Ecotourism and sustained economic development

Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Travel and tourism are among the world's fastest growing industries and are the major source of foreign exchange earnings for many developing countries. According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO) receipts from international tourism grew by an average annual rate of 9 percent between, 1988-1997.

The numbers of international tourist arrivals reached more than 664 million in 1999 (well over 10 percent of the world's population), and international arrivals are expected to reach one billion by 2010.

The Bahamas and the Caribbean have over the years have enjoyed substantial economic benefits from this very lucrative industry.

According to official statistics, conservative estimates indicate that approximately 60 percent of our nation's GDP, valued at some $5 billion dollars are directly linked to the Tourism industry.
source:The Freeport news

2005 Latin America and the Caribbean Selected Economic and Social Data

The 2005 edition of Latin America and the Caribbean: Selected Economic and Social Data (the LAC Databook), includes the most recent data at the time of publication from a multitude of international and national sources. The Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean of the US Agency for International Development presents this Databook with the goal of gathering and presenting the most up-to-date information possible from official country sources and leading international institutions."
Source:USAID

2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (Western Hemisphere)

All men and women desire and deserve to live in dignity and liberty. As President Bush said: "The advance of freedom is the great story of our time." Promoting human rights and democracy is a worldwide phenomenon and there is a growing global discussion of democracy and the universal values protected by democratic governance.

By defending and advancing human rights and democratic principles, we keep faith with our country’s most cherished values and lay the foundation for lasting peace. Fulfilling the promise of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and building vibrant democracies worldwide will take generations, but it is work of the utmost urgency that cannot be delayed.
Source:US Dept. of State

International Narcotics Control Strategy Report for 2006

Illicit Drugs Shipped Through Caribbean Nations to U.S., Europe

The report cites Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica as major transit points. As a result of their geographic location, many nations of the Caribbean are utilized as transit countries to shift cocaine, marijuana and other illicit drugs from South America to the United States, Europe and elsewhere, according to the U.S. State Department's International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) for 2006.
Source:U.S. Department of State

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2006 - BAHAMAS

Death sentences were imposed by the courts. No executions were carried out. Detained asylum-seekers and migrants, the majority black Haitian nationals, were held in harsh conditions and reportedly ill-treated. Reports of police abuses continued.

Death penalty

The courts continued to pass death sentences. No executions took place. At the end of 2005, there were at least 39 prisoners on death row. Numerous people, including the Commissioner of Police, called for the resumption of executions in reaction to an increase in violent crime.

In April, 12 prisoners on death row at the Fox Hill Prison staged a three-day hunger strike to protest at their “inhumane” conditions. Inmates alleged inadequate sanitation, food, water and medical care. In October a new prison building was commissioned, for completion in 2007.

Police abuses

There were continued reports of police brutality. In January a riot erupted in Nassau Village after police allegedly abused Haitian women and shot a young man aged 19 in the face. A police investigation had not concluded by the end of 2005.

Asylum-seekers and migrants

There were continued reports of abuses against asylum-seekers and other detainees at the Carmichael Detention Centre. Inmates were reportedly beaten and received inadequate medical attention, food and water. Asylum-seekers were forcibly returned to countries including Cuba and Haiti without access to a full and fair determination procedure.

Hostility increased towards Haitian immigrants, unofficially estimated at 60,000 out of a population of 300,000. In 2005, according to the Department of Immigration, 5,543 irregular immigrants – 4,504 from Haiti – were forcibly returned to their countries of origin.

AI country visits. In May, AI sent a police expert to provide human rights training to members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
Source:Amnesty International