“Rosewood Fear” - A Letter by Zoe Brown to The Tribune

On August 5, 2025, Bahamian PhD student Zoe Olivia Brown submitted a letter to the media raising urgent concerns about the proposed Rosewood–Yntegra development at Sampson Cay. Studying at the University of Oxford, Zoe’s research focuses on how small island nations like The Bahamas rely on healthy ecosystems for food security, coastal protection, and economic resilience.

We are sharing her letter in full below.

I AM a Bahamian PhD student at the University of Oxford and my research focuses on how small island nations like The Bahamas rely on their natural environments for food security, coastal protection, and economic resilience. These connections have become even more critical as climate change continues to affect our islands. Recognising the vital role healthy coastal ecosystems play in supporting our people, several initiatives related to mangrove replanting, coral restoration, and aquaculture have emerged in our country in recent years.

With this in mind, I’m writing to you with urgency to request greater media attention on the Rosewood Exuma development. Led by Rosewood Hotels and the Yntegra Group, this project plans to dredge coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and sandbars in the North Bay of Sampson Cay, threatening not only the unique marine ecosystem of the area, but also the cultural heritage, livelihoods, and long-term food and economic security of local Bahamians. The future of our children, our communities, and our heritage is at stake.

We have seen this pattern before across all of our islands: development proposals that promise economic prosperity but

compromise the natural resources our economy depends on. When will we collectively acknowledge that the Bahamian economy is built on the natural resources and biodiversity we hold, that is found nowhere else in the world? These are the very ecosystems that feed our people, support our culture, and draw people to our shores.

It is shortsighted, even reckless, to destroy them in the name of development. Furthermore, when profits are made, it is unlikely that they will be shared equitably. Developments like this tend to benefit a wealthy few, while local residents lose access to areas that once provided food and income, under the precedence of creating a handful of tourism jobs, that keep us locked in a cycle of servitude rather than ownership over our land and sea. This is not the sustainable development our nation needs, neither for our environment or our people.

The North Bay of Sampson Cay is an area local people rely on for grouper, conch, and crawfish, which is particularly important given how urgent the issue of food security is in our country. Research shows that in times of need, it’s our fisheries that people turn to, to put a little extra food in their mouths and money in their pockets, yet, we are considering

destroying the ecosystems that make that possible. As a nation deeply affected by hurricanes and the climate crisis, potential damage to the ecosystems that protect us is alarming. For instance, the Bahamas ranks third in the world for the flood protection and averted damages we receive from mangroves, and fifth in the world for coral reef protection. Additionally, seagrass beds have been shown to break wave energy, and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests. We’ve seen firsthand how climate change has affected us, especially after Dorian. We need these ecosystems intact now more than ever.

I am writing, not only for this particular plan to be halted (or seriously reconsidered), but I’m also calling on our government leaders to implement stronger environmental policies that safeguard our landscapes, our heritage, and our collective future. I acknowledge that development is necessary to move our country forward; However, we must put decision-making power back in the hands of the people who depend on these ecosystems and who will be left to deal with the aftermath of poor choices.

ZOE OLIVIA BROWN Nassau, August 5,2025.

This letter, written by Zoe Olivia Brown, was originally published in The Tribune on August 12, 2025.