![\"romi-ferriera-save-bays\"](\"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/romi-ferriera-save-bays.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Ferreira calls on students to join the fight to preserve the Bahamas for their own grandchildren<\/p>\n
The fight to protect the environment from the scourge of unregulated development is ultimately a struggle to defend the rights of each and every Bahamian, a top environmental attorney told C.V. Bethel students.<\/p>\n
Romi Ferreira told members of the school\u2019s Young Marine Explorers club that while the lack of environmental protection laws is an obvious cause for concern ecologically speaking, it is also a question of social justice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are being pushed inland,\u201d he said. \u201cBahamians are being denied access to their own shoreline.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce the coast is developed, you can\u2019t go there unless you can pay. The average Bahamian can\u2019t afford the two or three million it costs to live on the water.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ferreira, a director of the fast-growing advocacy group Save The Bays, said this phenomenon is being driven by unregulated development.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is cheaper and easier to build resorts and gated communities without an Environmental Protection Act, without a Freedom of Information Act allowing us to find out what is being done in secret,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut only certain people will be able to afford to enjoy the results. Meanwhile, at some point, our ecosystems will be destroyed beyond their capacity to regenerate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what Save The Bays is really trying to prevent. You ought to be able to enjoy your country\u2019s natural beauty when you are old.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou deserve the chance to show it to your grandchildren. You are the future \u2013 this is your fight,\u201d he told the students.<\/p>\n
Save The Bays is currently celebrating its first anniversary and the fact that in so short a time, it has managed to attract more than 500 full members and nearly 14,000 followers on Facebook.<\/p>\n
A Save The Bays petition calling for a Freedom of Information Act, an Environmental Protection Act and an end to unregulated development has garnered nearly 6,000 signatures. It is available at www.savethebays.bs.<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s new radio talk show \u2013 \u2018Voice of the Bays: The Environment Speaks\u2019 \u2013 airs every Monday at 5pm on Love 97 FM.<\/p>\n
Diane Phillips and Associates<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Caption: THE GOOD FIGHT \u2013 Environmental attorney Romi Ferreira tells C.V. Bethel students that the fight to preserve the country\u2019s natural heritage is also a struggle to protect the rights of every Bahamian. (Photo by Derek Smith Jr. for DPA)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ferreira calls on students to join the fight to preserve the Bahamas for their own grandchildren <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":58586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[76,51],"class_list":["post-58585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-environment-2","tag-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}