From the wetlands to the pink sands,
billionaires are bulldozing Barbuda.
Our mission is to defend the island before it’s too late.
“They do not even know what it is they are destroying, and that is the most awful thing about it.”
— John Mussington, Biologist
Barbuda belongs to Barbudans.
Since emancipation from slavery in 1834, the people of Barbuda have shared communal rights to the land in a unique land tenure system, which has protected the islands socially and biologically diverse environment. Now these ecologically sensitive lands are being grabbed and rapidly destroyed by billionaire developers building enclaves for the ultra wealthy. When Barbudans have tried to resist in court, they were denied access to justice on the justification that the plaintiffs have no standing in defending the traditional land tenure.
Disaster capitalism: Rebuilding after Irma, but for whom?
In 2017, Hurricane Irma damaged over 90% of the structures on Barbuda. During a mandatory evacuation of all residents, the Government started clearing land to build an unauthorized airport for international private flights. They also pushed forward new laws giving away land that residents had traditionally held in common, allowing outside investors to take over vast areas of the island. This is disaster capitalism, where, as Naomi Klein describes, “there are people with power who are cashing in on chaos”. This isn’t development — it’s exploitation.
Tom Fazio’s new golf course: on a protected wetland
Right now hundreds of luxury residences, an exclusive resort and an 18-hole golf course are being built on Codrington Lagoon National Park, which is a Category II Protected Area under the International Union for Conservation of Nature and designated Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. The wetlands play a crucial role in the region’s ecology and in the protection of the people of Barbuda from severe weather events and future climate change impacts.
A playground for the wealthy — at the expense of the locals
Experts at the United Nations have expressed “deep concerns regarding the potential impacts of the Barbuda Ocean Club Project on human rights, including the rights to food, water and sanitation, housing, and a healthy environment, as well as cultural rights.”