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Guana Cay

Accusations have arisen that the Discovery Land Company bribed its way to the very top of the Bahamian Government, rolled over sea turtle habitat with heavy construction machinery in an effort to kill off the evidence, and paid a young marine ecologist to write an environmental assessment report that would convince an unwary public that this golf course and this marina were in fact good for the fragile environment of Guana Cay. And that the 170 residents of Guana Cay were...the problem. These were some heavy accusations, and I wanted to find out if there was any truth to them.

A story is now circulating around Guana Cay: A few concerned citizens of Guana Cay walked up to the developers, who were inconspicuously eating lunch amidst the people whose lives they were about to change forever. They said to the developers, "We are against your development, but we are not going to go away. We will always be here."

The marketing guy for the development group stood up from his hamburger. He yelled in a stern voice: "Listen. You don't know anything about developing an island. We do. We are going to make this island viable. We are going to make this island work. You people don't know anything about that."

Who knew how alive post-colonialism really was.

San Francisco-based Discovery Land Company is in the early development phase of a construction which includes an 18 hole golf course, one of the largest marinas in the Bahamas, and 450 multi-million dollar estates. All of this, they tell insinuate to the Bahamas government, to save Guana Cay from the ecologically unsound 170 "culturally disappointing" inhabitants.

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Rise Up Sweet Island

Guana Cay Controversy - get the latest news on RSS Feed
Read up on the issue by the locals themselves
Jean Michel Cousteau
Speaks up on Bakers Bay Development
Bimini Bay Sawfish
Video on Bimini Bay

Great Guana Cay is a thin, six mile island in the Northern Bahamas.

The island's inhabitants, who settled here 200 years ago, are employed in fishing and cottage industry tourism.

The island's coral reef is of international importance as one of the most intact surviving elkhorn/staghorn coral communities in the world.

The inhabitants began fighting tooth and nail to save their island's coral reef and mangroves from destruction after hearing of plans for a golf megadevelopment on their tiny barrier reef island.

Hundreds of the world's most revered coral reef scientists and marine ecologists, as well as almost every single Bahamian environmental organization, have banded together to try to stop the Baker's Bay Golf & Ocean Club (Discovery Land Company) from realizing completion.

The proposed 585 unit, 180 slip marina, tennis courts, hotel, destination spa and championship golf course were pushed through the Bahamian central government with no local consent and without proper permits in a land grab (including of local public land designated for use by Bahamians) of unbelievable proportion. In one of the most amazing and unique environmental stories in history, the islanders have brought the developer, and the Bahamian government, to task. The small island is now waging a bitter legal battle with the government and the developers.

Rise Up Sweet Island compiles the viewpoints of the Bahamian and international marine conservation community and presents documents, evidence and history for all interested parties.

Notes from the Road is a travelogue which covers environmental and cultural issues around North America, the Caribbean and Europe.

National Geographic
National Geographic Magazine supports anti-Megadevelopment movements in Abaco and Bimini in new article on shark conservation.

ReEarth
SharkLab
Restrict Bimini Bay
Mangrove Action Project
Global Coral Reef Alliance
Caribbean Conservation Corps
Notes from the Sea

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Petition

75% of Bahamians on Great Guana Cay signed a petition this winter against Baker's Bay Club. Three years later, resistance is strong.

 

Rise Up Sweet Island - the Epic Struggle between the residents of Great Guana Cay and the Baker's Bay Club Golf Resort
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