The Ministry of The Environment of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in conjunction with the Bahamas National Trust and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design invite you to a one-day conference on Friday, July 8, 2011.

The event will take place at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort. Within a full and diverse programme, the conference will feature presentations by The Rt. Hon. Hubert Alexander Ingraham, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and The Hon. Earl D. Deveaux, Minister of The Environment.

Participation is free, but registration is required. To register, please email your name, title, and organization to events@gsd.harvard.edu by July 5.

Corporate and other private enterprises may wish to offer a tax-deductible donation to the Bahamas National Trust: bnt@bnt.bs

Videos of the conference can be viewed on Harvard GSD's YouTube channel.

The world is currently facing many ecological challenges relating to questions of scarcity of resources, pollution, climate change, and risk. Such issues are amplified on island communities. In this context, how should society and governments anticipate the future good of citizens? What plans should be made?

The Exumas, the chain of islands including the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, face a particular set of challenges, but also distinct opportunities. These challenges relate not just to issues of environmental management and protection, but of development, employment, education, public health, and tourism. How best to focus on preservation and sustaining the natural resources, beauty, and culture of the Exumas while planning carefully for the islands’ future well-being, and that of the residents?

This conference brings together a group of national and international experts to address both current strategies and future possibilities for the Exumas. The intention for this introductory event is to prepare the ground for a possible multi-year research initiative that will consider the Exumas from environmental, social, economic, and design and planning perspectives. The ultimate goal is to achieve a better understanding of alternative modes of developing and planning a more resilient future for the Exumas.

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  The Rt. Hon. Hubert Alexander Ingraham M.P., The Prime Minister and Minister of Finance was first elected to the House of Assembly in 1977 as the representative for his hometown constituency of Cooper’s Town, North Abaco. He has been re-elected on six consecutive occasions as the representative for that constituency. A child of working-class parents, Prime Minister Ingraham has a strong social conscience, which influenced the policies of his party and government. In 1993, he was made a member of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council. http://goo.gl/uokQX

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  The Hon. Earl D. Deveaux is the Member of Parliament for the Marathon Constituency and Minister of The Environment. He has previously served as Minister in several other government agencies. He recently led the process to modernise developmental protocols and encourage land management and conservation through legislation including the Planning and Subdivisions Act, the Forestry Act, and The Bahamas National Trust (Amendment) Act. The former public officer, agricultural consultant and commercial farmer believes that healthy environments and sustainable development are inextricably linked. http://goo.gl/SJgGc

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  Neil McKinney is President of the Bahamas National Trust, and has assisted and supported the BNT for many years. He previously served as a director and president of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, and has also served on the National Advisory Council for Education, the BEST National Climate Change Committee, and the Montreal Protocol Steering Committee. http://goo.gl/3J4ep

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  Mohsen Mostafavi, an architect and educator, is Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design. He was formerly the Gale and Ira Drukier Dean of the College of Archtecture, Art and Planning at Cornell University. Previously, he was the Chairman of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. He is author and editor of many books, including Structure as Space (2006); Ecological Urbanism (2010); and Implicate and Explicate (2011). http://goo.gl/a16g1

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  Eric Carey is Executive Director of The Bahamas National Trust, and formerly the BNT Director of Parks and Science, and Government Wildlife Conservation Officer. Carey served on the BNT Wildlife, Ornithology, and Gamebirds Committees, is a member of the Bahamas National Wetlands Committee, former Board Member of the Cape Eleuthera Foundation, and served two terms as President of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds. His international awards include the Partners-In-Flight International Conservation Award and the Wings Across The Americas Research and Management Partnership Award. http://goo.gl/d7RXw

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  Gareth Doherty teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He is a founding editor of New Geographies journal and editor-in-chief of Volume 3 “Urbanisms of Color” (2011). He edited Ecological Urbanism (2010) with Mohsen Mostafavi. Dr. Doherty received the Doctor of Design degree from Harvard University and Master of Landscape Architecture and Certificate in Urban Design from the University of Pennsylvania. His current research focuses on the anthropology of design. http://goo.gl/VKJPM

