Please Help To Protect Mangroves and Shark Habitat On Bimini

[LemonShark]

Please join the campaign to stop the destruction of mangrove forests on Bimini island in the Bahamas.

Mega-development known as the Bimini Bay Resort and Casino is threatening and destroying precious environment of Bimini.

For more informationon on Bimini’s unique ecosystems and the tourism project that may destroy them see: www.globalresponse.org/gra.php?i=2/05

How can you help?
Write letters to hit Bahama’s Prime Minister, you can use a model letter (below) or write your own letter. It will be very helpful to send copies to The Nassau Guardian newspaper.

also see:
www.globalresponse.org/updates.php?record=2167

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 very concerned about your administration’s authorization for the construction of the Bimini Bay Resort and Casino and the environmental damage it will cause to irreplaceable mangrove and marine resources if it is allowed to continue at its proposed scale. Like many concerned citizens around the world, I have been following the extensive international print, electronic and television media attention focused on this issue (e.g. in the The Washington Post, The Guardian, Miami Herald, NBC 6) and I recently saw the March 2, 2006 issue of the Nassau Guardian, which carried an article “Bimini Bay to be Scaled Down”. In this article, I was delighted to see that the Bimini Bay Resort issue was the subject of parliamentary debate and that both the developer and members of your administration have acknowledged that the scale of the project is inappropriate because it would cause significant damage to “eco-sensitive land” that the developer has now pledged to “return to the government and to the people of Bimini and The Bahamas”.

In the coming months, your administration will make decisions about this project that will have long-term and far-reaching effects on the future of Bimini’s unique marine environment and tourism industry. With that in mind, I urge you to consider implementing the following measures to significantly scale-back this potentially devastating development:

1. Limit the Bimini Bay Resort and Casino to areas already cleared along the western edge of the North Sound and forgo further mangrove deforestation along this coast.

The Bimini Bay Resort’s own website acknowledges the ecological importance of mangroves and claims that they are concerned about restoring and creating mangrove habitat in Bimini. Unfortunately, mangrove ecosystems cannot be artificially “created” and any “restoration” that Bimini’s mangroves need is a direct result of the Bimini Bay Resort’s bulldozing activities. It has been well documented that Bimini Bay Resort has already removed a large area of mangroves, including an area with the largest species diversity of marine life in the North Sound.

2. Remove the proposed golf course from the development.

The golf course poses the single greatest threat of the proposed plan to Bimini’s marine environment. This is because it requires the removal of a huge area of “eco-sensitive land” (i.e. mangroves). Moreover, the pesticides and fertilizers used to maintain a golf course will inevitably enter Bimini lagoon and the nearby reefs, especially given the high winds and rainfall experienced in this area. The scientific literature is replete with examples of how these chemicals damage marine ecosystems (e.g. die-offs of invertebrates, bioaccumulation of toxins in the food chain, toxic algal blooms, algal overgrowth of coral reefs). Contaminated water from golf course run-off will be flushed into Bimini’s main lagoon by tides on a daily basis, potentially diminishing water quality throughout the system. While the developer may benefit from a golf course, the people of Bimini and The Bahamas would assume all of the risk and costs.

3. Establish a Marine Protected Area along the east coast of the North Sound and around East Bimini.

As the government acknowledged in 2000, the mangroves of North and East Bimini are of highest priority for national protection. A Marine Protected Area will ensure that this richly diverse ecosystem continues to serve Bimini as it always has: by providing nursery habitat for key food species (queen conch, lobster) and the gamefish that have made Bimini famous all around the world. The mangroves and seagrass flats are also vital habitat for the baitfish that attract large pelagic species (e.g. tuna, billfish) and the anglers that pursue them. The fish which populate Bimini’s coral reefs will also benefit from protected nursery areas, and thus, so will the thousands of SCUBA and snorkel enthusiasts that visit Bimini. It is likely that even the Bimini Bay Resort itself would profit more from a Marine Protected area than from a golf course.

