CEP Technical Report No. 36 1996

CEP Technical Report No. 36 1996: Status of Protected Area Systems in the Wider Caribbean Region
Country Profiles

IUCN MANAGEMENT CATEGORY	No. of Protected Areas (PAs)	PAs with Marine or Coastal Zones	Extension
Category I	0	0	0
Category II	1	1	5,308
Category III	1	1	356
Category IV	2	2	140
Category V	0	0	0
Categories VI-VIII	0	0	0
Biosphere Reserves	1	1	6,127
World Heritage Sites	0	0	0
Ramsar Sites	0	0	0
Total (1)	4	4	6,623

(1) Totals have been adjusted to avoid double counting areas that are classified in 2 or more categories.

The United States Virgin Islands is an un-incorporated territory of the United States. Much self government has been provided incrementally by the United States Congress. The Virgin Islands has elected its own Governor since 1970, and has been represented in Congress by a non-voting delegate since 1972. The Legislature, comprised of 15 members, has all the powers inherent in legislative bodies subject to the United States Constitution and the Virgin Islands Organic Act.

Federal and local legislation has been enacted to ensure protection and preservation of natural, cultural and historic resources. For further details of the federal legislation and administration see the entry for the United States of America. The Indigenous Species Act (Act 5665) provides protection to threatened and locally threatened and indigenous species as well as mangroves.

The Coastal Zone Management Act which was established in 1978 made provision for the Coastal Zone Management Programme (CZM). The USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) is the lead agency, and has jurisdiction in exercising general control over the enforcement of laws relating to planning, conservation and the development of natural resources. The CZM is responsible for the protection, maintenance, preservation and, where feasible, the enhancement and restoration of the overall quality of the environment in the coastal zone. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) provides funding for wildlife and fisheries restoration through the DPNR.

National parks, national monuments, and other categories of protected areas within the national park system are established by individual Acts of Congress. Virgin Islands National Park, which encompasses 56% of the island of St. John, was established on 2 August 1956 (Public Law 925) and designated a biosphere reserve in June 1976. Buck Island Reef National Monument was established by Presidential Proclamation No. 3443, 1961.

A variety of regulations governs the use of the areas within the national park system, most are intended to provide for the safety of park visitors and to protect the natural and cultural resources. The use or possession of any type of spearfishing equipment within park boundaries is prohibited. All taking of marine life is prohibited throughout the park.

National wildlife refuges can be established by Act of Congress, but can also be transferred to the authority of the USFWS by administrative action, such as transfer of land from another agency (federal or state) or by receipt of a gift of land (from a state or unit of local government, a private organisation or an individual). While management objectives may vary considerably from site to site, refuges are essentially established for the restoration, preservation and management of wildlife habitat, and for the preservation of threatened species.

Provision for the establishment of natural marine sanctuaries is made under the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, 1972. The Act authorises the Secretary of Commerce to designate ocean and coastal waters as national marine sanctuaries for the purpose of preserving or restoring their conservation, recreation, ecological, or aesthetic values. The sanctuary designation process was amended significantly in 1984 to increase the emphasis on sustainable multiple use and planning, and less on prohibitions. There are two USVI areas on the Site Evaluation List (1983), Southeast St. Thomas and East End St. Croix (Foster and Archer 1988).

The DPNR is charged with the task of planning and programming the development of the Territorial Park System which was legally mandated in 1972. The Department is also responsible for the preservation and management of natural resources, wildlife, and archaeological and historical resources. The Government of the Virgin Islands, with the DPNR and the Department of Housing Parks and Recreation (DHP&R) as the lead agencies, will be working on a management plan together with the federal government to establish the Salt River Bay Historical Site and Ecological Preserve in St. Croix.

Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention, 1983)

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, 1973)

Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar, 1971)

Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage, 1972)

Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP, 1981) and its Specially Protected Areas & Wildlife Programme (SPAW, 1990)

Both the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service are agencies within the United States Department of Interior (USDI). The Park Service has responsibility for Virgin Islands National Park, Buck Island Reef National Monument and Christiansted National Historic Site. National park lands are classified into four general zones: natural, historic, development and special use. Funding comes from the National Park Service and supports not only the management of the area, but also research work by the Virgin Islands Resource Management Co-operative (VIRMC). Total budgets for these three sites in 1991 was US$7.76 million, with a staff of seventy-three.

The Fish and Wildlife Service administers wildlife refuges. The Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Programme is the responsibility of the DPNR, which has jurisdiction over all wetlands and coastal areas. There are at present no national marine sanctuaries within the Virgin Islands, but if recommendations by NOAA (1981) are fulfilled management of proposed sanctuaries will be shared by NOAA and the Virgin Islands authorities.

Two of the three main islands, St. Thomas and St. John, are on the same submerged bank as Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands. The third island, St. Croix, lies further south in the Caribbean Sea. The south-west and central-south parts of St. Croix are relatively flat, and over half has slopes of less than 10. Vegetation varies from the windswept east, where rolling hills support cactus and thorn scrub, to a moist forest in the west end. St. Thomas is noted for its steep terrain, and more than 70% of the island has slopes exceeding 20. General vegetation varies from scrub of the rather dry east end to cooler and quite lush central mountain tops. St. John is the smallest of the islands and 54% of the island is a national park. St. John has generally steeper terrain, with 80% of the island having slopes of 30 or more (Boulon 1984).

