Gaia

Silvershark

Those of you who contributed to the campaigns I posted elsewhere might remember the campaign to stop the development of a golf course and marina at Bimini, a mangrove habitat that is the birthing ground for lemon sharks as well as many other marine animals...well, unfortunately despite all objections these plans have STILL gone ahead and this is the result:

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But there is no giving up on this issue and the campaigning to save what is left of this important site is continuing.

(The following is taken straight from The Shark Trust)

[b]YOU CAN HELP: PLEASE CONTACT THE BAHAMIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS LISTED BELOW THE SAMPLE LETTER WE HAVE PROVIDED. IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE THE BAHAMAS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF ITS HABITATS WILL MAKE YOU RE-CONSIDER VISITING, THEN PLEASE ADD THIS POINT TO YOUR LETTER/FAX/EMAIL.
SAMPLE LETTER:

I am dismayed to hear that the Bahamian government has ignored plans to declare the North Sound of Bimini and surrounding areas a protected marine park and is instead allowing the area to be destroyed for tourism.

It is crucial for the environmental health of the region that the mangrove lagoons are protected. Mangroves are among the most productive yet fragile of tropical marine habitats: they provided crucial nursery habitats for numerous species of invertebrates and vertebrates. Destroying the mangrove ecosystem of Bimini will destroy the natural beauty and tranquillity of the area, negatively impact the ecology of the sand flats, coral reefs and offshore waters and deprive numerous species of terrestrial animals a habitat they require for part or all of their own life-cycle. This will effect the scuba diving and sport-fishing tourist industries for which Bimini has long been famed as well as damage the ability of the Bahamian people to fish for themselves. It will also lead to a dramatic increase in coastal erosion.

I would ask the Bahamian Government immediately to ratify the status of this area as a Marine Protected Park and put a stop to any further disruption.

Thank you for your interest.

Signed:………………

CONTACTS: 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

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tel: 242-327-5826-9
fax: 242-327-5806

The Hon. Obediah H. Wilchcombe - Minister of Tourism / Parliament Member West End & Bimini
Ministry of Tourism
Bay Street
P.O. Box N-3701
Nassau, N.P. Bahamas
tel: 242-322-7500
fax: 242-328-0945

Mr. Michael Braynen - Director of Fisheries
Department of Fisheries
East Bay Street
P.O. Box N 3208
Nassau, N.P. Bahamas

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tel: 242-393-1777
fax: 242-393-0238

List of Bahamian MPs and Parliamentary Secretaries:

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[/b]

I know that I for one will NOT be visiting Bimini if they can allow such environmentally damaging construction to continue. Why would I even bother? They are driving away the very wildlife that it would make me want to go!

And an additional note...Dr Gruber who spent most of his life studying Bimini's lemon sharks has resigned...this is his resignation letter:

Glenn Bannister, President
Bahamas National Trust
The Retreat, Village Road
Nassau (NP) Bahamas

September 1, 2005

Dear President Bannister:

It is with a heavy heart that I tender my resignation as council member of the Bahamas National Trust. I have greatly enjoyed collaborating with my council colleagues these past 16 years. It has been a pleasure and an honor to be associated with you all.

From my first introduction to the Trust in 1988 when Lynne Gape invited me to lecture to my last council meeting with our new executive director, Chris Hamilton in April of this year I have endeavored to make a positive contribution to the Bahamas. But it is no longer possible for me to participate.

The included photographs and article tell the story more vividly than I ever could. Several days ago at Bimini I watched a bulldozer in two feet of water remove mangroves by the acre in a healthy, viable wetland. The sound of cracking mangroves being bulldozed emphasized the irreversible damage being done to a fully functional marine ecosystem that is home to at least nine documented, endangered species.

It appears that the Government negotiated a new heads of agreement (HoA) with RAV Bahamas and according to my sources, RAV have a legal rights to dredge and fill anywhere in the North Sound; and there is no requirement that the project be done in phases. In other words a single agreement covers the entire project and does not require work to be completed on any particular schedule or phase. Further according the HoA any work may now be undertaken no matter how environmentally damaging and the BEST commission need not approve or indeed require any environmental studies for new work.

One must ask if RAV Bahamas is within their legal rights to first dredge then create new dozens of acres of new land from the spoil without cost. Did the permit issued by Lands and Surveys or the appropriate permitting agency authorize RAV Bahamas to remove mangroves below the high tide level? And on what basis was such a decision made and subsequently allowed to be perpetrated? Does the complete destruction of a healthy, important wetland-nursery contravene RAMSAR or other international treaties to which the Commonwealth of the Bahamas is a party? How sad it is that the Bahamas, a world leader in the area of marine conservation should have authorized such egregious acts.

Therefore my last act as Trust councilor is to call on the BEST commission and the Bahamas National Trust to immediately sue for an injunction against further damage to Bimini’s North Sound and demand a review of the permits issued to RAV. Further the Trust and BEST commission ought to make a determination as to whether RAV Bahamas are within their legal rights to undertake destruction of wetlands under international law.

