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Red Frog Beach Club: An Example of Unsustainable

Mega-Tourist Development in Panama

Red Frog Beach Club is located adjacent to Isla Bastimentos National Marine Park in the

Bocas del Toro Archipelago

Red Frog is here

More than 13,000 hectares of land and sea,established in 1988

Isla Bastimentos National Marine Park

• Main ecosystem types are coral reefs, mangroves, sea grass beds, rainforest

• Ancient coral shelf reefs are believed to be 15,000 – 20,000 years old and contain 52 of the 71 identified species of Caribbean coral

• 250 species of fish and marine mammals, including dolphins and sea turtles

Isla Bastimentos National Marine Park is part of La Amistad Biosphere Reserve

La Amistad Biosphere Reserve is part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, created by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO´s) Man and the Biosphere Program to reduce loss of biodiversity through enhancing social, economic, and cultural conditions for environmental sustainability.

Costa Rica

Panamá

La Amistad Biosphere Reserve contains a mosaic of national parks, protected zones, and biological, forest, and indigenous reserves in both

Costa Rica and Panamá.

It is a region of incredible biodiversityMain ecosystem types include:

Coastal mangroves and swamps

Seagrass beds

Coral reefs

Montane rainforests:

Cloud forests

Special mixed oak forests

Lowland tropical humid forests

Swamp forests

Photos by Karla Aparicio(except quetzal)

Tapir

Sloth

Jaguar

Quetzal

Harpy eagle

Howler monkey

A Little Background on the Bocas Archipelago

9,916 inhabitants on 9 islands:• Indigenous (6,115, more than

90% are Ngobe)• Afro-Caribbeans • Latino (i.e., Chiricanos and

others), newer residents (U.S. and other citizens)

Tourism main industry; other economic sectors include small scale agriculture, fishing, bureaucratic jobs

$1,098$1,171$2,377Salary level per year

27.65%30.09%21.4%Infant mortality

51.54%32.00%18.6%Without electricity

50.38%15.80%6.9%Without sanitary services

43.8%24.44%9.2%Without potable water

6.2 years6.3 years8.6 yearsEducation (average)

84.6%83.1%92.3%Literacy

62%55%10%Indigenous

9,91689,2692,839,177Population

Bocas Archipelago

Bocas Province

PanamáDemographic

Information(2000 census)

Challenges to Successful Conservation and

Community Development in the Bocas Archipelago

• Local communities need sustainable economic development

• Local communities need to participate in conservation and

development planning

• The tourism industry should be sustainable and participatory

• Red Frog Beach Club: Just One Example

Local communities need sustainable economic development

Growing populations that depend on subsistence activities are putting increasing pressure on natural resources and ecosystems through cattle grazing, agriculture, logging, hunting, and fishing.

Local communities’ needs for access to natural resources should not be sacrificed to foreign investors’ desires for profit.

Local communities need sustainable economic development

Poor communities depend on the environment for their subsistence needs, but must also earn cash for other necessities.

The types of wage jobs available to local communities should not compromise the health of the environment nor their ability to determine their own sustainable future.

Local communities should participate in conservation and

development planning

All community members have the right to participate in planning processes to identify reasonable alternatives

for sustainable livelihoods

The tourism industry should be sustainable and participatory

Mega-developments impact local communities by…

• Limiting their access to natural resources they depend upon for subsistence (fishing, forest, agricultural land)

• Resulting in permanent loss of land

• Reinforcing their restricted access to government officials and services in comparison with foreigners and wealthy

Close proximity to coral reefs, mangroves, wetlands and forests can degrade or destroy the health of these

ecosystems and the species that

live in them

Mega-developments impact natural resources and ecosystems

The tourism industry should be sustainable and participatory

Red Frog Beach Club

Aerial view of Phase I

Total ha to be used: 17.86 (out of 68 ha of Phase I property)

Estimate of hectares of exposed earth during construction: 20

UNDER CONSTRUCTION NOW:

109 villas, 24 condo units

9 hotels (72 rooms total)

Welcome center, restaurant, pool, spa, tennis courts

5.28 ha of roads (4.4 km of roads)

Fuel tanks, generating plant, telecommunications plant, water system, maintenance structures

Total ha to be built: 198.91

(out of 528.65 ha of Phase II property, which is 10.5% of the entire area of Isla Bastimentos)

Red Frog Beach ClubPhase II

PHASE II

Red Frog Beach ClubPhase II

44 villas

517 condos

“Boutique” hotel(80 – 100 rooms)

126 duplexes

20 “Plantation Suites”

Activity center

Tennis courts

Golf Course

Marina with 250 boat slips

Red Frog Beach Club

What will the specific impacts be?

Of 48 bird species that live in the project area, 13 are protected species (12 under CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and one (left, Columba nigrirostris, short-billed pigeon) protected under Panamanian legislation as in danger of extinction)

Red Frog Beach Club

What will the specific impacts be?

Of 18 mammal species, 5 are protected species (four under CITES, and two under Panamanian legislation as in danger of extinction, including Procyon cancrivorus, left, the crab-eating raccoon,)

Red Frog Beach ClubWhat will the specific impacts be?

