Letter from the
Center for Biological Diversity

I am writing you today to request that you provide full protection for the coral reef at Guana Cay. Corals in the Caribbean have suffered extraordinary declines in abundance and face significant threats, including global warming, nutrient runoff, and disease. Indeed, the only Caribbean corals in the genus Acropora have declined by more than 97% in every location where systematic studies have been conducted. Unfortunately the threats the species currently face are systemic, difficult to manage, and affect every nautical mile of their habitat simultaneously.

It is critically important that development near coral reefs ensure that reef ecosystems are not perturbed. This means, among other constraints, that nutrient runoff from existing golf courses and similar developments be reduced and new sources of runoff be prevented. The proposal for development at Guana Cay by the Discovery Land Company does not provide adequate assurance that reef ecosystems in the area will be protected from harm, and would likely lead to degradation of the reef ecosystem at the Cay.

Brent Plater
Staff Attorney
Center for Biological Diversity
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org