Coastal Tourism in the Wider Caribbean Region: Impacts and Best Management Practices	Report Contents Report in Word Format
	CEP Technical Report No. 38 1997	All CEP Technical Reports

6. INITIATIVES FOR MITIGATION OF COASTAL RESOURCES DEGRADATION

Initiatives to prevent or mitigate coastal resources degradation have been undertaken by local groups, national governments, regional bodies, and international organisations/programmes. Efforts to address the problems of coastal resources degradation generally have included the impacts from the tourist industry. Efforts to date at the national level have involved the following:

1. Development of integrated coastal zone management plans/guidelines
2. Improved land use planning and development control
3. Development of environmental management tools, such as environmental impact assessment
4. Preparation of policies to deal with coastal resources use and coastal developments
5. Development of emergency response systems/teams for oil and other hazardous chemicals spills
6. Promotion of sustainable harvesting methods for some coastal resources
7. Development of pollution control strategies
8. Construction of tourism infrastructure; primarily sewage systems
9. Institutional strengthening for regulatory agencies
10. Greater involvement of local groups and non-governmental organisations in decision making and resource management opportunities
11. Establishment of marine parks
12. Development of environmental databases
13. Rehabilitation of degraded areas

 

International Programmes

There are several regional and international initiatives that seek to deal with the issues of environmental degradation, the impacts from tourism being only one element of those programmes.

a. The Caribbean Environment Programme

Under the Cartagena Convention, which sets the legal framework for the Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP), Protocols and programmes to deal with oil spills and establishment and management of protected areas and species of wildlife have been developed. Projects for clean up of selected harbours are being implemented, and a Protocol to address marine pollution from land-based activities is currently under negotiation. The CEP is an integrated environmental programme adopted by Governments of the Wider Caribbean to assist with the management of their coastal and marine resources. Assistance to Governments has promoted an integrated coastal area management, assessment and control of marine pollution, protected areas and wildlife management, coral reefs and associated ecosystems protection and information system management. In this context, guidelines have been developed and adopted by Governments as well as general guidelines on revenue generation in protected areas, national sea turtles recovery plan, as well as manatee regional management plan. Training activities on the above areas are also developed or supported through the Programme.

The Regional Coordinating Unit (CAR/RCU) of the CEP collaborates with national and international organisations to monitor the status of the Wider Caribbean coastal and marine environment as well as of endangered species of wildlife of regional concern (such as sea turtles, manatees, injured birds, etc.), prepare guidelines relating to a range of environmental management practices, and provide support to environmental education initiatives. More recently, the CEP has embarked on a regional sustainable tourism project in collaboration with USAID on the promotion of BMPs through pilot projects **** dissemination *****

b. Environmental Health

The Pan American Health Organization has maintained an active programme in environmental health in the Caribbean. Since the establishment of the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute, which provides technical support to environmental health issues in CARICOM countries, both institutions have provided a fairly comprehensive programme, covering monitoring, assessment, and the development of environmental health standards.

Other initiatives to deal with solid waste include the annual beach clean-up activities coordinated by the Center for Marine Conservation, and the project coordinated by the International Maritime Organization related to the port facilities for accepting ship-generated solid waste.

c. Resource Management

A number of global initiatives relating to management of natural resources have been of benefit to the Wider Caribbean. These include the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (ICBD). UNEP-CEP serves as a contact point for ICRI in the wider Caribbean and has signed a Memorandum of co-operation with the CDB to co-operate on biodiversity issues in the region. Initiatives to deal with fisheries management have been operating in the CARICOM and OECS countries for several decades, including those of SEAFRAM and FAO.

Additionally, the National Resources Management Unit (NRMU) of the OECS has initiated through a process of government consultations, the development of the Sustainable Tourism Strategy to member governments??? which should be presented for their adoption in the near future.

The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) created in 1995, through intergovernmental ministerial consultation, includes within its programme of action two special committees on tourism and protection and conservation of the environment and Caribbean Sea respectively. The Special Committee on Tourism has been working with governments and relevant organizations on the establishment of the Sustainable Tourism Zone of the Caribbean. The ACS was established as an organization for consultation, co-operation and **** action to identify and promote the implementation of policies and programmes to achieve sustained economic advancement in the Caribbean. Other special committees of the ACS include trade development, natural resources and institutional co-operation.

The declaration in 1993 of the Caribbean as a Special Area under MARPOL 73/78 will address the issue of transport of waste through the region when the agreement enters into force.

d. Environmental Information Access

There have been attempts to develop information networks to service the needs of the Wider Caribbean, supported by institutions and programmes such as those of UNEP-CEP and its CEPNET regional programme, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Island Resources Foundation, CARICOM Secretariat, the Caribbean Conservation Association and the Center for Environment and Development of the University of the West Indies (UWICED).

The establishment of Conservation Data Centers in several countries in the Region has been taking place for the previous two decades. This initiative has registered mixed results, and attempts to realign it with national data management initiatives are being undertaken.

