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Coastal Tourism in the Wider Caribbean Region: Impacts and Best Management Practices | |
| CEP Technical Report No. 38 1997 | All CEP Technical Reports |
TABLES
Table 1: Sources of Coastal Resources Degradation
Table 2: Impacts of Activities Indirectly Related to Tourism
Table 3: Sectors Utilizing or Affecting Coastal Resources
Table 4: Detrimental Impacts from Tourism
Table 5: Benefits and Costs of Tourism
Table 6: Estimates of Visitor Expenditure, 1994/95
Table 7: Contribution of Tourism Receipts to Balance of Payments in Selected CountriesFIGURES
Figure 1: Negative Impacts of Tourism in the Eastern Caribbean
Figure 2: Positive Impacts of Tourism
In 1983 the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region, the Cartagena Convention, was adopted and served as the legal framework for the Caribbean Environment Programme. It is the only comprehensive environmental umbrella treaty for the region. Two Protocols have been adopted on specific aspects of environmental management: the Protocol Concerning Cooperation in Combating Oil Spills and the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife. A third Protocol Concerning Land-based Sources of Marine Pollution is under development for adoption in 1998.
The Regional Programme for Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife in the Wider Caribbean region (SPAW) was designed to implement the provisions and requirements of the SPAW Protocol.
In keeping with the objectives and spirit of the SPAW Programme, the CEP has embarked on new but integral component of the Programme – The Caribbean Environment Network (CEN) Project - aiming at improving environmental quality and the conservation of natural resources of the coastal and marine environment. The CEN Project focuses on reducing environmental impacts by tourism, given the importance and scope of the industry in the Wider Caribbean and the close linkages with various marine and coastal habitats in the region. It was designed as a response to the Regional Agenda for Action of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), with the input of relevant partner agencies in the region. This Project is a joint venture with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as main donor agency in Jamaica.
The present report was carried out as part of the baseline information needed to guide the implementation of the Project’s activities. The report includes an overview of tourism and coastal resources degradation in the Wider Caribbean; costs and benefits of the use of coastal resources; best management practices in coastal tourism and initiatives for mitigation of coastal resources degradation.
A number of other regional and international organisations have embarked on programmes to improve environmental practices towards achieving sustainable tourism in the region. It is the goal of the USAID/UNEP CEN Project to contribute to these efforts in support of rational use and conservation of coastal zones and resources in the Wider Caribbean region.
The preparation of a report of this nature requires the input of persons familiar with several areas of tourism and the environment. Many such persons shared their experiences, ideas and information and this opportunity is taken to acknowledge and express gratitude to those persons.
In particular, appreciation is offered to Mr. Randy Brown, Clean Islands International; Dr. Gillian Cambers, University of Puerto Rico Sea Grant Program; Ms. Sheryl Dixon, Caribbean Development Bank; Mr. Floyd Homer, Simmons & Associates; and Ms. Kelly Robinson, Caribbean Hotel Association for the information they provided. Special thanks also to Ms. Joy Douglas and Dr. LaVerne Ragster for information, ideas, and for providing external reviews of the first draft of the report.
Special thanks go to Ms. Shernette Crichton, Half Moon Hotel; Mr. Nicholas Drayton, British Virgin Islands National Parks; Ms. Lisa Max, Hotel Inter-Continental Miami; and Messrs Mike Nelson and Stanley Selengut, Maho Bay Camps Inc., for providing the materials for their case study at very short notice. This generosity has enhanced the product, and it is expected that the information provided will enable others to develop best management practices for their own tourism operations.
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.
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