Of the 12 species of reptiles and amphibians, two frog species (including Dendrobates pulmilio, the red frog, and Dendrobates claudiae, which is only found in Bocas) are protected under CITES. Three reptile species are protected by Panamanian law as species in danger of extinction.

Caiman crocodilus, caiman

Dendrobates pulmilio, red frog

Red Frog Beach ClubWhat will the specific impacts be?

Out of 65 plant species in 24 families, seven species are considered “elementos especiales” under Panamanian law (10.8% of the 65 species). Zamia skinneri is listed under CITES, and Socratez durissima is on IUCN´s (the world conservation union´s) Red List of Threatened Species.

Zamia skinneri

Red Frog Beach ClubHow will the mangroves be impacted by traffic

from 250 boats?

The south side of Isla Bastimentos consists of mangrove islets, coves, and shores. Mangroves function as refuges or nurseries for juvenile fish species.

Red Frog Beach Club welcome center

Marina will be built here

Red Frog Beach ClubHow will the mangroves be impacted by traffic

from 250 boats?

There are 67 invertebrate species, 23 fish species, and 20 algal species that live in the mangroves. Red Frog Beach Club Phase II Environmental Impact Assessment

Wave action will disturb marine life and contribute to erosion of mangroves

Leaking fuel will contaminate water

The Community of Bahia Honda has signed a letter opposing Red Frog’s marina.

Red Frog Beach ClubHow will the coral reefs be impacted?

All coral species are protected from extraction or exploitation under Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna).

Elkhorn coral, or acropora palmata

Living coral reefs act as nurseries for countless fish and marine species. Their loss permanently changes fish populations and biodiversity.

Red Frog Beach ClubHow will the coral reefs be impacted?

Boulder brain coral(Colpophyllia natans)

There are 31 species of coral found in the seven coral reefs evaluated in Red Frog Beach Club’s Phase II Environmental Impact Assessment. Some of these beautiful coral colonies are ancient, from 15,000 – 20,000 years old.

Red Frog Beach Club

How will the coral reefs be impacted?

Caribbean coral reefs are in dire trouble: by one estimate, the Caribbean has already lost 80 percent of its coral cover over the last three decades to disease and bleaching.

In 2005 there were unprecedented coral bleaching events across the Caribbean caused by warm waters. Bleaching weakens corals and makes them susceptible to diseases.

(National Geographic, April 6, 2006)

Elkhorn coral affected by irregular growth, related to bleaching and disease

Red Frog Beach Club

Corals should not be subjected to any further negative impacts

Aquatic recreation will physically impact coral reefs, through boat anchors, fishing, snorkeling, diving, and jet skiing. More than 2,000 people could be visiting or living at Red Frog Beach Club at any one time.

Wastewater (treated sewage), runoff, and sediment from the development will cause algae growth on corals and increase water temperature and turbidity, contributing to coral disease.

Boat anchor stuck on broken coral.

Red Frog Beach ClubHow will the shoreline and beaches be impacted?

Lights from beachfront homes can disturb nesting sea turtles; boating and other aquatic activities can disturb migrating turtles and juveniles feeding

Nesting leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea).

Red Frog´s one-year monitoring project found four leatherback and six hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) nests or nesting turtles on beaches within the property. They monitored for 71 days or less on four beaches.

ALL sea turtle species are endangered.

Red Frog Beach Club

Loss and disturbance of coastal vegetation will impact nesting hawksbill sea turtles and other species, like the red frog

How will the shoreline and beaches be impacted?

Road for beachfront lot at Red Frog Phase I is approximately 12 feet from the beach; vegetation has been thinned next to the north side beaches throughout Red Frog´s property.

Red Frog Beach ClubHow will the shoreline and beaches be impacted?

Erosion and sedimentation from construction and habitation activities (landscaping, runoff, trails) can alter ocean water quality and habitat

Red Frog Phase I construction site. A gully is forming approximately 100 feet from the beach, which will continue to erode sediment unless repaired.

Water quality will also be impacted from sewage, and chemicals used for cleaning, fertilizers and pesticides.

Red Frog Phase I construction has altered stream beds and hydrology. Blocking streams prevents access by species that depend on salt and freshwater, including some shrimp, crabs, and fish.

Red Frog Beach Club

Red Frog Beach Club: Social impacts on local communities (so far)

Boats from Red Frog have disrupted cayuga (canoe) travel near Bahia Honda

Use of trails has been impeded (locally by schoolchildren, and on the El Camino Real that crosses the island and goes through Red Frog property)

Aggressive attempts to buy Polo´s Beach property on the north side of the island. Polo´s Beach lies in the middle of Red Frog property. Polo has lived there for over 40 years.

Bahia Honda

Red Frog Beach ClubWhat can you do?

• Attend the Public Forum for Red Frog Beach Club Phase II (part of the Environmental Impact Assessment process) and speak your mind.Tuesday, August 22, at the Catholic Church in Bocas Town

• Submit written comments to ANAM (Panamá´s environmental agency) and others via email. See this link for electronic addresses:

http://www.stopredfrogbeachclub.com/objection.html