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  Herbert Dreiseitl is an internationally renowned sculptor, artist, landscape architect, and interdisci-plinary planner. He is the founder of Atelier Dreiseitl, a globally integrated design studio with a 30-year history of excellence in landscape architecture and urban planning. Dreiseitl currently directs the organisation’s strategic design and planning efforts, demonstrating a portfolio of site-responsive interventions of urban hydrology and environmental engineering. A hallmark of Dreiseitl’s work is the inspiring and innovative use of water to solve environmental challenges. http://goo.gl/oFCks

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  Leonard N. Enriquez has over 20 years of experience in the solid waste management industry. He founded Cambridge Project Development Inc. (“Cambridge”) in 2001, and has successfully developed a number of solid waste projects in the Bahamas/Caribbean region, including the 1,000 tons/day Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre. Enriquez holds both Master of Science (1976) and Bachelor of Science (1975) degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. http://goo.gl/MMMjN

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  Padraic Kelly trained as an engineering scientist at Trinity College Dublin and is a Chartered Engineer with more than 30 years designing and delivering infrastructure and buildings for the public and private sectors. He joined Buro Happold in 1978, becoming a director in 1992 and Managing Director in 1996. In 2006, Kelly established Happold Consulting which advises cities on its strategic planning, economic development, and urban regeneration. Kelly lectures widely on city issues, is President of Europengineers, and co-founded the Working Group on Sustainable Cities at Harvard University. http://goo.gl/vxHH5

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  Orjan Lindroth was born in Sweden and moved to the Bahamas with his family at an early age. After studies at London School of Economics, he worked in the U.K., France, and Canada before returning to The Bahamas in 1993. He is President of Lindroth Development Company, a Nassau-based community builder whose projects emphasize sustainable architectural patterns as a means of addressing modern ecological challenges and preserving local cultural identities. http://goo.gl/QElLD

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  Erich Mueller has been studying corals and reefs for over 30 years. In addition to research and education at a variety of levels, Dr. Mueller developed two laboratories for Mote Marine Laboratory in the Florida Keys. He has been working in the Exumas since 1995, has been a Senior Research Scientist with the Perry Institute for Marine Science since 2004, and is currently Director of the PIMS facility on Lee Stocking Island. http://goo.gl/eaOx1

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  Spiro Pollalis is Professor of Design, Technology, and Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Professor Pollalis is the Principal Investigator of the Gulf Encyclopaedia for Sustainable Urbanism project and of the Zofnass Program for the Sustainability of Infrastructure at the GSD. He has taught as a visiting professor in Greece; Uni-Stuttgart; TU-Delft; and ETH-Zurich; and has offered joint courses with the Harvard Business School on planning and development. He is the chief planner of DHA City Karachi, a new town of 500,000 people, and a consultant to the General Services Administration. http://goo.gl/4oGVr

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  Chris Reed is Adjunct Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and principal and founder of Stoss Landscape Urbanism, a Boston-based strategic design and planning practice. Stoss has distinguished itself internationally for a hybridized approach to public works projects rooted in infrastructure, functionality, and ecology. Stoss was the recipient of the 2010 Topos International Landscape Award, in recognition of the “theoretical and practical impulses the firm provides to the advancement of landscape architecture and urbanism as dynamic and open-ended systems.” http://goo.gl/CdkJu

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  C. Robert Reiss is the President of Reiss Engineering Ltd., a civil and environmental consulting firm. He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Central Florida and is a licensed professional engineer in The Bahamas as well as nine U.S. states. Dr. Reiss is the President of the Bahamas Society of Engineers and was appointed a member of the Accreditation Committee of the Bahamas Professional Engineers Board in October 2010. http://goo.gl/adu2O

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  Joyce Klein Rosenthal is an Assistant Professor of Urban Planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She received her Ph.D., with distinction (in 2010), M.S. in Urban Planning, and M.P.H. in Environmental Health Sciences from Columbia University. Professor Rosenthal’s research interests are in the nexus between urban climate, public health, and the built environment, with a focus on developing social capacity in planning ecologically resilient and adaptive communities. http://goo.gl/72UiX

