Tobago's Rocky Point is the target of a huge Marriott-branded hotel and real estate development being pushed by the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Critics (almost all locals are critics, a public consultation showed) of the project believe it will overwhelm and destroy this fragile ecosystem.
At risk is the critical turtle nesting beach at Back Bay, a "killer beach" which is too dangerous to swim at and has claimed 14 lives, even with few annual visitors. It is the last undeveloped beach in south west Tobago and perfect for endangered leatherbacks and hawksbills to lay their eggs in the lonely, secluded darkness.
The coral reef at Rocky Point forms the best surfing wave in the Caribbean, the training ground for T&T's Olympians, a wave people travel to ride from all over the world. It is feared that siltation from the construction and ongoing sources of land-based pollution will destroy the coral (the Mt Irvine Wall on the point is a regular dive highlight for Tobago visitors) and so destroy the unique waves which are formed upon that coral.
The coastal woodland which holds Back Bay together is a at risk of destruction according to the developer's (Superior Hotels) project plans, and is the home of many bird species, some only found in Tobago. Rocky Point is also an archeological treasure upon which sits the ruins of the oldest colonial building in all of T&T, Fort Monk, built in the 1600s. It also the site of many Amerindian artefacts which have been discovered here.
All of this at risk because of political grandstanding. The people opposing the development of Rocky Point are not anti-development, as protagonists and various politicians claim, but simply believe this is the wrong project for this fragile area. And why would you invite tourists to swim at a lethal beach anyway?
This is unique and beautiful place, the kind of untainted loveliness that people associate with unspoiled Tobago. But when it is gone, it will be gone forever. As one man said to the would-be developers of Rocky Point at public consultation:
“We would like you to take your plans and move somewhere else. Just go anywhere else except this particular spot that we hold so dear.”
Here are some other comments from that meeting:
“It seems that every third person who drowns in Tobago drowns off Rocky Point. How do you mitigate that?”
“I’ve not heard one member of the public lend any support to this project whatsoever, which to my mind means the proposal should be null and void because we don’t want it”
“Why is Back Bay so important to our sea turtle population? Because it is truly unspoilt, untouched, undiscovered and we love it because the turtles come back again and again”
“Can anybody here tell me the last time in the last decade that all the hotels, inns and Airbnbs were packed enough to need another hotel?”
“The trail to the surfing point through the land at Rocky Point has been traversed for half a century by surfers. It is spiritual . . . the wave speaks for our country, not just Tobago. To protect the environment here is to protect our olympic sport”
“Ospreys nest here . . . you should be using this area to educate people not building a gated community for the one percenters”
“We were told Mt Irvine was the one site we should be using to promote diving in Tobago because of the biodiversity of life there . . . it’s already under threat. . . improperly planned development of that point will put further stress on that ecosystem”
14 июн 2024
