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This past year was a signal year for the environment, but there's work still to do. Here's my scorecard:

What went Right:

• Southlands - the decision to swap that pristine land for an area at Morgan's Point is at the top of the list;

• Cooper's Island Nature Reserve - anything that adds to the bank of open space is a good thing. Thanks to the U.S. military for protecting it from local development;

• Recognition of the importance of shipwrecks as part of our environmental and cultural heritage;

• Signs that developers are more willing to consult about the environment during the planning stages;

• Passage of the new Pesticides Safety Act in the House (this goes to the Senate in the New Year);

• Review of Bermuda Plan initiated;

• Work being done on a national energy plan, and plans for exploring alternative energy sources such as wave energy;

• Serious look at BELCO's expansion plans, and alternatives;

• Extended seasonal fishing ban from 3 to 6 months in the known Eastern MPA for Black Grouper (Rockfish) Spawning Aggregation (this is a result of government listening to the professionals);

• BEST, BNT, Greenrock and other organizations were active and successful in stimulating a quantum leap in environmental awareness;

• Formation of ECO clubs in many of the island's schools.

What went wrong (generally the things that went wrong are the same things we would like corrected to go right for next year):

• Environment Minister's override of advice and law in granting of appeal for the Warwick Long Bay beach bar;

• Illegal work on cruise ship pier and land filling at Dockyard. This work is being done without legitimate Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and without proper Planning approval;

• Disregard and/or disrespect for the planning process in general by government and others;

• No completion of plan for Southlands/Morgan's Point land swap;

• Budget for Ministry of the Environment seems to be going down each year (they are short of staff, especially for enforcement).

What we would like to see this year from government:

• Southlands: commit the area to to Nature Reserve and Parkland;

• Morgan's Point -commit to cleanup and a complete and an open Planning process including an EIA;

• Cruise ship docks and land reclamation - commit to comprehensive, legitimate and reviewed EIAs;

• Cruise Ship Channels - commit to an EIA (11 years overdue);

• Increase incentives for homeowners to generate their own electricity (non fossil-fueled, for example, solar), and require BELCO to arrange automatic buy-back of any extra they generate (e.g. through reversible metering, which I understand is already in place);

• No more "retroactive planning approvals";

• Increased adherence to the Planning process and the decisions of the DAB and recommendations of independent consultants, in other words, follow its own Planning rules;

• Listen to expert consultants - its own and the ad hoc, paid-for ones;

• Make Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) mandatory and require they be conducted by independent agencies;

• Abide by international agreements that Bermuda has signed on to such as the Environment Charter;

• Use Special Development Orders (SDO) only in cases of national importance and always accompanied by a thorough rationale;

• Incentives for and enforcement of best practices for recycling as they do in major cities - something specific that gets people to understand that this must be the way forward;

• Take an active role to increase public awareness of threats to the environment and the wider implications of unregulated development, improper and/or excessive waste disposal, pollution (including noise pollution) and increasing population density.

There's lots to do. Fortunately, the number of people concerned with protecting our environment is growing. I wish them all a productive and rewarding New Year.

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