(Trinidad Express) Critics of the Marriott resort development plan for Rocky Point, which sits directly above Mt Irvine’s world-famous point break surfing location, fragile coral reefs and turtle nesting beach, say it threatens a wipeout of the very attractions which have drawn tourists to Mt Irvine for decades.
The Rocky Point Foundation (RPF), an NGO set up to fight the development and come up with an alternative and sustainable tourism plan for the rugged peninsula, believes that while a Marriott-branded hotel should be welcomed by Tobago, the location chosen at Rocky Point could prove a death knell to Mt Irvine, its wave, its reefs, its turtles and its vibe.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has said the $500 million Marriott resort will be built “come hell or high water”, while certain Tobago politicians have promised it will not become another Sandals, referring to the pull-out of the Jamaican resort group from Buccoo in 2018.
RPF and environmental NGOs SOS Tobago and Speseas are of the view that the location chosen is unsuitable for the development comprising a 216-room hotel (which includes hotel bungalows) with dozens of villas, cabins, cabanas, townhouses and duplexes scattered over an archaeologically important site surrounded by coral reefs and a turtle nesting beach. The 28-acre development would sit on the site of Fort Monk, a Courlander fort built in 1680, making it potentially the oldest structure in the whole of T&T, and an area with an important Amerindian history where artefacts turn up routinely.
Environmentally, and critical to Mt Irvine’s success as a tourist destination, opponents are concerned the massive scale of the development’s construction and operation would threaten the integrity and health of the coral reefs and well-known dive sites used by diving operators, including the Mt Irvine Wall.
The demise of any reefs would, in turn, threaten the unique circumstances which lead to the formation of the famous surfing wave which draws riders from around the world, they say.
Previous attempts to build a large-scale resort, port and casino at Rocky Point in the 1980s were thrown out because of these environmental concerns.
Fragile habitats
The July 2022 developers’ (Superior Hotels) Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) application and master plan show they plan to remove 45 per cent of the vegetation. To denude the area of so much vegetative cover poses serious risks of erosion and run-off pollution to the reefs below, say marine biologists who spoke to the Sunday Express.
SOS Tobago told the Sunday Express: “Suspended sedimentation in the water snuffs out sunlight and further smothers corals when it settles. This makes it hard for the microscopic algae in the coral to photosynthesise leading to reduced productivity and growth and even coral death.”
SOS Tobago and Speseas said, “The proposed scale and scope (of the development) is incompatible with the nearby fragile habitats.”
Asked about potential impacts of the project, another marine scientist, who preferred not to be named, said: “Replacement of coastal habitats and watersheds with hard surfaces means greater run-off, higher pollution and sediment influx, not to mention the alteration of the habitat itself, all resulting in poor water quality, a rise in coral diseases, smothering of reefs and mass die off.”
Sitting above the beach of Back Bay – one of the island’s most dangerous beaches and scene of numerous drownings – the Marriott resort threatens turtle nesting sites of critically endangered leatherback and hawksbill turtles which use the dark, sloping, wave-lashed sandy beach to lay eggs, according to SOS Tobago.
The NGO, which has monitored Back Bay for 20 years, told the Sunday Express: “It is a dynamic, high-energy beach and one of the last truly ‘green’ untouched beaches in the south west. It’s ideally suited for turtles’ unique nesting needs.”
