AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Environment Over 100 workers of South Beach protest

The SB project will ravage the reef.

Ethics aside -
Destroy the Reef and you destroy major tourism $$$$$

The Internanal distain, and bad P.R. will also take a major toll on tourism $$$$$.

Earth Echo (Philippe Cousteau's Organization) champions reef protection.
I heard Philippe speak, he is passionate about this.

It wouldn't hurt to drop them an email.
(I would do so, but don't know enough to write intelligently about the subject):
Here's the contact page, if any one cares to try;

http://www.earthecho.org/about-overview.html

He was here not long ago.

Oh yes. I just watched the locally done anti South Beach blurb on youtube. It was well done, placed right next to a real estate ad in the menu somewhat ironically.
I hope you did not miss my point above about the timeline. 7000 units do not appear overnight. Infrastructure development like sewer, water, health facilities can come a long way in 30 years. There aren't 7000 units in phase one though you can be sure he has allready sold units in all phases. Pierce knows the island can't support South Beach without more infrastructure. He will have definitive answers for what he will make seem only fears. Every one of the "fears" voiced so well in that video will be countered by an expert with data. For example, many species of reef fish migrate hundreds of miles. A child stating that taking out mangroves there will hurt Hol Chan fish populations is and will be shown to be nonsense. We are playing with one of the big boys here. Faced with fears or answers who are you going to decide for if you are making the decision? Come on, Belize is flush with Mangroves (devil's advocate here). I think what at least the expat community is saying is they don't want the place to look like Cancun or 7 Mile Beach! That is what I think. Divers, Fisherman, nature lovers have a different vested interest which happens to be my interest. The mistake in this fight is using First World tactics (depending on environmental laws) in a place where they clearly aren't working.

The SB project will ravage the reef I agree. But not by digging those mangroves or putting some silt on the backside (Florida has dredging techniques exactly to prevent that). It will ravage it by putting 7000 units more of people on it, the tourism you quote. That is the paradox. Have any of you seen the coral in Hol Chan lately? That is why pure protection and building moratoriums is the only way to go if people want to see the Caye remain the way it is. Just like the Florida Keys. Trust me, I grew up there and nothing short will work.

INRASTRUCTURE! You think what?

Have you seen any delevelopment that has put in schools, parks, roads, sewage?

Unlike the US developers do not have to put in infrastructure first. That is left til last and may never happen!
This is NOT KANSAS Dorothy!

"The SB project will ravage the reef I agree."

and there goes the tourism dollar right there,,,
but at least some construction workers had a good run!

Actually Harriette, Jeff talked to me about putting in a hospital. We don't get along well enough for me to consider that anymore.

My point was that the water and the sewer will be built as the project progresses. What you say does happen, look at Reef Village. Portraying Jeff Pierce and other developers simply as greedy despoilers of the environment is great bar talk at Coco Locos but the net effect is you underestimate them.

hospital?? yeah, right...

no offense meant, but, who are you and what are you trying to say?? the only thing i think i underestimated is that $ talks even more than i thought.

i don't feel i underestimate them one bit,,,