Friends of Aldabra has called on the Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to withdraw from a hotel project on Assomption Island. This island forms part of the Aldabra group.
The call was made in a video posted online within the last 24 hours by Friends of Aldabra, in which member Victoria Duthil spoke about the project.
In the video, Duthil compared the Assomption project to another hotel development that Rosewood is currently constructing elsewhere. She claimed that construction on that project had already caused permanent environmental damage and harmed local wildlife.
“Construction has already permanently damaged the local environment and harmed local wildlife,” Duthil said.
She also claimed that construction work was continuing despite those concerns.
“It’s small islands versus big resorts,” she said.
During the video, Duthil criticised what she described as the marketing of large hotel developments as environmentally conscious and sustainable. At the same time, these developments make promises about local employment.
“These hotels actually do quite the opposite. They destroy the wild areas that they are built on, profiting off the destruction of the world’s last wildlife places,” Duthil said.
In addition, Duthil alleged that the project began without monitoring measures in place. She claimed that water pipes had been installed on key sea turtle nesting sites.
She also referred to an injured land tortoise. Additionally, she alleged that sand had been extracted from ecologically sensitive dunes for the hotel’s construction.
“I think it’s safe to say that the environment is the last thing on their mind,” she said.
Duthil further claimed that local authorities were being kept away from the islands. As a result, they could not see whether developers were breaking laws or failing to follow environmental recommendations.
“Even if we get through to the people who are in charge, promises are made but never upheld,” she said.
She ended the video by calling on people to join the movement and demand that Rosewood withdraw from the developments.