As the world learned at great cost during last December’s tsunami in South and South East Asia, it is critical to protect the mangrove ecosystem which, in turn, protects the human population from major storms. The livelihoods of your people and the future of your tourism industry depend on conservation of the mangrove ecosystem. As a tourist, I select destinations where natural resources are protected, and I would never patronize a country or a resort that destroys valuable mangrove ecosystems.


Sincerely,


CC:
Anthony Capron, Chief Editor
Nassau Guardian
#4 Cater Street, Oakes Field
P.O. Box N-3011
Nassau, N.P Bahamas,
Fax: +(242) 328-6883 or 242-328-8942 or -8943
Email: anthony@nassguard.com

[LemonShark]

Please find the time to help Bimini!!!

MAP Visit To Bimini Island Reveals


Mangrove Action Project's (MAP) executive director had the opportunity to visit Bimini on a fact finding tour in late April, discussing with local residents the problems associated with the ongoing destructive development there. The overall feeling of the local people is that the government of the Bahamas is too corrupt and the project too big to easily stop. MAP's partner groups in this effort believe outside pressure combined with internal dissent is essential to halt the next planned phase of the development, including hotel building, additional condos, a marina, shops and an 18 hole golf course, which will cause further major mangrove destruction and threaten already endangered native species.

Taking note of the fact that Bimini Island in the Bahamas was made famous by the writings of Ernest Hemingway, MAP has coined the expression regarding the recent destructive Bimini Bay development there as "An Island In the Extreme!" Both Gerardo Capo, the private developer, and the Hilton Hotel chain have joined forces to inflict heavy, irreparable damage to the island's mangroves and coastal life, including the lives of the local community of Bimini. If this development goes full course, or even proceeds partially forward with additional land clearing and dredging, little of the former luster of this island jewel will remain, and a tragic legacy will be left for both residents and visitors to Bimini.

Though the destructive nature of the "Capo caper" can easily be discerned by local residents and visitors alike, little of the previous local resistance can now be found among locals, who really have the most to lose by the development. Bone fishing, fly fishing and big-game fishing guides all will lose business, as the loss of the Island's mangroves and coral reefs resulting from the project will mean significant reductions in the wild fisheries, which once were considered a world-class fisheries among sports fishermen. Dive shops and other various water sports and tourism ventures will also suffer as the real draw of Bimini-its natural beauty and high biodiversity-will be seriously compromised by the Capo/ Hilton Bimini Bay Resort development. Innumerable endangered species such as the endemic Bimini boa, the rare saw fish, the threatened lemon sharks, and many migratory bird species will disappear or greatly diminish in numbers, while the Island's famous coral reefs and protective mangroves are lost in the 18th hole. This development also threatens an area of Bimini meant for designation as a Marine Protected Area because of its importance as an international biodiversity hotspot.

Meanwhile, the lives of the local population-many there for many generations-- will be invariably changed for the worse, as traditional livelihoods and the health of the Island are being adversely affected. Early on, there was wide-scale, vocal opposition to this illicit development, which now overshadows all previous developments on the Island. However, it now seems that Capo has bought not only the 700-plus acres of Bimini for his pet island redesign project, but is fast buying out the local spokespersons on the island who formerly had opposed his dubious venture. Those Biminites who had spoken out most loudly against Capo's caper have now grown silent, with evidence that they have been bought out one by one with personal "gifts" from the Bimini Bay Resort. One leading opposition voice-a local minister-who had early on steadfastly opposed the project was recently seen deplaning Capo's private jet in a new suit, arm in arm with Capo himself. Another Island leading voice against the project-the head of a Planning Committee, who had previously spoken out against the project-- was turned around completely after her recent "vacation" with Capo's family to the Maldives and Seychelles Islands. When she returned from this trip, she had only praise for the development and for Capo. Other opponents have also been silenced by Capo's well-timed "generosity," as gifts of turkey's for each family on Bimini and a Christmas party with gifts for the children last year further quelled the local opposition. It would seem that Capo's age-old tactic of "trade beads to appease the locals" is working in his favor, yet there still is that persistent ember of opposition needing a fresh, offshore sea breeze to revive it.


