ASSOCIATION
Tensions around quarry activities near Kalinago territory
In 2025, excavations began in the upper Concord Valley, near the Northern Forest Reserve and upstream from the Kalinago Territory, the ancestral home of Dominica’s indigenous people. An application for quarrying had been submitted based on the need to obtain aggregate for construction of the international airport. This activity caused opposition from environmental activists and Kalinago representatives, who raised serious concerns about environmental destruction and the lack of consultation with affected communities. In October 2025, the Kalinago Council called on the Minister of Environment to intervene after they observed river pollution. According to a petititon launched in November 2025, no Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) had been disclosed.
On 1st December 2025, the Physical Planning Division ordered all quarrying activities to stop due to environmental damage. In February 2026, environmental activists put signs such as “Mining must cease” in Marigot but the signs were quickly removed by the police.
On 10th March 2026, in Marigot, environmental activists blocked the road access to the Deux Branches quarry to protest against the operations that continued despite the order. Protesters blocked heavy machinery from entering the site for several hours before police arrived and escorted the equipment.
In March 2026, after months of requests, the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of the site was released but no copy was permitted and time for consultation was limited. The Save Deux Branches environmentalist initiative scanned the files and uploaded them online. The Kalinago Council is listed as a stakeholder in the June 2025 Environmental and Social Impact Assessment but Kalinago Chief Annette Sanford publicly disputed claims that her Council was consulted.
Dominica formally became a party to the Escazú Agreement on 21st July 2024. According to this agreement, interested parties should be able to submit their feedback and opinions on an environmental impact assessment.
These developments seem to contradict the recommandations of the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, Elisa Morgera, who visited Dominica in May 2025 and issued her report in April 2026. She encouraged Dominica to “prioritise filling gaps in legislation and implementation that currently expose women, children, older persons, persons with disabilities, the Kalinago People and migrants to risks of further negative human rights impacts” and to recognise the key role of human rights holders and civil society representatives through meaningful engagement in the co-development of human rights-based climate action.
Their meaningful participation in decision-making and environmental assessments could ensure more effective, and in fact transformative, outcomes across socioecological systems
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, Elisa Morgera.
In April 2026, the government specifically dismissed claims of mining at the Deux Branches site, clarifying that quarrying activities are solely for extracting basalt to support construction of the Dominica International Airport.
Creation of first trade union congress
On 26th September 2025, four leading unions, the Dominica Public Service Union (DPSU), Dominica Association of Teachers (DAT), Dominica Amalgamated Workers’ Union (DAWU), and the Waterfront and Allied Workers’ Union (WAWU), united into a single platform and organised the first-ever national Trade Union Congress (DTUC), with the help of the International Labour Organisation. Under the theme “Consolidating Trade Union Power through Unity and Solidarity,” the aim of this platform is to strengthen workers’ representation and social dialogue and to advance the Decent Work Agenda for all workers in Dominica. In March 2026, the General Secretary of the Congress announced the Trade Union Congress had obtained the green light to operate and, in June, that it received a grant from the Internatioal Labour Organisation.
A united congress gives you a stronger seat at the table of social dialogue. It allows you to speak with one voice in defence of workers’ rights, to influence policy, and to stand firm against injustice.
- Mr. Joni Musabayana, Director of the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean