The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

TribuneBusinessReporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The deputy prime minister is aiming to exploit the 34 percent year-over-year growth in visitors from Georgia to promote The Bahamas as a tourism and film destination during his ministry’s upcoming Atlanta promotional mission.

Chester Cooper, also minister of tourism, investments and aviation, said: “The Georgia market is up maybe 34 percent ahead of last year. So it’s growing. We want to really harness the partnerships that we’ve been building in this Atlanta area and Georgia, generally, and a part of this mission will be to renew all of those acquaintances.

“We will meet with travel agents and specialists, we will meet with companies that might be interested in doing events and conventions. We are looking to see how we can build more of a connection with the film and television industry.”

Mr Cooper said the ministry is developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Atlanta Film Authority to promote The Bahamas as a venue for filming movies and TV shows. It is working with the former mayor of Atlanta, Kasim Reed, to establish connections and forge new opportunities for Bahamian creative artists.

He said: “We’ve been working very closely with the Atlanta Film Authority, and we are going to be working to develop a Memorandum of Understanding so that they can encourage their partners to work in The Bahamas, whether it’s just doing a beach scene or whether it is doing an entire episode.

“We had occasion already to work with a group out of Atlanta to produce one of their shows. This is going to be an opportunity for us to continue in this space. We’re working very closely with former mayor Kasim Reed, who has built the Atlanta film industry when he was the mayor, and this has grown really exponentially.

“We’re going to draw on his contacts, draw on his experiences, and see what opportunities we might create for the creative industries and the creative individuals in this space in The Bahamas.”

Mr Cooper said he is “very positive” about The Bahamas’ prospects in the film industry. On a previous visit, he and his team toured Tyler Perry’s studios and encountered a young Bahamian employee who is learning the industry and training others.

He added: “When we were there last time, we visited the Tyler Perry studios. We met a Bahamian there, a young man by the name of Monroe, who was working there. This was refreshing to see.

“He is learning the industry and he is training others, and really it’s an eye opener for many possibilities that exist for Bahamians in Atlanta but, more importantly, for persons interested in this business in The Bahamas. We’re very positive about the prospects of what we have been seeing overall in this space.”

Mr Cooper said Atlanta is the last US stop on the ‘Bringing The Bahamas to you’ tour. “We’re going to Atlant. This is our 10th or 11th city in our US tour. These missions have been really important to really get the word out that we’re open for business. We are creating new partnerships. This is going to be the last major mission we’re doing in the US market,” he added.

“We are going to do other promotions. We’re going to do other launches, but we have made these big and grand, and they have been an opportunity to showcase our art, our culture, our music, our food our libations. We have infused into all of them a cultural component, mainly Junkanoo, or one of our other cultural artists.

“They’ve gone across extremely well. We believe that it’s a part of the reason for much of the phenomenal success that we’re seeing in terms of tourist arrivals, and we are now going to move to other markets. We’re looking at London. This is something that we’re looking to do, maybe in November around the time of the World Travel Market.”

Visitors can book twice weekly flights to Nassau, and Saturday service to Exuma, on Delta Airlines. Beginning on November 5, the carrier will increase service to Nassau, Exuma, Abaco and Eleuthera, ahead of the holiday season.

Mr Cooper said the connections between Atlanta and The Bahamas are “profound” with regular, direct flights on Frontier Airlines and Delta and increased airlift underway.

He added: “Atlanta is an important market for us, as is the entirety of Georgia. It’s rich in culture, and the connections are profound between Atlanta and The Bahamas. We have direct flights. Delta is increasing their airlift, so this is an overall generally good market for us.” By Fay Simmons

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Perry Institute for Marine Science (PIMS) and The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) said the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP) is experiencing one of the most drastic coral bleaching events in recorded history.

A recent exploration of the protected area revealed that up to 100 percent of corals bleached in some areas, while even the most resilient reefs show a concerning 50 percent bleaching rate.

Lindy Knowles, Senior Science Officer at BNT noted that Shroud Wall, which lies 15-18 metres beneath the surface, saw bleaching in 70-80 percent of its corals, an event that she describes as ‘depressing’.

She said: “The sight at Shroud Wall was depressing. The bleached corals were glaringly white, so different than their usual vibrant colours. We immediately could’ve seen the massive amount of bleaching on the reef as soon as we got to the site, before even getting in the water.”

The group went on to describe the ecological and economic implications of coral bleaching as ‘profound’ as global coral reefs contribute $2.7 trillion annually, with the reefs in The Bahamas potentially contributing up to $135 million per square kilometres.

Dr. Craig Dahlgren, Executive Director, PIMS Director said that coral bleaching is a ‘distress signal’ and an ‘alarm bell’ sounding off on the planet’s health.

He said: “Coral bleaching is one of nature’s most important distress signals – it’s perhaps the most visceral alarm bell for our planet’s health.”

He added that although models estimate that global warming may destroy most coral reefs by 2050, conditions may cause this phenomenon to exasperate.

He said: “These bleak projections seem to be manifesting far earlier than expected, to give corals a fighting chance, a paradigm shift in our approach, from gene banking and coral restoration to advancements in coral genetics, is paramount.”

The Bahamas joined with other small island states from the Caribbean and the Pacific to launch a landmark case before the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to seek protection of the world’s oceans against climate change and rising temperatures.

The countries are requesting that the ILOTS determine if carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by the oceans can be considered pollutions and what obligations countries that are large carbon emitters have in its prevention.

A request for advisory opinion submitted to ILOTS by the commission of small island states requested that the UN maritime court determine the obligations for state parties under the United Nations Convention of Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

“to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment in relation to the deleterious effects that result or are likely to result from climate change, including through ocean warming and sea level rise, and ocean acidification, which are caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere?

“to protect and preserve the marine environment in relation to climate change impacts, including ocean warming and sea level rise, and ocean acidification?”

ILOTS agreed to a full hearing of the case with the first session held yesterday in Hamburg, Germany.

Eric Carey, former executive director of the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) noted that when the UN determined many maritime laws climate change did not exist and that the laws should be amended to include these important developments.

He said: “Some of these things go back centuries, when they were dividing up the oceans between, two or three countries, and they were only thinking about access to resources. As time went on the discussion started to get more complicated, they have to start thinking about things also protecting the oceans.

“And that’s really important because the language that would have gone into the convention back in the 80s, people didn’t really think about greenhouse emissions. I mean, it wasn’t a thing. Climate change wasn’t a thing.”

He noted that the effects of climate change have ‘profound and significant impacts’ on small island states and these countries should advocate for their protection.

He said: “UN law of the sea speaks not only to how you manage and divide the marine resources from the point of view of maximum economies, but it also talks about how countries are obligated to protect the environment.

“So now, our countries that are advancing this position to this tribunal are making the case that this new phenom, you know, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. These are having significant and profound impacts on our way of life and should be considered.”

Mr Carey said that although the ITLOS decision is not legally binding, it can be used by the government to advocate for funds that can be put towards environmental and disaster relief and protection. He added that the case is a ‘powerful advocacy’ as legislation must be updated to include current realities. .

He said: “The decision isn’t legally binding, its not a legal position, but it is an it’s an international expert’s opinion, and our countries can use that experts opinion during negations at COP or when they are negotiating for more private financing for environment protection, disaster relief and protection and carbon credits. So, while not a legal judgment, is still a very powerful leveraging tool that our countries could use it our advocacy

“And as society progresses and things change, they have to update the legislation. So what our countries are arguing for is that the new realities be included. I think it’s intriguing and it has a lot of merit. I think it’s a very powerful advocacy and I hope it succeeds.”