Finally the recent catastrophes of the tsunami in the Indopacific and hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico should have brought into clear focus the importance of mangroves as a shield to rising water. In my 2002 Bahamas Journal of Science article I warned about the dangerous situation being created by deep dredging, combined with raising the land, creating a “bowl” in the North Sound combined with removing the buffering mangrove barrier. My council went unheeded. I once again beg the Trust and the BEST commission to give serious thought to the potential for devastation that such an anthropogenic transformation will inevitably produce.

Again, I sincerely thank the Trust for providing one of the most important and meaningful experiences in my life and career and wish nothing but the best for the new management team and council.

Respectfully yours

(signed)

Samuel H. Gruber
Professor and former Council Member

C. Otis Brown Dean
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

This man has had to watch the area he spent his life studying bulldozed and disappear...and all for a golf couse...

_________________
x Kat x

Rufus · Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 1:18 pm Post subject:

oh yeah I remember this before again now, I'll send some emails soon

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"A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel." - Proverbs 12:10

Silvershark · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:52 pm Post subject:

New section of this campaign against the hilton Hotel group, details below:

Email and Letter Writing Campaign:

Bimini Destruction: the Hilton Group Connection

See:-

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Conrad Hotels, a subsidiary of Hilton International plc, has announced that it will operate the hotel and casino of the Bimini Bay resort complex. The Hilton Group professes, on its website, to be environmentally responsible.

Our considerable concern and that of other NGOs who have taken on this case, is that this development will destroy the natural wonders of Bimini on which the locals and the wider environment depend. These concerns are presented elsewhere on this website.

If you share our concerns, please contact the Conrad/Hilton personnel listed here. A draft letter that you can use is provided below.

Mr Gregg Rockett
Vice President Development – Americas
Hilton International
901 Ponce de Leon Blvd
Coral Gables, Florida, 33134
USA
Tel: +1 305 774 4502
Fax: +1 305 774 3895
Email:

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Mr Ian Carter, CEO, Hilton International
Maple Court
Central Park
Reeds Crescent
Watford
Hertfordshire WD24 4QQ
UK
Tel: +44 (0)207 856 8000
Fax: +44 (0)207 856 8001

Ms Karla Visconti
Latin America/Caribbean
Hilton International
901 Ponce de Leon Blvd.
Suite 700
Coral Gables
FL 33134
USA
Tel: +1 305 774 4534
Fax: +1 305-476-7186
Email:

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Mr Clem Barter
President
Conrad Hotels
Avenue Louise 71
1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 542 48 80
Fax: +32 2 542 47 70
Email:

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Catherine Couplan
Director of Public Relations
Conrad Hotels
Avenue Louise 71
1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 542 47 90
Fax: +32 2 542 43 00
Email:

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Hilton Group Corporate, Social Responsibility Manager
c/o Group Secretariat
Hilton Group plc
Maple Court
Reeds Crescent
Central Park
Watford
Hertfordshire WD24 4QQ
Email:

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Dear …

I am astonished to learn that Hilton Group’s subsidiary, Conrad Hotels, has agreed to operate the Bimini Bay Resort and Casino in the Bahamas. On its collective website, the Hilton Group professes to meet its environmental responsibilities. This association suggests otherwise.

The Bimini Bay development has been fought by scientists and conservationists for some ten years because of the disastrous impact it will inevitably have on the islands and people of Bimini as well as the marine ecosystems far beyond. Below are some of the concerns:

1. Construction activity for the resort will make Alice Town, the main populated area, vulnerable in the case of a hurricane to flooding and destruction.

2. Bulldozing of the mangrove forests of the islands is currently on-going and an absolute scandal. The previous government had accepted the advice of scientists and protected the pristine habitats of Bimini. The present government has torn up the protection and allowed the destruction to proceed unchecked.

3. The mangrove forests of Bimini – the only ones in the region - and the associated inshore ecosystems are a refuge/breeding ground/nursery ground/feeding area for some 140 species of animal many of which range far beyond the islands and include endangered species. Obliteration by bulldozing and dredging will devastate the conch, bonefish, lobster and reef fish on which the Biminites depend for their sustenance and livelihood.

4. The maintenance of the proposed golf course will require pesticides and fertilizer which will flow into the sea and further damage or indeed destroy the inshore environment including the local coral reefs.

5. This development – whose full extent has been hidden from the local people – is completely out of scale with the tiny islands that will be wrecked by it. What will the attitude of the Biminites be to the Bimini Bay Resort, Marina and Casino once they see what the construction has cost them?

6. With the natural wonders of Bimini destroyed, the very reasons for visiting these charming islands will be lost.

I urge your company immediately to divorce itself from this project or, at the very least, to fund an immediate independent Environmental Impact Survey of this development: a survey that rigorously addresses the full range of dredging, bulldozing and destruction/construction activities that the Capo Group intends to inflict on these fragile islands.

Yours…

Reference:

Gruber, S.H. (2002). Special dedicated issue on Bimini Bahamas: Anthropogenic ecological effects. Bahamas Journal of Science 9 (2): 1-68.

Source:

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x Kat x

Silvershark · Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 7:24 am Post subject:

And the campaign continues to save what is left on Bimini...

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Probably not going to be any more effective than everything that has come before. The Hilton Hotel group aren't exactly interested in protecting environments they can plant a hotel and swimming pool on!

_________________
x Kat x