Lobby for more sustainable natural resources industry

Lobby for more sustainable natural resources industry

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A Bahamian natural resources lobby group has raised concerns over the exploitation of the country’s natural resources and the impact of large scale development projects in the country.

The Bahamas Natural Resources Foundation (BNRF) said it is is fully committed to the sustainable exploitation of the country’s natural resources in alignment with principles set by the United Nations.

In a statement, the group referred to the UN General Assembly Resolution 1803 on the sovereign right of every State to dispose of its wealth and natural resources.

The BNRF is a citizen-based Bahamian NGO.

“The BNRF believes that a country’s natural resources are in simple terms its land and people, which include the abundance of resources found on and under the land, in and under the sea, and in the air above both the land and sea,” the statement read.

The group’s comments come amid growing public debate over the exploitation of the country’s natural resources and particularly three separate investment projects proposed for Andros.

Among them is the North Andros Green Free Trade Zone being proposed by Los Angeles-based billionaire philanthropist, Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong.

The statement continued: “The BNRF will always be concerned when our natural resources are exploited in a way that is unsustainable, results in irreparable environmental damage, and/or fails to take into account our national interest.

‘We will likewise be concerned when particularly large projects are developed part and parcel with the extraction of our mineral resources, which historically have had devastating socio-economic and environmental consequences.

It added: “In future, it will not be enough that an Environmental Impact Assessment gives the green light for particularly a project in an environmentally sensitive area but that we set the highest ecological standards anywhere in the world. Generations unborn will thank us.”

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