AN artist’s rendering of Disney’s Lighthouse Point project.
By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
DISNEY Cruise Line said yesterday that work at Lighthouse Point will begin only after an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan are reviewed and accepted by the Government of The Bahamas and public consultation has occurred.
Construction could begin in 2020 with completion in late 2022 or 2023. Disney said yesterday its own internal team of animal and conservation experts is working closely with a highly qualified team of Bahamians and an experienced international firm to develop a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Plan that align with Disney's "deep and longstanding commitment to the environment".
The company revealed new details surrounding its plans for Lighthouse Point, Eleuthera, at the D23 Expo. Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Bob Chapek and Walt Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde revealed how Disney Cruise Line's plans at Lighthouse Point will celebrate the culture and spirit of The Bahamas.
Rohde, whose work includes the design of Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park in Orlando and Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii, has embarked on an in-depth cultural tour of the Bahamas to meet with local artists and cultural advisers. Together, they have explored arts and cultural sites across New Providence and Eleuthera, from Junkanoo shacks to noted art galleries.
"The Bahamas offers a fascinating multi-cultural tradition of food, music, dance and storytelling," Rohde said.
"Eleuthera in particular is home to many artists and we will be working with painters, sculptors, writers, storytellers, musicians, weavers and artists of every kind, much like we did with Aulani in Hawaii, to create a completely unique experience that is rooted in Bahamian culture and imbued with Disney magic."
Kevin Cooper, a master artist from Eleuthera and Antonius Roberts, an internationally recognized master artist from Nassau, are anchoring Disney's efforts to work with the local creative community.
"Capturing the spirit of Eleuthera is really about the people," Cooper said.
"Our people bring to the table their history, their culture, their food, their dance and more. Working in collaboration with Disney and with other artists is turning into one of the highlights of my 30-year career. Together, we are going to be able to create something that is very special."
"The essence of Bahamian art is colour, the essence is rhythm, the essence is storytelling and our art reflects the spirit of our people,"
Roberts added. "Disney has shown they understand the importance of engaging Bahamians and allowing us to share our stories and love for our country. I have seen how this input is influencing the direction of the design concept for this project and if there is any organization in the world that can celebrate the best of a place and appreciate and respect the best of its people, it's Disney."
As part of the event, Disney shared two early conceptual renderings to show how the design will be influenced by both the natural environment of Lighthouse Point and the culture of Eleuthera and The Bahamas more broadly.
"The Lighthouse Point site is so beautiful and so full of nature that we want to preserve this and use our designs to call attention to the extraordinary quality of the place itself - a place of stunning natural beauty with a rich and fascinating cultural tradition," Rohde said.
"We will be directly involved in conservation efforts to preserve and protect the environment that creates this beauty."
Disney Cruise Line completed its purchase of privately owned Lighthouse Point earlier this year and signed an agreement with the Government of The Bahamas that guides the responsible and sustainable way the site will be developed.
"The Bahamian government negotiated a model agreement with Disney - preserving the natural environment of Lighthouse Point and the culture of The Bahamas while growing economic opportunities for Bahamians," said Bahamas Minister of Tourism Dionisio D'Aguilar, who attended the event. "Disney has done a tremendous job of following through on the commitments it made by taking a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to its environmental impact assessment, engaging directly with the people of South Eleuthera and creative communities, and maintaining an open dialogue with civic and business leaders in order to maximize future opportunities for Bahamians."
Disney has committed to develop less than 20 percent of the property; employ sustainable building practices, including an open-trestle pier that eliminates the need to dredge a ship channel; establish environmental monitoring programmes during construction and operation; and donate more than 190 acres of privately owned land to Government, among other commitments.
Comments
DWW 5 years, 2 months ago
Did the local labour question come up yet? asking for a friend.
concerned799 5 years, 2 months ago
I presume that when the reef sees fish and other species plummet after the terminal goes in, Disney will recognize the cultural importance of the environment to the Bahamas and abandon the site after it it is fully restored?
Funny how these enivironmental approvals never have any meaningful reporting benchmarks in them after the fact isn't it? As if a Minister is ever going to end the permit once the fish numbers fall off! and the reef starts to die. Even a reef off of a much smaller population area is pretty much dead. Thousands of new people going thru the site day after day most without any real understanding how sensitive coals are? HA! If this will ever work!
Porcupine 5 years, 2 months ago
The first money ever made in modern slavery, was made by the tribal chiefs who sold their own people to the slavers who arrived on their shores. And, while we can look at the very idea of slavery in the world, going on today, with absolute dismay and disgust, there are always people there to support and profit from it, just in other terms and with other excuses. The Environmental Assessment of cruise ships has been going on for many decades now. It is complete. We don't need another one prepared by a multi billion dollar company to tell those paying attention what we already know. Cruise ships devastate the tropical environments they call on and profit from. They dump their shit and trash into our waters. They create turbulence which stirs up the bottom covering the corals in sand and silt. They dump shiploads of unthinking tourists who care little for our ways. The suntan lotion and trash chokes the reefs and other marine organisms. Most of this is ignored by the few chosen ones who manage to get their handful of apportioned dollars. And, they fence off off and restrict access to "their" property. They outstrip the carrying capacity of the environments they take over. They vacuum up as much of the money as they can for themselves, and create a too big to fail mentality that then corrupts the politicians to remain in their service. Are they smart enough to buy off the loudest locals? You betcha. They have been at this game for many years. Sometimes all it takes is a few t-shirts, like our own down home political parties, but cash is the preferred offering, again like our own political operatives. They have virtually destroyed every port they have come to visit. Environmentally, economically, socially. Did Bahamians just wake up, after some long, long slumber of ignorance? Honestly! And, just like the tribal chiefs who had their hands out every time a slaver vessel anchored offshore, for year after year, decade after decade, so too will a handful of our own tribal chiefs make sure they get their fair share. Listen to the minister of tourism on this Disney disaster, and see if the glove doesn't fit.
Well_mudda_take_sic 5 years, 2 months ago
Agreements signed by a corrupt government with equally corrupt foreign investors are not legally binding if the country's system of democracy itself has been corrupted by foreign influence such that elected officials can no longer be deemed to represent the interests of the people. Such has been the situation of the Bahamas for the past two or three decades. There are few agreements with foreign investors that the Bahamian people should feel compelled or obliged to honour until such time that we have a true democracy free of corrupt influence....i.e. a government by the people and for the people. Hubert Minnis promised us that it would finally be the people's time, but failed to keep that promise by making it the foreign investors' time.
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