Environmental Group Wants To Stop Tiger Woods From Building Hotel In The Bahamas

A local environmental protection group is attempting to take its concerns about a multimillion-dollar exclusive resort development under construction in  The Bahamas to one of three golf pros behind the development, asserting that in its present form the project is not sustainable and some components should be eliminated.
The Director of ReEarth, Sam Duncombe, is seeking to draw outside attention to the potential problems that the Albany Beach and Golf Resort could pose for The Bahamas and has written a letter to Tiger Woods, one of the partners behind the project.

In her letter, she registers her deep concern for the environmental and social problems associated with the Albany project and urges Mr. Woods to abandon the development because it is “ecologically, environmentally and socially irresponsible.”

A part of that concern relates to how dredging a canal for the project would adversely impact the beach at one of the first black villages to be settled after the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in 1807 in The Bahamas, Adelaide.

“While it is understood that erosion occurs naturally, if the canal is dredged, erosion will accelerate, and the public beach at Adelaide will erode, leaving Bahamians with a degraded shoreline in place of a wonderful sandy beach,” she wrote.

“The Albany Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) speaks to ‘re-nourishing’ Adelaide beach for 30 years, a clear sign that beach erosion is anticipated. What happens after 30 years? Our natural environment and specifically our coastline is the only real wealth that less fortunate Bahamians have.”

Further outlining the worries that other Adelaide residents have about dredging for the canal and marina, Mrs. Duncombe said it will also cause siltation, ruining spectacular coral reefs and magnificent diving in the area.

“Additionally, beaches and corals protect the land from storm surges and large waves,” she pointed out in the letter.

“With these beaches disappearing and the coral severely compromised by these kinds of development, more and more of New Providence island is made vulnerable to the storms and hurricanes including the coastline residences of Adelaide village.”

The Albany developers have vowed that they will be responsible environmental stewards and have rejected concerns that their plans for the project will damage the landscape and marine environment.

Ground has already been broken for the development.

The completed vision will showcase a 565-acre new property inclusive of a 50 to 60-room boutique hotel, 350 private residences, a golf course and marina and separate centres for horse riding, fitness and beach activities.

The Environmental Management Plan for Albany – which is over 400 pages long and took two years to compile – was created to ensure that the natural environment benefited from the changes that must be made in order to accommodate the 88-slip marina, according to Albany’s Managing Partner Christopher Anand.

He said recently that contrary to what some environmental watchdogs believe, it would not be in Albany’s best interest to harm the beach.

“The last thing we can afford to do is screw up the beach in front of Albany and the surrounding area,” he said.

Albany is planning what it calls a major re-nourishment of Adelaide Beach that would entail a widening of it by approximately 20 feet. It also plans to create a 2,000 linear foot public beach at Cave’s Point and a 50×100 foot boat basin in the vicinity of Adelaide Village for local fishermen.

When he spoke about the Albany project in a recent interview on the sidelines of a golf championship, investor Tiger Woods called it a fantastic vision and expressed great enthusiasm about it.

The group reEarth, however, has another view.

Mrs. Duncombe’s local efforts to convince the government to slow its approvals for Albany have also included an open letter to Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.

In it, she said the government should not rush into a deal that may cause irreparable harm to The Bahamas without first taking a hard look before it leaps.

“A hasty deal may leave us with long-term costs that far exceed the short-term benefits of the current Albany project,” she noted.

The group also is worried that the proposed 150 foot canal will cut through Adelaide beach denying locals the freedom to walk the southern coastline.

“20 or 30 year ago, the Albany developers could have claimed ignorance to the various abuses to our country’s environmental and social fabric as outlined above,” Ms. Duncombe wrote.

“Today, that is no longer acceptable. Science and fact at every turn has indicated that economic gain does not outweigh the impacts of destruction to the environment. Transferring the natural wealth our country, our beaches, our forests and our water table, from the public to a few private foreigners should be a thing of the past.”

She asserted that the Albany development is obviously not sustainable and the canal/marina and golf course components should be eliminated to make it more environmentally friendly. 

The group is appealing to Mr. Woods’ commitments to charities and future generations and his honour.

It recommended that the Albany developers consider combining both the project’s golf courses and marinas with those of the nearby South Ocean property which is also undergoing an extensive transformation.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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