representative to Congress, Donna Christensen to purchase the Gaspari land for a National Park and to recognize St. Croix as a National Heritage site are steps in the right direction. Preserving the islands’ natural and cultural resources is not easy, but Davis believes it’s essential because without them he says we’re doomed. Davis says his Gospel is to keep trying to educate people, so they can make the right decisions. He is a passionate spokesperson for all those concerned about our island’s natural and cultural heritage.
Roy Lawaetz is an internationally known artist, who was born in St. Croix.
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