The Tribune

More than 500 persons are said to have signed a petition launched by a consultant to a rival resort project urging the Government to protect Exuma’s marine ecosystems from the $200m Rosewood development.

The petition, launched by Eric Carey, a former Bahamas National Trust (BNT) executive director who is now advising the neighbouring Turtlegrass Resort & Island Club, is calling on the Davis administration to halt the Yntegra Group’s rival Sampson Cay project.

It argued that Yntegra’s Rosewood-branded project, which plans to subdivide leased Crown Land, poses a potential threat to the area’s environment as a result of planned marina dredging and other activities.

“The petition urges a halt to the approval process for the project until a comprehensive environmental analysis of the seabed dredging is conducted,” said Mr Carey, an environmental consultant and former BNT executive director.

“The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and the recent application for site approval, do not include any analysis of the seabed dredging required for the project. This oversight is critical, as the dredging will directly impact critical marine ecosystems.” The petition was launched just days before last night’s Town Planning Committee public consultation over Yntegra’s plans.

Bob Coughlin, the Turtlegrass Resort & Island Club developer, has made multiple appeals to the Government, raising concern about the use of Crown Land for a project that plans to dredge 240,000 cubic yards of wetlands and unknown quantities of seabed to carve out a marina in shallow waters.

“We cannot afford to sit back and let this happen,” said Mr Coughlin. “Dredging Sampson Cay would destroy critical marine habitats and threaten the natural beauty that makes Exuma the treasure that it is. We urge the Bahamian government to protect this land before it’s too late.”

Sampson Cay is home to seagrass beds of the sort that the Government plans to use to generate Bahamian blue carbon credits. Mr Coughlin fears that, if the dredging moved forward, this habitat and marine populations including conch hatcheries will be disrupted. Coastal erosion could also result.