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Nassau Guardian
Bimini under attack?
By Llonella Gilbert
Monday, July 22, 2002
Bimini under attack? There are times when scientists speak on the ecological damage to the environment due to improper development taking place on a landscape, but because of the amount of potential money that can be made on the new developed site they are ignored. It is not until later when residents, the new developed site and the environment surrounding it, begin to suffer the effects of poor planning, are the scientists and environmentalists proven right.
During his presentation to the Rotary Club of East Nassau, American Professor of Marine Science, Dr. Samuel H. Gruber, said that Bimini is "under attack" by foreign developers. "One of the depressing things about the Bimini projects - there are three of them - is the threats they pose, and the actual damage they have caused, are continuing to cause, and will cause in the future, have been forecast for years," he said.
According to Dr. Gruber, two large, as yet unfinished resort projects have tied up much of the potentially inhabitable land, leaving the population little room to expand. He charged that these developments have already damaged both the economic and ecological base of these charming and previously pristine islands. South Bimini International Ltd reportedly started Bimini Sands in 1990. The Bimini Sands Condominium and Marina occupies approximately 41 acres of prime land facing the Straits of Florida on a previously uninhabited sector of the west coast of South Bimini. According to Dr. Gruber, this project has created beach erosion and shoaling problems in the approaches to Bimini Harbour.
Dr. Gruber said the development (Bimini Bay; editorial note by SHG) started in 1997, with the removal of mangroves and a casuarina forest from a section of the western shore of North Sound. Highly destructive seabed excavation began in 1999 and was continued through 2001, he reported. Today, Dr. Gruber said, the silt-generating excavation has recommenced, and ecological devastation continues to the present. And, he said, after five years of "on-again, off-again scarification, removal of trees and mining of the lagoon bottom, not a single building has been constructed." He also accused the Bimini Bay developers of destroying the fresh water that was available on the island.
Gruber also accused the Bimini Reef Club of taking it upon themselves to build a causeway between Rabbit Cay and South Bimini with no permit. Apparently, the resort intends to connect several cays and build a large casino.
He said the development should be ecologically appropriate, and clearly these are not. Already, he said, the channel, which sustains the boats that come in, is blocked and needs to be opened. Since May 10, Dr. Gruber said, a dredging company has been on site but the problem remains. "No boats are coming in, and the people are dying. They can't make any money. They don't sell food, fuel, boat help," he said. Dr. Gruber stressed that a popular Internet site for yachting, shipping and boating warns of the dangers of coming to Bimini. He said the island has suffered a 40 per cent decline in clearances and traffic.
Although the ongoing development of Bimini sounds like a good idea, Dr. Gruber's warnings should be followed up. For if there is going to be long-lasting environmental damage to the Bimini Islands, then this sort of development should not continue. And before any development takes place anywhere on Bahamian Islands, there should be a proper study of the potential damage to the environment.
These islands are subjected to hurricanes and floods, so anything that can disturb the islands' landscapes without proper planning will cause more headaches than profit in the long run. Furthermore, more developers should look to capitalising on using the scenery and developing structures that do conform to an island. Just building huge concrete hotels might not entice the sort of tourists looking for a really true island getaway.
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