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John Mussington

HRD, Educator

John Mussington is an Educator (retired secondary school Principal), Scientist and Community Advocate. He has worked consistently over the past 3 decades to increase public awareness on the consequences of the climate crisis and the link to environmental destruction due to poor policy decisions. He advocates on behalf of affected communities by taking their ideas and concerns to the larger media outlets in Antigua and Barbuda and to international organisations and audiences. He advocates to influence public policy in Barbuda, as a leader in organizations such as the Barbuda Farming Co-Op and the Barbuda Land Rights & Resources Committee. Mr Mussington actively agitates to promote awareness of resource management and sustainable development issues and to promote policies that conserve the natural and built environments. He has worked as a consultant environmentalist with several funding agencies and international partners. In the aftermath of the 2017 Hurricane Irma Disaster Mr Mussington was among the first set of Barbudans to return to the island and to start the resistance movement against attempts to deracinate the Barbudan community to facilitate the redevelopment of the island into a private playground for millionaires.

Barbudans and human right defenders working on issues related to land and territory or environmental rights have experienced harassment, intimidation, defamation, and criminalization in the country.Other human rights problems include corruption by officials and impunity regarding cases of human rights defenders resisting destructive private tourism developments in Barbuda.