“It would rip the soul out of the island,” complains Fernando, a local guide, as his quad bike zooms through the lush vegetation that covers the island of Boipeba, an idyllic tourist destination on the coast of the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia.
Boipeba, once hailed as the second most beautiful island in South America (behind Chile’s Easter Island), is known for its stunning, near-untouched beaches of Moreré, Bainema, and Ponta dos Castelhanos. But a major tourism development backed by a group of Brazilian billionaires and one former central banker could drastically transform the island forever.
Turning a corner into a vast field of tall coconut palms, Fernando sighs. “This is where they want to build the golf course.”
Besides plans for the Boipeba links course, the original project for the so-called Fazenda Ponta dos Castelhanos foresees the construction of almost 200 houses, two hotels, a pier, and an airdrome. The entire property would take up around 20 percent of the island and dramatically change its landscape.
Among the many controversies surrounding the project is that it would completely surround the quaint impoverished fishing village of São Sebastião — best known locally as Cova da Onça, or “Jaguar’s Cove” — cutting it off from the rest of the island and ports to the mainland.
For this and several other reasons, groups of local residents and federal prosecutors have called for the project to be stopped.
On April 6, the Federal Property Secretariat (SPU) issued a 90-day suspension on works, which was extended for another 90 days last week. However, the community on Boipeba remains tense, amid reports of those opposed to the project facing threats, and fears that the development may go ahead eventually.
Fernando, our guide, expressed concerns that he could suffer violent retaliation for speaking to The Brazilian Report, and thus his name has been changed to protect his identity.
Who’s behind the project?
The Fazenda Ponta dos Castelhanos project is led by Mangaba Cultivo de Coco Ltd., a coconut growing company with no record of growing coconuts, and which is owned by a circle of Brazilian billionaires — some of them well known.
Among the largest of the company’s shareholders is José Roberto Marinho,...
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