The 6,623 ha of protected areas in the US Virgin Islands is equivalent to 19% of the Island's landmass. The area is included in the Virgin Islands National Park (5,308 ha) 3 smaller areas, and the Virgin Islands Biosphere Reserve which incorporates the individual areas.

The islands have also been the subject of a significant number of scientific studies. In recent years the Virgin Islands Resource Management Co-operative has worked to provide co-ordinated environmental research and its funding, and to ensure application and dissemination of results. One result of this has been a range of Biosphere Reserve Research Reports, 29 of which were published 1986-88. Most of these reports relate to Virgin Islands National Park, but some include information from Buck Island Reef National Monument and the British Virgin Islands. A synthesis of major findings in these and other pertinent research reports appear in Rogers and Teytaud (1988b).

Virgin Islands National Park currently has an active programme of long-term monitoring of marine and terrestrial resources, including coral reefs, reef fishes, dry and moist forest, and soils. Several long-term research sites have been established.

The Virgin Island National Park suffers from the overuse of 750,000 recreational visitors. As a result a natural resource protection programme that designates anchoring and mooring zones in the park has been implemented (Rogers 1988a). The co-operative development of the Salt River Bay Historic Park & Ecological Preserve has been limited by funding shortages, inter-institutional conflicts, and commercial development pressure (van't Hof 1993).

Posner et al (1981) evaluated the economic impact of park generated tourism in St. John and St. Thomas, without considering preservation of historical resources and natural habitat, recreational opportunities or other non-market parameters. On an annual basis, operating expenses (US$2.1 million) represented less than 5% of direct and indirect benefits (US$43.3 million). Upward growth in recreational use (450,000 visitor days in 1980, 750,000 visitor days in 1986) together with addition of unmeasured benefits would probably raise net economic impact significantly (Dixon et al 1993).

The tourist industry is the leading economic activity, and in 1980 the islands were visited by approximately one million tourists. Subsequent pressure on land and sea use makes active management essential to sustain the value of the natural features. Boulon (1984) identified three major problems with respect to management of natural resources: loss of land through population increase and subsequent construction, over-exploitation of marine resources, and maintenance of marine, near-shore water quality.

Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Suite 231 Nisky Center, No. 45A Estate Nisky, ST. THOMAS

Office of the Governor of the Virgin Islands, 21-22 Kongus Gade, Charlotte Amalie, ST. THOMAS 00802 Tel: (809) 774-0294 (809) 774-1361

Boulon, R.H. (1984) United States Virgin Islands. In: Wood, J. (Ed.) Proceedings for the workshop on biosphere reserves and other protected areas for sustainable development of small Caribbean islands. National Park Service, Atlanta. 190 pp.

Foster, N.M. and Archer, J.H. (1988) The National Marine Sanctuary programme - policy, education and research. Oceanus 31(1):4-17.

National Park Service (1983) Virgin Islands general management plan, development concept plan, environment assessment. US Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Denver Service Centre. 179 pp.

NOAA (1981) The St. Thomas National Marine Sanctuary and draft Environmental Statement. US Department of Commerce, Washington.

Norton, R.L. (1986) United States Virgin Islands. In: Scott, D.A. and Carbonell, M. (Eds.) A directory of Neotropical wetlands. IUCN, Cambridge and IWRB, Slimbridge, UK. 684 pp.

Putney, A.D. (1987) Conceptual framework for the management of the Virgin Islands Biosphere Reserve. Biosphere Reserve Research Report No. 15. Virgin Islands Resource Management Co-operative.

Robinson, A.H. and Henle, F. (1978) Virgin Islands National Park, The story behind the scenery. K.C. Publications, Nevada.

Rogers, C. (1985) Towards a Lesser Antillean Biosphere Reserve. Parks 10(3):22-24

Rogers, C.S., Mclain L. and Zullo E.S. (1988a) Recreational uses of marine resources in the Virgin Islands National Park and Biosphere Reserve: Trends and consequences. Biosphere reserve research report No. 24.

Rogers, C.S. and Teytaud, R. (1988b) Marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the Virgin Islands National Park and Biosphere Reserve. Biosphere reserve research report No. 29. 112 pp.

UNEP/IUCN (1988) Coral Reefs of the World. Volume 1: Atlantic and Eastern Pacific. UNEP Regional Seas Directories and Bibliographies. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK/UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya. 373 pp.

Virgin Islands Resource Management Co-operative (1986-8) Biosphere reserve research reports p.1-p.29.

Not specifically available. See United States of America (Gulf States and Florida).

Name of area	IUCN & National Mgmt. Categories		Presence of Marine or Coastal Zones	Area ha	Year Established
Virgin Islands National Park	II	NP	YES	5,308	1956
Subtotal	1		1	5,308
Buck Island Reef National Monument	III	NM	YES	356	1961
Subtotal	1		1	356
Sandy Point Wildlife Refuge	IV	NWR	YES	134	1984
Green Cay NWF	IV	NWR	YES	6	1977
Subtotal	2		2	140
Virgin Islands National Park	IX	BR	YES	6,127	1976
Subtotal	1		1	6,127