‘La Esencia del Conflicto’, a documentary screened in Hartford this week, shows environmentalists in Puerto Rico fighting against a $2 billion luxury coastal community planned for the southwest part of the island.
The project, known as Esencia, would be built on 2,000 acres in the coastal town of Cabo Rojo. It would include 500 luxury hotel rooms, 1,200 private residences, two golf courses, an equestrian center, a school from kindergarten to 12th grade and a 24/7 medical center, among other things.
But environmentalists like Isatis Cintron, a climate researcher at Columbia University, say the development could strain the island’s already limited access to water.
“There's aquifers under the soil, but from studies that have been done in the past, we know that there's not a lot of water,” Cintron said at the documentary film screening at Hartford Public Library on Aug. 31.
She worries the development would divert water away from local farmers.
“[The developers] have proposed taking water from the nearby zone, which is the agricultural valley of the island. So they're not only threatening local people, but they're threatening the food sovereignty of the whole island,” she said.
Puerto Rico is currently facing one of its most significant water crises in recent years. Some residents have been without water for days, weeks or months at a time due to a combination of drought conditions and cracks and leaks in the island’s aging aqueduct system.
Gov. Ned Lamont and members of the Connecticut-Puerto Rico Trade Commission are expected to hold a press conference on Wednesday to address the water crisis.
Cintron says the luxury development will also threaten endangered birds that live in nearby forests and disturb archaeological objects buried in the ground underneath.
“This is a land grab. That's how you define this kind of development because it's a city within a city. We're not only talking about a hotel, but it's an enclave, a billionaire settlement,” Cintron said.
Gabo Ramos, the documentary’s director, encouraged Connecticut residents to organize against the project by talking to their local representatives and senators.
Developers for the coastal community did not immediately respond to comment. According to the project’s website, the development is focused on sustainability, preserving wetlands and mangroves, and increasing coastal resiliency.
Global investment firm Reuben Brothers and real estate development company Three Rules Capital told the Associated Press that more than 75% of the project would be dedicated to conservation and green space, including restoring roughly 33 acres of wetlands and rehabilitating coastal dunes and mangrove ecosystems.
They also said the development would be entirely powered by renewable energy and would have its own water and energy infrastructure.
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.
Áine Pennello is a Report for America corps member, covering the environment and climate change for Connecticut Public
