President Donald Trump’s golf course in Scotland, opened in 2012, “partially destroyed” a nature conserve widely regarded as crucial to the area’s ecosystem, a Sunday report alleges.
An environmental agency has obtained documents, using the Freedom of Information Act, which show that the Aberdeenshire golf course has done considerable damage to one of Scotland’s Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Newsweek informs that after years of pressure to do so, mainly by residents, the Scottish Natural Heritage agency has finally acknowledged the damage.
During negotiations in 2008, Trump promised to make the land “environmentally enhanced”, but has failed to fulfill his promise. On the contrary, the agency said, Trump International Golf Links has since disrupted the entire region’s ecosystem.
“Construction of the new golf course involved earthworks, planting of trees, greens and fairways, drainage, irrigation and grass planting,” reads one of the reports requested by Scottish Natural Heritage inspectors, which adds that such works have “affected the natural morphology of the dunes and interfered with natural processes.”
According to Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute, which had filed the information request, the documents demonstrate that Foveran Links, the area in question, has undergone substantial damage “and that it is very unlikely that it will retain its SSSI status.”
Ward has requested the Scottish government to investigate the matter since 2012, when the golf course was opened under controversial circumstances, including another unfulfilled promised by Trump to create thousands of jobs and protect the dunes.
Dr. Jim Hansom, a specialist in coastal ecology at Glasgow University, described the site as formerly “virgin, underdeveloped wilderness” that has been ruined and turned into something “relatively manicured.” The Trump Organization has claimed otherwise, saying their environmental approach was “first class.”
Be the first to comment