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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Dominica workshop papers
Coastal
Stewardship in Saint Lucia
Susanna
Scott
Experience
in Coastal Stewardship
In the past, efforts at managing resource use generally took
a top-down approach in that rules and regulations were established with little
or no public awareness, education and/or involvement.
However, over the past decade, management authorities have come to realise
that such efforts were, for the most part, carried out in vain, due to limitations
in enforcement capabilities to ensure that persons adhere to these rules and
regulations. In St Lucia, a small
island developing state with limited financial and human resources, the required
enforcement capabilities were often severely lacking.
With the formal establishment of the Soufriere
Marine Management Area (SMMA) by the Cabinet of Ministers in 1995, and the
success of its stewardship approach to management of resources within the Soufriere
coastal area, a new precedent for resource management and decision-making was
established in St Lucia.
The SMMA
comprises 11 km of coastline and is divided into five different zones: marine
reserves, fishing priority areas, yacht mooring areas, recreational areas, and
multiple use areas. These areas
were so designed to cater to the myriad of uses in the area, reduce conflict
among users and protect critical marine resources.
Notably, the SMMA was an agreement derived from a number of
consultations, which involved all stakeholders (non-governmental organisations
(NGOs), government organisations and users).
The resultant coastal stewardship arrangement allows for the continued
input from all stakeholders. From
the SMMA experience,
management authorities have learnt that community participation at all stages of
the process is vital for the success of resource management.
Other case studies, which highlight the success of coastal stewardship in St Lucia include:
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Charcoal production in the Mankote mangrove (see Geoghegan and Smith, 1998). | |
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Sea urchin management (see George and Joseph, 1994). | |
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Pointe Sable National Park (see Point Sable National Park Committee, 1997). |
Coastal Stewardship and the Management of Beaches
The importance of beaches for coastal stability and to
maintain St Lucia’s image as a ‘sun, sea and sand’ destination has long
been recognised; however, little consideration is given to natural beach
processes, and this lack of understanding or appreciation has encouraged
indiscriminate exploitation of this resource.
Many beaches along the east coast have become prime target sites for
illegal sand mining activities since they are often located in remote areas,
making surveillance activities by relevant enforcement agencies difficult.
An inventory of beaches conducted in 1996-1997, revealed that 14.3% of
beaches along the east coast were being mined for sand, as opposed to 6.5% of
beaches along the west coast.
Other problems, which affect beaches in general, are solid
waste stemming from both land and water based sources, and construction of
infrastructure on the beach or in the nearshore area, which in turn affects the
natural dynamics of the beach. In
addition to destructive human practices, natural disasters also adversely impact
beaches. According to Cambers
and Scott (1996), previous work carried out in several eastern
Caribbean islands by a regional programme, Coastal
and Beach Stability in the Lesser Antilles (COSALC), show that hurricanes
are a major natural force controlling beach change.
These authors further state that although beaches tend to recover after
these natural events, they are not recovering to their pre-hurricane levels.
In an effort to understand beach dynamics and consequently,
create a more convincing justification for the conservation and protection of
beaches, there have been many attempts by relevant management bodies to
establish a system for the collection of information regarding the status and
dynamics of beaches in St Lucia. So
far these efforts have been plagued by problems.
In October 1990, a beach monitoring programme was commenced
in St Lucia as part of the COSALC project.
Although the Department of Fisheries is not the legal authority for management
of beaches, it coordinates this monitoring programme because of its interest
in maintaining these systems to protect coastal fishery habitats and turtle
nesting sites. However, due to
a lack of human and other resources (e.g. transportation), this programme came
to a halt shortly after it started, however, it was recommenced in 1995.
To address the issue of insufficient staff, the Department of Fisheries
sought and obtained assistance from several other agencies namely the St
Lucia National Trust, St Lucia Naturalists’ Society and the St Lucia Marine
Management Association. But, with
time, all such arrangements also proved to be unsuccessful.
Another initiative aimed at beach management commenced in 1995,
when the Organisation of Eastern
Caribbean States Natural Resources Management Unit (OECS-NRMU) developed
a National Action Plan for Beaches. The
main objective of this plan was to establish local management authorities (LMAs),
utilising stakeholder agencies and community groups.
These LMAs were to assist with the management of beaches in their respective
areas. From this initiative several
local management authorities were identified, but only one was formally established,
the Mabouya Valley Environmental Club, which consisted mainly of secondary level
students of the area. Unfortunately,
to date, even though members were trained, this body has not been engaged in
beach monitoring activities.
So far, experience has shown that it is extremely difficult
to get sustained assistance from external agencies and most times the data
received was unreliable and full of gaps despite ongoing training activities.
Agencies tend to be limited by few members who can be assigned to the
programme, a high turnover rate of staff and members and the lack of
transportation.
Currently, the Department of Fisheries has temporarily
discontinued its efforts aimed at fostering coastal stewardship as it pertains
to the management of beaches, but continues to ponder on new ways of achieving
co-management arrangements for beaches. In general, case studies have shown that
coastal stewardship is successful when there is a clear benefit to be derived by
those involved. If there are no
perceivable benefits, as has been the case with beach monitoring activities,
such actions are often given low priority.
It will thus take more of a concerted effort from the relevant management
agencies to get community groups involved in beach management and sustain their
involvement. Such an effort would
of course require financial resources and manpower, resources which are
currently very limited within these management agencies.
References
Cambers,
G. and S. Scott. 1996. Beach changes in St Lucia 1990-1995. University of
Puerto Rico, Sea Grant College Program, Puerto Rico and UNESCO.
Geoghegan,
T. and Smith, A. H. 1998. Conservation and sustainable livelihoods:
collaborative management of the Mankote Mangrove, St Lucia. Community
participation in mangrove forests. Caribbean Natural Resources Institute.
George,
S. and W. Joseph. 1994. A new participatory approach towards sea urchin
management in St Lucia, West Indies. In 46th Proceedings for Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries
Institute.
Point Sable National Park Committee. 1997. Case study of a pilot integrated management plan for the south west coast of St Lucia. Status of information on natural resources and their management on the south east coast of St Lucia, January, 1997. Point Sable National Park Planning Committee, Vieux Fort, St Lucia.
