The Tribune

INTERNATIONAL conservationists have branded the controversial Nygard Cay development a “tragedy” for the Bahamian people and criticised the government for giving preferential treatment to a wealthy foreign investor over the country’s own citizens.

The experts, members of the global Waterkeepers Alliance, hosted recently on a tour of the area by the social and environmental advocacy group Save The Bays (STB), said allowing Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard to extend his Mayan-themed project onto publicly-owned land without the necessary permits and in a manner that has caused significant environmental damage, calls into question the state of democracy in The Bahamas.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like Nygard Cay before,” said Rachael Silverstein, the Waterkeeper for Biscayne Bay, Florida.

“It is really a tragedy how much beautiful marine area and land that belongs to the people has been appropriated by a single individual, and for such an egregious use.”

The property, formerly known as Simm’s Point, has allegedly doubled in size since purchased by Mr Nygard in the early 1980s through accretion of Crown Land from the seabed in the absence of official permission, according to STB.

The construction of groynes and jetties has also blocked the vital flow of sand into Clifton Bay, an area of ecological importance.

This, in turn, has caused the erosion of Jaws Beach.

Alex Matthiessen, former Hudson Bay Waterkeeper and now CEO of the Blue Marble Project, said: “To me what is really disturbing about Nygard Cay is the precedent it sets for The Bahamas.

“The government is basically playing favourites. There are lots of Bahamians who would maybe like to develop their waterfront, get permission to develop Crown Lands, but nine times out of ten they get denied the right to do that.

“Here you’ve got a very wealthy foreign investor being allowed to basically destroy Bahamian habitat for his own selfish purposes.

“What is going on at Nygard Cay is really about the state of democracy in The Bahamas.”

Gabrielle Parent-Doliner, swim guides affiliate at Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, said The Bahamas has attracted negative attention in Canada because of the controversy at Nygard Cay.

“As a Canadian, I have heard a lot about Nygard – this situation has been covered in every media outlet in Canada,” she said.

“Canadians have a reputation of being these environmental stewards, so this is a bit shocking.”

The issue has also caught the attention of the US press, with the New York Post reporting last week that Mr Nygard could face prison for contempt of court after continuing to dredge the sea floor despite several court injunctions, granted to lawyers acting for STB, which barred all further work on the property.