Danger to Flora and Fauna

Barbuda is home to incredible species — for now.

From critically endangered sea turtles to famous rare sea plums, Barbuda is home to an array of unique flora and fauna. These species are facing unprecedented risks with Barbuda’s new private construction projects.

By removing the natural vegetation and levelling the coastal sand dunes to make way for golf courses and luxury homes, PLH will destroy the unique ecosystems of the Palmetto Point Reserve. These ecosystems provide valuable ecological services to flora and fauna.

The endangered West Indian Whistling Duck find refuge and breeding grounds in the thickets of the wetlands and so too do other migrating water bird species. The Codrington Lagoon National Park reserve supports the largest nesting colony in the western hemisphere for the Magnificent Frigate Bird. The reserve is also the home of the endemic Barbuda Warbler. Its shallow waters provide habitats, feeding and breeding grounds for the Caribbean Spiny Lobster and numerous species of fish that sustain the Barbudan economy and the economies of the other islands of the Caribbean.

The construction of golf courses not only destroys these ecosystems directly, but their operations generates waste that are carried by water runoff into the marine areas, where they wreak havoc on other marine ecosystems such as coral reef communities and seagrass beds. The impacts of such developments have been researched and demonstrated by prominent marine experts, such as Dr Thomas Goreau of the Global Coral Reef Alliance.