More recently, the Information Management Task Force of the IUCN’s World Protected Areas Commission is attempting to develop a Caribbean programme to deal with the issue of information management related to protected areas.

e. Development of Environmental Programmes in Hotels

There has been a surge since the start of the 1990s to develop "Green Programmes" for hotels. These programmes were initiated primarily by European institutions, but Caribbean tourist industry organisations have been participants for a number of years. These initiatives have led to the preparation of guidelines for environmental actions and best management practices in the hotel industry (Section 5 and Appendix 2).

 

6.1 Present Needs

The investment in coastal area management and tourism is extremely high, both in terms of public expenditure and private investment. To protect this investment, additional investment in prevention of environmental degradation and remediation have also been made, and future investments will be made.

When the areas in which investments have been made are examined (see list above), it is obvious that under the present circumstances of coastal resources degradation, resource allocation to these activities must continue. If deterioration of the environmental capital is allowed to continue the industry will become unsustainable, as tourists will seek other destinations, earnings and employment will fall, infrastructure will deteriorate, there will be increased competition for smaller numbers of tourist and degrading natural resources, and social conflicts will increase. In such a scenario, the "Tourism Death Spiral" discussed by IRF (1996a) will surely follow. As such, no one questions the need for additional investment in preventing further loss of environmental quality.

However, investment within the context of the existing planning and management deficiencies appears to produce lower levels of return than expected or required. The benefits to accrue from allocating additional resources to coastal resources protection now instead of later will therefore depend on the areas of focus.

In order to ensure sustainability of the tourism industry and the coastal resources used by other sectors of Caribbean economies, increased focus must be placed on improving the decision making processes, the integrated planning and management of coastal resources and the tourism industry, and changing the orientation of professionals and industry actors to embrace more socially and environmentally sound approaches to development.

However, there are a number of prerequisites to this change; including:

1. The need to draw on the skills from a number of professions (planners, architects, engineers, landscape architects, and sectors, including traditional users (e.g. fishermen, farmers, local communities, etc).

2. Better management and analysis of information is required:

• Wide dissemination of concrete but "eye-opening" analytical information to decision and policy makers on the economic impact of environmental and tourism practices
• Information on natural resources and environmental degradation from tourism need to be distributed to others apart from environmentalists and resource managers. Industry participants must be targeted
• Best practices and successes should be systematically documented, and the information disseminated to industry participants
• Training and materials which target tourism participants.

3. Improved public sector capability to plan, assess, and monitor coastal zone development, including adequate and harmonized policy, legislation and regulatory frameworks and enforcement. This requires both information and training.
4. Standards for resort areas, and for properties and recreational operations.
5. Modified guidelines for environmental management systems, especially with respect to coastal zone applicability in the Wider Caribbean, including more balanced *** and control systems and co-management where appropriate.
6. Development of analytical tools, methods/and systems to determine the full monetary cost and social effects of tourism; including the cost of infrastructure, monitoring and assessment, environmental cost, etc.
7. Information capture and systems to support long term analysis and decision making.
8. Additional research; to focus on:

• Recreational component and impact of individual (opportunistic/part-time operators)
• Reduction of the aesthetic component of the tourism product from the loss of landscapes/seascapes through poor design and location of hotels, relocation of roads away from the coast, and high walls surrounding properties
• The types and design of beach structures, in terms of their placement, ability to withstand storms, and their impact on coastal processes
• Residential tourism (research, conferences, internal travel, etc.) and intra-Caribbean travel, and their impacts and benefits
• Factors causing decay of tourism infrastructure and decline in resorts, and ways to prevent same.

9. Providing information on the risks and rewards of investing in tourism (external and internal risks, cost competition from non-Caribbean destinations, etc.)
10. Development and implementation of market based incentives and effective cost recovery mechanisms, including benefits to communities
11. Compliance with international conventions and treaties, in particular, the Cartagena Convention and its Protocols, is the only regional environmental legal framework for the Wider Caribbean.

Priority areas for action are:

1. Development of integrated environmental management systems and standards for tourism projects and tourist operations

The implementation process will be much faster than attempting to undertake regulatory changes. The international demands for good environmental quality already provide a substantial level of motivation to the larger properties to participate in any such exercise; and in fact, there are similar activities presently taking place. Environmental management systems must be developed and implemented through an integrated intersectorial and participatory approach, with a more balanced command and coastal system which maintains the possibility of co-management.

2. Development and implementation of standards for resorts

The constant complaint is that areas change too rapidly and lose their ambience. In many countries where regulatory agencies attempted to maintain the natural ambience of the resorts, the tourism lobby acted to prevent and stymie such regulation.

c. Improvement in public sector capability and intervention

Areas of focus must include industry assessment, physical and environmental planning, site selection and assessment, and monitoring, under an adequate and harmonized multisectoral policy and regulatory framework which should include effective cost recovery mechanisms.

d. Changing the orientation of industry bosses, from planning for quick returns on their investments to development of a more sustainable industry.

There is therefore a need to develop a balance between the need for super-normal profits demanded by the high cost of investment capital, and the requirement to maintain ambience and general environmental quality. However, it is also necessary to develop market based incentives for the industry to encourage compliance and commitment.

 

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List of Tables and Figures, Foreword, Acknowledgements | Section 1. | Section 2. | Section 3. | Section 4. | Section 5. | Section 6. | Section 7. | List of Acronyms  | References  | Appendix 1. | Appendix 2. | Appendix 3.