The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

ENVIRONMENTAL advocates are calling on King Charles to intervene amid fears that The Bahamas’ “ecological future is being sacrificed in the pursuit of private profit” with ever-expanding development threatening “irreversible damage” to the coast.

An October 26, 2026, letter written to the monarch by Eric Carey, the former Bahamas National Trust (BNT) executive director, and carrying the Save Exuma Alliance logo, cited that island - and the $200m Rosewood Exuma project - as a prime example of what they branded as the “immense threat from over-development”.

Mr Carey is a top consultant and adviser to Turtlegrass Resort & Island Club, the $200m Rosewood Exuma resort’s main opponent, while the Save Exuma Alliance - a collection of local businesses and developers - has also consistently voiced concerns over the project by Miami-based Yntegra Group, so the development’s appearance in the letter is not surprising.

An Yntegra spokesman declined to comment when contacted by Tribune Business, but a source close to the $200m Rosewood Exuma developer described the letter and its contents as “garbage, absolute garbage”. They pointed to its reference to “extensive dredging”, adding that the developer has consistently pledged no such activity will take place except around the service dock.

The hoped-for meeting sought by Mr Carey and the Save Exuma Alliance did not take place during King Charles’ three-day visit to Nassau, although they urged him to use the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting to call for a renewed commitment to environmental protection and “champion stronger protections for coral reefs, seagrass meadows and mangrove forests”.

They also asked the King to push for “independent environmental impact assessments, transparent development processes and approvals, and meaningful consultation with local communities” - all causes that Bahamian environmental advocates have long called for.

“We regret to inform you that our country’s ecological future is being sacrificed in the pursuit of private profit. Across The Bahamas, our remarkable coastal and marine ecosystems face irreversible damage as powerful international hotel developers and investors build ever more extravagant luxury resorts, with little regard for the devastating environmental consequences,” Mr Carey and Save Exuma Alliance told King Charles.

“Our islands are home to some of the most extraordinary marine environments on Earth. Our coral reefs, seagrass meadows and mangrove forests support an astonishing diversity of life and, as natural carbon sinks, play a vital role in mitigating the effects of climate change.

“Their importance extends beyond an environmental value. They are woven into our national identity. The Queen Conch, a cherished symbol of Bahamian culture depicted on our national coat of arms, is itself now listed as a threatened species on the US Endangered Species Act.”

Mr Carey and Save Exuma Alliance then asserted: “Nowhere is this threat more apparent than in the Exumas.” They singled out Big Sampson Cay and the Rosewood Exuma project specifically, adding: “The matter is now before the Supreme Court of The Bahamas, where environmental approvals are being challenged in a defining test of our newly introduced environmental protection laws.

“The outcome will shape the future of development across The Bahamas and other nations of the Caribbean for generations to come. We fear the outcome of these decisions. Your Majesty, you have long understood the dangers that irresponsible tourism can pose to the natural world and have campaigned tirelessly against the threat of ill-judged and reckless development….

“In 2008, you warned specifically of the damage hotels could inflict on coral reefs and wetlands, and of the growing pressure that tourism development places on fragile natural habitats. Nearly two decades later, your warnings are all too justified.”

They added that Bahamian reefs, seagrass meadows and mangroves “are among our strongest defences against” the climate crisis that King Charles referenced during his trip, and urged: “We ask you to continue doing all you can to help Bahamians defend our country from insatiable and ill-informed foreign capital recklessly concreting our coastlines, cays and marine ecosystems, and side-stepping both the substance and spirit of our environmental laws.”