[Coral-List] Imminent threat to Guana Cay reefs

Thomas Goreau goreau at bestweb.net
Thu Apr 26 17:50:20 EDT 2007


Dear friends of coral reefs,

A few days ago I posted a link on the list server to photos of the  
destruction of Great Guana Cay, Bahamas. The residents have filed an  
appeal for an injunction against this development, which would place  
golf courses, marinas, hotels, and sewage generating homes right next  
to some of the best surviving reef in the the Bahamas.

Yesterday a Nassau court said they would refuse to issue an  
injunction unless the local residents came up with $100,000 by May 10th.

Below is the link to the article in today's Nassau Guardian

http://www.thenassauguardian.com/national_local/298235231094548.php

The reason this is so urgent is that the local residents have been  
turned down by local courts every single time they have gone to them,  
but they have won every single appeal they have made to independent  
judges at the Privy Council in London, the last court of appeal.  
These injunctions have always been overturned afterwards on flimsy  
and dubious grounds by local judges. If SGCR can raise the funds for  
a new injunction, they will get one last chance to go back to the  
Privy Council. They are convinced that they will win their case if  
they can get to present it to impartial judges. The lawyer for SGCR  
is working for free, the enormous sums the Bahamian court is  
demanding is to pay the developers lawyers! This seems like a  
travesty of justice.

We would like to ask all concerned readers of the list server who  
wish to assist SGCR in this urgent last minute effort to go to the  
Save Guana Cay Reef web site,

http://www.saveguanacayreef.com/


Best wishes,
Tom

Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
President
Global Coral Reef Alliance
37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
617-864-4226
goreau at bestweb.net
http://www.globalcoral.org




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