It is evident, despite the quite, that the locals are not happy with the development, as there is much talk behind the scenes in personal conversations with resident Biminites expressing dismay and concerns about the project. Many will discuss the problems they are now or will be facing. The false promises of more local employment fly in the face of the fact that Haitians and Mexicans are now being brought over to Bimini to take the few jobs Bimini Bay Resort will provide. And, most realize that the dredging of the coast and physical removal of the existing island channels, altering of beaches and land fills that are accompanying this project may well be fatal to the Island's future as a healthy and viable place to live. They may be silent or less vocal in their opposition, but there is still an undercurrent of opposition to many of Capo's designs on their Island paradise. There can be little doubt that Hemingway's formerly depicted "Island in the Stream" is now an "Island in the Extreme!"

Letters of protest are urgently needed now to halt this terrible development scheme from progressing any further. A designated Marine Protected Area for the Island is needed! Please write letters urging that this MPA is immediately established and that the Bimini Bay Resort development is not allowed to progress further. Ask that the golf course on North Bimini and other development plans for the East Channel be halted so that these remaining intact mangroves are conserved and protected as part of the intended MPA.

***ACTION ALERT!!!***

Please Write Letters Of Protest Against The Planned Bimini Bay Development

Sample Letter:

Dear Prime Minister Christie,

I am writing you out of deep concern for the fate of the mangrove forest of Bimini Island, now endangered by ruinous and unsustainable development plans.

I have heard disturbing news that the Bimini Bay Resort and Casino is now taking place, and that Phase 1 has already transpired against the wishes of the majority of the local population and contrary to the recommendations of a scientific study which recommended against this unsound project.

The developer, Gerardo Capo of Miami, Florida plans to build homes and condominium apartments for thousands of people, a large marina, a gambling casino and worst of all, a golf course, all on an island with no room for such a project. Most of the golf course will be built on what is now mangrove wetland adjacent to North Sound, which will be dredged and the sea bottom destroyed. The surrounding land will be scarified and filled. Also, there is no adequate plan for disposing of the solid waste or sewerage that so many residents will generate and no plan to prevent golf course fertilizer runoff from entering the remaining natural areas.

Also, Passerine Development is a 585-acre luxury golf course and 240-slip marina that is completely private for members only.. The 3rd largest barrier reef in the world lies only 50 feet from shore and closer in places. The golf course and associated pollutants will kill the reef - it is inevitable. The marina is set to be dredged in behind Joe's Creek, the island's only and last fish estuary. This too is a terrible idea, which will have disastrous consequences.

In short, these developments are disasters waiting to happen. Please take steps now to halt the further loss to these important and beautiful places, which will otherwise be further degraded and destroyed by these extremely short-sighted and unsustainable development plans that will surely hurt future tourism and ruin the local economy in the process. Instead, please push forward the plans to establish the Marine Protected Area of North Bimini which otherwise is imperiled by the golf course and other planned developments.

Sincerely.

=====

HERE ARE SOME GOOD NAMES TO WRITE TO Concerning Bimini Island:

The Rt. Hon. Perry Gladstone Christie - Prime Minister
The Office of the Prime Minister
Cecil Wallace - Whitfield Centre
Cable Beach
P.O. Box N 3217
Nassau, N.P. Bahamas

Livingston S. Marshall
Environmental Consultant
Office of the Prime Minister
P.O. Box CB-10980
Nassau, Bahamas

Michael T. Braynen
Director of Fisheries
Department of Fisheries
P.O. Box N-3028, Nassau, The Bahamas

Mr. K. Smith
BEST Commission, Ministry of Health and Environment
Nassau Court
P.O. Box N 3730
Nassau, The Bahamas

