Oct 27, 2005 - Save a Coral Reef / Bahamas
Untitled Document
For the
past several months, we have been campaigning with the people of Bimini island,
Bahamas, to stop construction of a tourist complex that is destroying the island’s
mangrove forests.
Another island in the Bahamas,
Great Guana Cay, is similarly threatened. Please read the action alert we received
from Great Guana Cay environmentalists, and write letters in support of their
efforts (a model letter is provided). The Bahamian government needs to hear
from the world community (and from potential tourists) that tourism should enhance
appreciation for nature, not destroy it.
Protect Great Guana Cay’s coral reef and mangroves
The tiny seven-mile Great Guana Cay in the northern Bahamas
is under threat by an irresponsible mega-development. Scientists around the
world – including top coral reef ecologists, coral pathologists and mangrove
experts – agree that the Discovery Land Company’s plans to build a golf
course, 500 residential units and 180 slip marina will kill the coral reef in
a matter of a few years.
The native inhabitants of Guana Cay, many of whom are descendents of the original
Loyalist settlers, have formed an environmental organization to fight this development.
The Sierra Club and Greenpeace are helping their cause, and they have asked
Global Response to support them with a letter-writing campaign. A model letter
is provided, below, or write your own personal letter.
Learn more about the efforts to stop this golf course and marina by visiting:
www.saveguanacayreef.com
An independent series of articles on the subject can be found here:
http://www.notesfromtheroad.com/WestIndies/bakers_bay_intro.htm
The developers plan can be seen in this pdf:
http://www.discoverylandco.com/images/bakersbay/illustrative_plan.pdf
Coral reefs are in serious decline
around the world, and especially in the Caribbean. But the reef at Great Guana
Cay is among the few remaining healthy reefs in the entire Caribbean. This reef,
which is only 45 feet away from the beach of the proposed development, contains
an incredible diversity of reef fishes, sharks, and brilliant corals. At least
three species of sea turtle nest on the beach adjacent to the reef.
Coral reefs require low levels of nutrients to survive. Because Guana Cay is
a limestone cay, the golf course pesticides and fertilizers and ‘gray water’
of the marina will seep into the reef, regardless of the environmental measures
the developer has proposed. This toxic combination will quickly turn the reef
into an algae-ridden dead zone.
In addition, the developer will rip out the last remaining mangroves on Great
Guana Cay in order to build one of the largest marinas in the Bahamas. After
the lessons learned from destroying Bimini’s crucial mangroves to build a similar
golf course, isn’t it time the Bahamas reconsiders irresponsible development?
The most audacious component of this development can be stopped if more international
attention is directed at this project. Normally, such small islands never have
an international voice. Help prove that even little islands can have a strong
voice.
Requested Action:
Please write a polite letter to
the Prime Minister of the Bahamas. You can also send a copy of your letter to
the Nassau Tribune.
Tell the Prime Minister you are alarmed that the local government has been denied
any involvement in this project, and that none of the locals’ concerns have
been addressed by the developer. In addition, tell him that you are alarmed
that the developer has not addressed any of the deficiencies raised by world-class
ecologists about their EIA, and that they should respond publicly to the questions
raised by the Sierra Club.
Urge him to halt construction of
the golf course and marina immediately. Great Guana Cay is already a healthy
tourist destination. He should know that tourism in the Abacos depends largely
on the historical and natural beauty of Great Guana Cay, and in particular the
beauty of the unspoiled reef and mangroves.
Tell him that the cays of Abaco in the Northern Bahamas rely on a type of tourism
that appreciates the historical architecture, laid-back atmosphere and natural
beauty of these islands. Mega-developments do not fit the Abaco model of eco-tourism.
Addresses:
Salutation: Honorable Prime Minister Christie
The Rt. Hon. Perry Gladstone Christie
Prime Minister Office of the Prime Minister
Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre
Cable Beach P.O. Box N-3217
Nassau, N.P. Bahamas
EMAIL: pmchristie@bahamas.gov.bs
FAX: 242-327-5806
Eileen Carron
Publisher
The Tribune
P.O. Box N-3207
Nassau, N.P., Bahamas
FAX: 242-328-2398
EMAIL: letters@tribunemedia.net
Note: Postage: from the US
is 80 cents.
Model Letter:
The Rt. Hon. Perry Gladstone Christie, Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre, Cable Beach
P.O. Box N-3217
Nassau, N.P. Bahamas
EMAIL: pmchristie@bahamas.gov.bs
FAX: 242-327-5806
Honorable Prime Minister Christie,
I am extremely concerned to learn that instead of protecting
one of the last healthy coral reefs in the Caribbean, your administration has
authorized construction of the Baker’s Bay Golf and Ocean Club. Scientists
around the world agree that despite the ‘green’ language of the developer, the
golf course and marina will destroy the coral reef in a matter of a few years.
Coral reefs in several Caribbean countries have been devastated
by developments being built too close. All marine biologists agree that golf
courses and marinas built on small limestone cays leach out nutrients into reefs.
According to top scientists, the nutrient levels from this development will
turn the Guana Cay reef into an algae-infested dead zone within a few years.
I urge you to halt the plans to build the golf course and
marina of this development immediately. The coral reef at Guana Cay is one of
the Bahamas’ finest treasures. The mangroves, which will be ripped out in place
of the marina, are an important part of Guana Cay’s ecosystem. The health of
the mangroves directly affect the health of the coral reef.
As a tourist, I visit places where the natural resources
are protected, and I would never patronize a country or a resort that destroys
mangroves and coral reefs. The Abacos, and Guana Cay itself, are known for eco-sensitive
tourism that focuses on natural beauty. Let’s keep it that way.
Sincerely,
Cc:
Eileen Carron
Publisher
The Tribune
P.O. Box N-3207
Nassau, N.P., Bahamas
FAX: 242-328-2398
EMAIL: letters@tribunemedia.net
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