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  Elizabeth Thomas-Hope was Chair of Environmental Management at the University of the West Indies from 1993 to 2010. Professor Thomas-Hope’s current research includes: agro-biodiversity and land management in the Caribbean; poverty and urban environmental management, environment and health; environmental perception and its implica-tions for environmental management; and, international migration and migration policy in regard to the Caribbean. Professor Thomas-Hope has a doctorate from Oxford University and has authored many books including Freedom and Constraint in Caribbean Migration and Diaspora, (2009). http://goo.gl/9Or1P

Creating a Culture of Land Planning in The Bahamas

The Minister of The Environment, The Hon. Earl D. Deveaux

In 2010, the Bahamas Government sought to advance land use planning in the nation. Planning the built environment of The Bahamas needs a new approach that will honour our traditions in building communities while protecting our natural resources. Three pieces of progressive legislation were passed in 2010 to modernize Land Use Planning–The Planning and Subdivisions Act, The Forestry Act, and The Bahamas National Trust Act. Together these acts strengthen the BNT’s ability to manage national parks and update its organizational structure.

These Acts are critical for The Bahamas’ continued growth and development and reflect the government’s desire for successful and sustainable development of our islands. This symposium is intended to launch a process for developing Land Use Plans to support the Planning and Subdivisions Act. Once this first Land Use Plan is completed, it will be used as a model to create other Land Use Plans throughout the archipelago. This will create a new culture of planning in The Bahamas, and will ensure that while development is important and essential to the welfare of our people, development itself will not destroy the country’s continued need to succeed in the future.

Seawater and Brackish Water Treatment:

Challenges and Design Considerations

C. Robert Reiss

Freshwater is not readily available in The Bahamas, and therefore, the primary source of drinking water is either seawater or brackish groundwater. The treatment of such sources requires careful evaluation and design in order to provide reliable and safe drinking water to consumers and in the meantime minimize the capital and operating costs of such complex treatment systems. Typically, a reverse osmosis membrane system is used to treat salt water, and the challenges encountered by the designer are mainly related to source water withdrawal, pre-treatment prior to reverse osmosis, and post-treatment. For example, beach wells or open intake for seawater withdrawal should be technically and economically evaluated prior to making a decision, and both present infrastructure design challenges. The design of such seawater withdrawal infrastructure directly impacts the costs and operations of the plant. This paper will present the challenges of designing the infrastructure for seawater and brackish groundwater plants in The Bahamas.

The Perry Institute:

A Venue for Sustainable Research, Technology and Education in the Exuma Cays

Erich Mueller

John H. Perry, Jr. recognized the need for sustainable development of marine resources and energy long before the notion became mainstream. Numerous aquaculture projects were undertaken in the 1970’s and 1980’s at Lee Stocking Island, just north of Great Exuma. Work on Tilapia aquaculture led to the successful development of this current technology. Mr. Perry also used a large solar array and wind turbine to provide power for the research centre established on the island. In the 1980’s he was recognized as a pioneer in the development of fuel cells and the use of seawater to generate methane. After 40 years, the research centre continues to facilitate world-class marine research and education. The location and infrastructure of Lee Stocking Island is superb for the development of new technology, and is responsible for training a new generation of Bahamians to construct and maintain sustainable systems.

Pearls in Aquamarine:

Environmental Value and Management Strategies for the Bahamian Exumas

Elizabeth Thomas-Hope

The concept of “pearls in aquamarine” used here to introduce a discussion of this sub-archipelago of coral atolls, creates a context for assessing strategies for their employment and management that emphasises aesthetic and authentic value. Both aesthetics and authenticity can be translated into monetary value as a proxy variable for the purpose of allowing comparisons to be made with other utility values that may be placed on the islands. The presentation will explore conflicts of interest and issues of sustainability in potential management strategies, and demonstrates the costs and benefits of possible options through referencing experiences of similar types of islands elsewhere. These experiences are viewed in light of what may be assessed as good practice and bad practice. It is argued that a clear notion of the various dimensions of environmental value must undergird all strategies that are developed for the holistic and sustainable management of the Exumas.

