Photo: Al Mackinnon
An anonymous group of activists known as the Save Barbuda movement, in partnership with the Global Legal Action Network, have set up a campaign to stop the island of Barbuda being devastated by a massive, illegal building project for the super-rich.
Barbuda is a small, low-lying and arid island in the Caribbean. It contains critical ecosystems, unique flora and fauna, and a highly-mobile natural coastal barrier system that evolved over millions of years. To make sure people leave it alone, a large section of Barbuda has been declared a protected wetland area under an international treaty called the RAMSAR Convention. Barbuda also contains a world-class wave at Palmetto Point, a fragile system of sand dunes and mangrove ecosystem located on the southwest tip of the island.
In 2017, Hurricane Irma damaged or destroyed approximately 90% of structures on Barbuda. While the island was evacuated, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda – which operates from Antigua – pushed forward new laws permitting the takeover of vast areas of communally-held land on Barbuda, to sell to outside investors.
Photo: Al Mackinnon
The delicate nature of a place like this, and the fact that it is protected under an international agreement, would make you think that nobody in their right mind would try to build a 600-acre luxury housing complex for billionaires, complete with its own airport and golf course, right on top of Palmetto point. Well, you’d be wrong. Work has already started on such a project, and, apparently, several properties have already been sold. It is called Barbuda Ocean Club, and the company behind it is called Peace, Love and Happiness (PLH).
The construction will have dire consequences. It will destroy the ecosystem, with its unique flora and fauna. It will alter the coastal morphology, which could destabilise the rest of the island and jeopardise other human settlements. And, of course, it will threaten the surfing wave at Palmetto Point.
Apart from being an environmental and social crime, the project is illegal, because it is inside a Ramsar protected area. So please help to stop it by going to the links below:
