Those rare and endemic species include three small reptiles, the endangered Red Bellied Racer snake and several birds that breed in limited areas; including the Red Billed Tropicbird – said to number only 7,500 worldwide.

Part III of a multi-part series originally published on Ecology.com.

By Betsy Crowfoot

Even as St. Eustatius (Statia) was putting the final touches on its Spatial Development Plan last spring, NuStar Energy LLP was forging ahead with preparations for a second oil terminal on the small central-Caribbean Island.

Already the Fortune 500 company has more than 60 storage tanks on the north end of Statia: their largest terminal, according to NuStar’s annual report. And the company hopes to add 30-some additional tanks to an island roughly five miles long by two miles wide. However, their preferred site – a 10-minute walk from downtown Oranjestad – was not zoned for industrial use as such. [Read more...]