7/29/2019 Press Release (Conch Coalition)

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Clifton Bay faces massive threat says environmental expert, Kathleen Sullivan-Sealey as concerned individuals form Coalition

Leading environmental expert, Kathleen Sullivan-Sealey (Associate Professor at the Department of Biology. University of Miami), says:

Clifton Bay isunder massive threat. Coral reef is being destroyed, oil spills are increasing and the conch population risks dying out.

The root of all this damage is the lack of proper oversight and regulation of fishing, tourism, transport, coastal development and other human activities.

The conservation and protection of Clifton Bay is being sacrificed for short-term interests.

To address these critical threats, Kathleen and other leading names in the field of environmentalism and conservation throughout The Bahamas and the United States hav

joined together to form the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay which launches today.

The Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay (CPCB) is a group of highly-respected individuals drawn from a range of backgrounds, united by a shared desire to protect Clifton Bayand other marine environments surrounding New Providence Island and The Bahamas. Members include:

Keith Wisdom, Chairman of the Clifton Heritage Authority Kathleen Sullivan-Sealey, Dean of Pure and Applied Sciences, College of The Bahamas Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Founder and Chairman of the Waterkeeper Alliance, Fred Smith, President, Grand Bahama Human Rights Association Tonya Bastian Galanis, Principal, Eugene Dupuch Law School William Hunter, Acting President Ronald Thompson, Former Ambassador to The Environment Bennet Atkinson, Clifton Heritage Authority Louis Bacon, President, Moore Capital Management Hon. Nicholas F. Brady, Former Treasury Secretary of the United States of America Stuart Cove, President, Dive Bahamas Manuel Cutillas, Chairman, Lyford Cay Foundation Peter Douglas, The Andros Conservancy Romauld Ferreira, Environmental Attorney, Ferreira & Co. David Godfrey, Executive Director, Sea Turtle Conservancy William Hunter, Lyford Cay Foundation Jessica Minnis, Associate Professor, College of The Bahamas Craig Symonette, Chairman, Bahamas Ferries Joseph Darville, Vice President of the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association Troy Albury, President, Save Guana Cay Reef Association

Starting today, the Coalition will provide unwavering support to Bahamian conservation, environmental and educational organizations. These include the Bahamas NationaTrust, the Andros Conservancy and Trust, the Bahamas Reef Environment Education Foundation; Clifton Heritage National Park; Friends of the Environment; Swim for Ocean

Survival; The Island School; The Nature Conservancy, Young Marine Explorers, Save Guana Cay Reef Association, The Grand Bahama Human Rights Association and Abaco

Cares.The Coalition will also be calling on all Bahamians to enlist in its advocacy campaigns, designed to encourage effective land use decisions and habitat restoration efforts. Inthis vein the Coalition has launched today an informative and interactive website www.protectcliftonbay.org, which explains their goals and allows like-minded supporters

to join and help our campaign to save the natural resources of The Bahamas.

Supporters will be able to sign petitions on line, share these on Facebook and Twitter.

We are calling on our youth to help us Save The Bays, Save Our Seas and Save Our Environment!

Clearly more oversight is needed of what is going on under Bahamians and the Governments noses. To help bring this about, the Coalition will be campaigning for the

passage of an Environmental Protection Act and a Freedom of Information Act, both of which have been promised by the FNM and the PLP.

Coalition member and leading environmental lawyer, Fred Smith said:

The Coalition will be vocal and act ive in pursuit of our environmental protection objectives.

Romauld Ferreira added:

The implications of what is going on at Clifton Bay are really serious, for the environment, both in The Bahamas and beyond. We are acting locally, thinking globally.

This isnt the first time Clifton Bay has faced grave environmental threats. In the late 1990s it faced major danger from plans to create a 600-home golf coursedevelopment. Thanks to the collective efforts of the Bahamian government, Bahamians, environmentalists and conservation organizations, the Clifton Heritage Authoritwas established enshrining the protection of the land site. The Clifton Park now stands as a testament to the importance Bahamians place on preserving the natural beauty

of their land and maintaining a direct connection to their history.

Its time for action once more to Save The Bay and Save the Marine Environment.

Without immediate action to stop harmful developments and ensure effective oversight and regulation, Clifton Bays future is in peril. As Kathleen Sullivan-Sealey says:

If individuals are allowed to do whatever they want without repercussions, young people are discouraged. They just feel likemoney talks. They need to see the law

applies to everyone.

The Coalition vows to change this. March 2013