Bahamas Environmental Groups Protest Disney Cruise Line Port Project

Bahamas-based environmental groups are petitioning the territory’s government to halt Disney Cruise Line’s plan to build a multi-million dollar cruise destination in South Eluthera. The groups have collected nearly 400,000 signatures online supporting their opposition to the project.

Groups including the Bahamas Reef Environment Education Foundation, Waterkeeper Bahamas and Save the Bays are “deeply concerned” regarding Disney’s plan to build a $250m to $400m cruise port and entertainment facility at Lighthouse Point under a 2019 “Heads of Agreement” pact between Disney Island Development Ltd. and the Bahamas government, according to a Bahamas Tribune report.

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The port would “threaten this unique natural place treasured by generations of Bahamians and visitors from around the world,” local environmentalist Sam Duncombe told the Tribune. “This is not the place where an environmentally responsible corporation would choose to develop a massive cruise ship port.”

Duncombe said the groups were “asked to comment on “environmental regulations that (were) passed a few months ago,” but “they didn’t take any of our considerations.”

Under the agreement, Disney will set aside190 acres of land on the property’s southernmost tip, where the government will establish a national park. Up to 120 Bahamians are expected to be employed during construction of the project. Disney officials did not respond to TravelPulse.com’s request for comment on the port project.

On its website, Disney says the project will “develop less than 20 percent of the property [and] employ sustainable building practices, including an open-trestle pier that eliminates the need to dredge a ship channel.”

The company also promises to “establish environmental monitoring programs during construction and operation.” The activists said Disney’s EIA should “address the realities of climate change, COVID and systemic injustice and provide an opportunity for meaningful public participation.”

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) statements for the project have been submitted and await government approval. The project will also undergo “public consultation,” according to the Bahamas Tribune report.