{"id":620786,"date":"2026-10-27T20:04:43","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T20:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.olympiajournal.com\/news\/story\/620786\/our-islands-are-under-threat-locals-urge-king-charles-to-help-save-bahamas-reefs.html"},"modified":"2026-10-27T20:04:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T20:04:43","slug":"our-islands-are-under-threat-locals-urge-king-charles-to-help-save-bahamas-reefs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olympiajournal.com\/news\/story\/620786\/our-islands-are-under-threat-locals-urge-king-charles-to-help-save-bahamas-reefs.html","title":{"rendered":"‘Our islands are under threat’: locals urge King Charles to help save Bahamas reefs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"'Our<\/a><\/div>\n
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Ahead of Commonwealth summit: local coalition urges King to rally Commonwealth leaders to uphold marine commitments and protect coral reefs, seagrass meadows, Queen Conch and vulnerable species from ecologically reckless luxury resort development.<\/div>\n

NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS – 27 October, 2026 –<\/strong> The Save Exuma Alliance, a coalition of environmentalists, community leaders and residents of the Exuma Cays, has made an urgent appeal to King Charles III on the eve of his visit to The Bahamas on 27 October, asking him to use his voice at next week’s Commonwealth summit to protect the region’s coral reefs and seagrass meadows from large-scale resort projects.<\/p>\n

The letter, written by Save Exuma Alliance (SEA) and Eric Carey, former Executive Director of the Bahamas National Trust, comes amid a fierce local backlash over a proposed $200 million luxury resort on Sampson Cay in the Exumas, developed by Miami-based Yntegra Group and set to be operated by Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. Plans include two megayacht marinas, a floating helipad and a floating padel court, with activists and coalition members warning that extensive dredging and marine construction threaten irreversible damage to coral reefs and seagrass meadows.<\/p>\n

More than 9,000 people have signed a petition demanding a halt to the Rosewood Exuma project, which is now at the centre of a landmark Supreme Court battle – the first major test of The Bahamas’ environmental protection laws introduced in 2019. A ruling is expected in early 2027, with far-reaching consequences for development across The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean.<\/p>\n

SEA and Eric Carey are appealing to the King’s longstanding commitment to environmental conservation, urging him to use the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting<\/a> in Antigua and Barbuda to press member governments to honour their commitments under the Commonwealth Blue Charter. The letter calls on His Majesty to champion stronger protections for the region’s fragile marine ecosystems, with independent environmental impact assessments, greater transparency in development approvals and meaningful consultation with local communities at the heart of future development decisions.<\/p>\n

The UN’s landmark 2026 World Ocean Assessment warns that coastal development and dredging are contributing to the degradation of vital marine habitats, including seagrass meadows. In The Bahamas, these activities threaten fragile marine ecosystems that sustain biodiversity and play a crucial role in combating climate change by absorbing and storing carbon that would otherwise contribute to global warming.<\/p>\n

Protecting these ecosystems is also a matter of national heritage. The Queen Conch, a cherished symbol of Bahamian identity featured on the country’s coat of arms, is already listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act. A recent Inside Climate News investigation revealed that waters near Sampson Cay serve as an important nursery for juvenile conch, raising serious concerns about the impact of proposed dredging on the seagrass habitats and tidal flows essential to their survival. Marine scientists warn that disrupting these delicate conditions will cause lasting damage to an already vulnerable species.<\/p>\n

Eric Carey, former Executive Director of the Bahamas National Trust, said:<\/p>\n

“The King has admirably spent decades warning about the damage irresponsible tourism can inflict on the natural world. Now, those exact threats are unfolding in front of our very eyes.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Quite simply, our country’s ecological future is being sacrificed in the pursuit of private profit. We are urging His Majesty to use his unparalleled influence to ensure Commonwealth commitments translate into real protections for our marine ecosystems, before it is too late.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The Alliance has requested a meeting with His Majesty during his visit to Bonefish Pond National Park on 28 October, or subsequently in London, to discuss the environmental threats facing The Bahamas.<\/p>\n

Media Contact<\/span>
Company Name:<\/strong> Save Exuma Alliance
Contact Person:<\/strong> Media Relations
Email:<\/strong> Send Email<\/a>
City:<\/strong> Nassau
Country:<\/strong> Bahamas
Website:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.saveexumaalliance.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ahead of Commonwealth summit: local coalition urges King to rally Commonwealth leaders to uphold marine commitments and protect coral reefs, seagrass meadows, Queen Conch and vulnerable species from ecologically reckless<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olympiajournal.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620786"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olympiajournal.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olympiajournal.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olympiajournal.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olympiajournal.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.olympiajournal.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620786\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olympiajournal.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olympiajournal.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olympiajournal.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}