Creating Resilient Communities:

Reconnecting planning, design and public health in climate adaption

Joyce Klein Rosenthal

There is now an active planning process across many levels of government to prevent or mitigate damage from climate-related disasters such as heat waves. Higher average summertime temperatures in temperate zone cities are associated with environmental and public health liabilities, such as decreased air quality, increased mortality and morbidity, and peak electrical demand. Municipal climate adaptation in American cities has focused on approaches based on technological innovation (e.g., new materials and infrastructure upgrades); changes in behaviour and public education (e.g., neighbourhood watch programs and heat-alert programs); and improvements in urban design (e.g., zoning for mixed land-use; the use of water, vegetation, and plazas to reduce the urban heat island effect), while generally not incorporating social policies, such as supportive housing, that may address key vulnerabilities. Recent initiatives to spur climate adaptation and research on the public health impacts of urban design are discussed to illustrate these concerns and to address the effectiveness of strategies for developing “climate resilient” communities.

Ecological Waterscapes:

Site-responsive interventions of urban hydrology

Herbert Dreiseitl

Water is a beautiful resource for all life forms and for pleasure and enjoyment, especially in places like the Exumas. But water also currently presents a frightening challenge, that will only increase in the future. With the reality of critical water shortages and sometimes poor water quality management, the wasting of water resources is a luxury that few can afford. One option is to integrate, store, and recycle water that can then be upgraded and reused on the islands. Bringing water into the public realm requires multifunctional arrangements and provides an opportunity to raise public awareness of water issues. This may hopefully lead to more ecological waterscapes in the future. Waterscapes provide powerful narratives and realistic solutions that contribute to a better future.

Sustainable Urbanism in Affluent Societies

Spiro Pollalis

A multi-year research study, under the leadership of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, will address sustainable avenues for the future of nine coastal cities in eight Persian Gulf countries. The first year of the research focuses on understanding and documenting the past, the period before oil and gas revenues had an impact on the local economy. Subsequent phases will include the present and the future. The main focus of the research is on analyzing architectural typologies and urban forms, as they relate to socio-economic and environmental sustainability. This is accomplished taking into account the local climate, the economy, the people, and public health issues. Anthropologists, urban economists, environmentalists, and public health specialists complement the architects and urban planners and urban designers. The research is in its first year and two cities, Doha and Kuwait, have been analysed and will be presented. Researchers are currently collecting data for the remaining seven cities.

Touching the Ground Lightly

Padraic Kelly

Long before sustainability joined the ecritical lexicon of every built environment professional, Ted Happold, the founder of Buro Happold, used to say that it was our duty as consultants to ensure that whatever interventions we make on the planet should “touch the ground lightly.” Growing pressure on resources—natural, social, and financial—has led to the increased importance of integrated master planning in developments the world over. Consistent with our founder’s philosophy, Happold Consulting, the management consulting arm of Buro Happold, has developed a powerful evidence-based Integrated Development Planning methodology. This methodology brings its understanding of the fundamentals of market economics, finance, sustainability, environment, low-carbon infrastructure, planning and design, organisational capability and implementation to finding the most appropriate planning solutions. We work at a range of scales from urban quarters in largely natural environments to regeneration of existing cities, or the planning of new cities/regions. In his presentation, Kelly will highlight a range of projects that demonstrate this philosophy in action.

Visible and Invisible Aspects of Architecture and Urbanism

Mohsen Mostafavi

Architecture and urbanism are both visual practices. They involve the construction of artefacts—buildings, infrastructure, etc.—that visibly transform the environment. The beauty of architecture affects our apprehension of the built environment and improves our quality of life. But architecture and urbanism possess a nonvisual or invisible dimension as well. The aim of this talk is to explore the relationship between these two aspects of architecture and urbanism. How do buildings as physical objects contribute to constructing our lives? How can designers, planners, and government agencies create the appropriate frameworks for the most productive articulation of the relationship between visible and invisible dimensions of our environments?