Hon. Obediah H. Wilchcombe, M.P.
Ministry of Tourism
British Colonial Hilton Hotel
Bay Street
P.O. Box N3701
Nassau, N.P. Bahamas


Editor
Nassau Guardian
P.O. Box N-3011
Nassau, New Providence
Bahamas
email: editor@nasguard.com
email: anthony@nasguard.com


Editor
The Punch
P.O. Box N-4081
Nassau, New Providence
Bahamas
Contact: Ivan Johnson tel: (242)-322-7112
email: thepunch@coralwave.com


Editor
The Bahamas Journal
email: bahjour@coralwave.com

Editor
email: oswaldtbrown@hotmail.com

For More Information, please contact Bill Parks at "William C. Parks" <bertram25@att.net>

--

Alfredo Quarto, Executive Director
Mangrove Action Project
PO Box 1854
Port Angeles, WA 98362-0279
USA
phone/ fax (360) 452-5866
mailto:mangroveap@olympus.net
web site: http://www.earthisland.org/map/map.html

Thanks for your interest to save unique environment of Bimini!

[coral]

Aww thats just sad...esp on small islands where the entire area could be considered coastal...and Mangroves are so important..not just for the marine animals..all other types of animals use the mangrove, either for food, shelther, roosting or nursery etc.

And mangroves also reclaim land...if they remove it...there would be an increase in erosion that may affect the development.

Senseless really....thats how i see it...Im gonna send a letter to the editors..via an email.

I like how the sample letters give recommendations.

Devi

[LemonShark]

You are right, mangroves are the most important for Bimini...unfortunately Bahamian government and Capo maintain a position that Bimini Bay project is environmentally friendly and that it is going to improve Bimini in all aspects.

Letters can put pressure on Bahamian Government.
The international outcray is always very useful.

The main aim of this campaign is to halt the destruction and create Bimini Marine Protected Area.

Thanks for every letter...

[LemonShark]

http://www.therodandreelclub.com/bimini ... expage.htm

[coral]

Just looking at the pictures as the page loaded was sad. Dont ppl realise what they are doing is actually damaging themselves in the long run.

[Izzy]

Humans don't think for the future as much as we think we do. We think in terms of months, sometimes years. But never in decades or centuaries, which is the most important way to think to save planet ocean.

[LemonShark]

Poeple are greedy for money and therefore they don't care about the environment. It's a really terrible reality that some of them don't want to preserve important environment for another generation.

[coral]

yip...thats UNsustainable development..people should start implementing and practicing sustainable development, that is, taking the next generation into consideration.

I know development is inevitable, esp with growing populations but there are proper methods that they use to have minimal impact on the environment. Instead of destroying the environment, develop with it...incorporate the enviroment and its conservation.

I read something once and it goes soemthing like...once the enviroment is easily destroyed but cannot be created and can only be partially restored.

[LemonShark]

At this time is very important to write letters of deep concerns to Gregory Rockett of Hilton (he is supporting Capo, so he also has the responsibility for this disastrous development).
Capo depends on Hilton Hotels Corporation and our aim is to persuade Mr Rockett to stop the further destruction of the island's ecology. He still claims that they are in information-gathering phase of environmental impacts (I am sure they all are aware of negative impacts). However we should do pressure on him in this issue.

Please help, Bimini is too precious island and the golf course will destroy all of beauties and biologically important areas of Bimini.

Contact:
Gregory Rockett
Vice President, Development
Hilton International - The Americas
901 Ponce de Leon Blvd. #700
Coral Gables, FL 33134
email: gregory.rockett@hilton.com
also use this email: rosario.lopez@hilton.com (his assistant)

You can aslo write to:

Stephen F. Bollenbach
Co-Chairman and Chieg Executive Officer
Hilton Hotels Corporation
9336 Civic Center Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

or:

Matthew J. Hart
President and Chief Operating Officer
Hilton Hotels Corporation
9336 Civic Center Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Do not allow them the havoc of Bimini!

Thanks,

Jana

If you have a question feel free to ask me