From Tiffany Schauer, founder of Our Children’s Earth
“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” —The Great Gatsby
“I just visited Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands. I am an avid scuba diver. The Turks is third largest reef in the world and contains one of the most elaborate ecosystems on the planet. Historically, the Turks have been a location known mostly to divers. In the past decade, however, the islands have become appealing to the commercial tourism market. The combination of a tax haven infrastructure and unprepared political leaders have allowed unregulated development efforts to irreparably damage the island’s natural resources.
The recent Nikki Beach resort is a prime example of developers dredging the ocean floor to build a fake beach for sunbathers, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. My sources said the builders brought in Chinese workers to work 24 hours around the clock—all night – all day–to get the resort built before any organized opposition could emerge. Indeed, the resort and entirely dredged beach seemed to appear overnight. The devastation, however, is long term.
Read an article in the Telegraph about the environmental threat and the ensuing outcry. British residents have appealed to the Foreign Affairs Committee for help stopping the dredging.
www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main
The same developer of Nikki Beach is building a fake island off of Nikki Beach in the national preserve! Again, basically killing all living things in its path.
Read an article about this ecological disaster in the local news outlets:
Over the last decade the island [Provo] has failed to keep pace to manage the sewage (it’s being dumped on the reef), dispose of its trash (it’s being burned openly), recycle its plastics (they are dumped in open landfills on the island), or educate the island’s tourists to the sensitivity of the islands’ ecosystem. Instead of putting programs in place, the government and existing resorts are pushing a marketing campaign claiming the government is ecologically aware. Tourists are being misled with green messages and publicity showcasing island events including environmental conferences and sustainable tourism publicity.
What you can do:
Sign the petition for Star Island opposition. www.thepetitionsite.com
Donate Money to establish a Caribbean Keeper in the Turks and Caicos. Our Children’s Earth Foundation www.ocefoundation.org in partnership with Water Alliance will be providing start up funding and mentoring support to establish an environmental presence on Providenciales to educate visitors and advocate with an organized voice on behalf of islanders and travelers that oppose this type of devastation in the name of tourism.”
