An environmental movement that gained “incredible and unexpected” momentum in a few months announced today it is changing its name to reflect the success that has driven it to broaden its role and expand beyond its initial focus to national interests.
“When we first announced the formation of the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay in March, we focused on the issue immediately at hand — the ongoing degradation and pollution of the western bays that was destroying coral reefs and depleting fish, conch and crawfish stocks,” said senior attorney Fred Smith, QC.
“We have gained such incredible and unexpected momentum that we have expanded our focus to national environmental protection and environmental rights issues. It’s not just water, but the use of Crown Land and the right of Bahamians to know what their government is planning. It’s calling for the passage of a Freedom of Information Act and the essential Environmental Protection Act.
“Today we are very pleased to announce that the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay is now Save The Bays, a national environmental movement that has the support of individuals and organisations from all around The Bahamas and even abroad through our Facebook page and petition.”
Smith said the initial name, the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay was selected for a specific reason.
“The Coalition to Protect Clifton was established with that name for two reasons. One, we wanted to use Clifton Bay as an example,” said the environmental and human rights activist. “Clifton and the western bays are a microcosm of the development issues that are challenging the rest of The Bahamas.”
The second reason is that it had the potential to attract global support and had to be specfiic and focused on the area for attention.
According to Smith, the Coalition knew of the work of the Waterkeeper Alliance, an international organisation that lends support to local Waterkeepers who work through local volunteers to monitor and protect threatened or endangered bays, rivers, streams and other waterways. The Coalition applied for and became the first approved Bahamas Waterkeeper partner. That partnership was announced late last month during a visit to Nassau by Waterkeeper Alliance President Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
But in portraying the damage to the reefs off Jaws beach and around to the west off the coast of Lyford Cay and Albany, Smith said, the group “awakened voices that had been fighting the good fight, often alone or unheard. We helped to coalesce and give expression to the pent-up feelings of frustration that such damage was taking place and nothing was stopping it.
“All we want to do with the western bays is promote a harmonious use of the area by persuading the government to pass an environmental protection act. This is something both the FNM and PLP have promised. By changing our name and broadening our reach, we are not deserting our original genesis, but building on the foundation that awakened such interest.”
The Coalition’s early success, says another director, Grand Bahama human rights and environmental activist Joseph Darville, can be measured in many ways.
“I’ve never seen such a groundswell of support for a single issue,” said Darville.
“When I think what we had to go through to get people to care about basic human rights, that was a fight that took 35 long years. Now in just a few months, we have people coming out of the woodwork, sending photos of damaged reefs, of oil, of smoke stacks, people offering to volunteer, saying they want to pin their environmental action lawsuits or battles to our campaign to take control of the environment, our land, our water, our resources. They are tired of too little, too late and they see the Coalition, which as of today is Save The Bays, as action-oriented.
“We have nearly 4,000 Facebook friends and fans and those numbers do not lie. We are on the move and I think Save The Bays is a great way to make the announcement that we are here for everyone wherever you live or work in The Bahamas.”
The organisation plans to visit and launch marine resource reviews in Andros and Bimini before month’s end.
By Diane Phillips and Associates
