Non-government organizations (NGOs) are bringing focus to the importance of protecting and conserving marine resources such as coral reefs through development projects being carried out in several Caribbean countries including the Bahamas.

Silversea Cruises announced that Mike Pawlus has joined the luxury line as director of strategic itinerary planning and scheduling, reporting directly to Christian Sauleau, executive vice president of operations. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Pawlus will oversee the itinerary planning function for Silversea’s vessels, which currently call at over 300 ports.

“If they come here to extract iron from the beach, it will mean the destruction of our natural wealth and the end of tourism,” warned Leonel Palma, a hotel employee in Puerto de San José on Guatemala’s Pacific coast, where the government has granted mineral exploration licenses.

The Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) named Adrian Elcock as its new chairman effective April 4, 2011. Mr. Elcock replaces Ralph Taylor, BTA’s chairman for the past three years. Mr. Elcock, a director of The Elcock Group of Companies, holds a degree in accounting from Pace University in New York and previously served as deputy chairman of Barbados’ Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Center.

The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) has honored Interval International, a prominent worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating business of Interval Leisure Group, with a Special Appreciation Award for its outstanding contributions to the region as the company celebrates 35 years of leadership in the vacation ownership industry.

St Lucia police have charged six local men with raping two British women who were volunteering on a conservation project on the Caribbean island. The men were arrested in connection with last week’s night time assault on the two women on an isolated stretch of Grande Anse beach in the north east of the island.