Our Mangroves in the BVI
Did you know that we have already lost over 80% of our mangroves in the British Virgin Islands and more are being lost daily!
Mangrove Action Project. Feature article on the British Virgin Islands. Article reprinted here, but link provided for original article. The Mangrove action project also has sample letters on its website that can be forwarded to the appropriate officials
British Virgin Islands and uncontrolled development
The British Virgin Islands once world famous for its fabulously empty beaches, clean water, small guest houses, fantastic sailing, friendly people and quiet life, is entering a phase of unprecedented large-scale development. Natures Little Secrets has announced itself to the world. Encouraged by the local government, people around the world (e.g. USA, U.K. and Hong Kong) have responded by purchasing chunks of these islands and financing the construction of new facilities designed to attract thousands more to these tiny islands. Already the proportion of tourists to resident is staggering. A population of 20,000 is overwhelmed by upwards of 300,000 visitors each year. Already there are major environmental and social impacts in sewage pollution, trash overloads, traffic and frustration on the roads, a large imported labour force, crime and eroding cultural norms.
Apparently, though this is not enough as the BVI government now encourages mega development. Two examples in urgent need of international attention because of their massive long- term environmental and social effects are the developments of Scrub Island and Beef Island. These large developments are occurring against a backdrop of smaller developments throughout the BVI islands, and unprecedented residential construction. Few if any measures are put in place in any development to curb the flow of sediment to the ocean.
Scrub Island, a formerly uninhabited island of 230 acres surrounded by healthy coral reef, popular dive sites, and some of the BVIís most important turtle nesting beaches, is currently being re-designed. Towering piles of excavated soil are perched ominously on the shoreline on a low lying isthmus only yards away from coral reefs. Planned in the place of the dry tropical forest and inland mangrove wetlands or salt ponds are 54 individual state lots, a resort hotel with 87 single or multiple family-owned units, and a 67 slip marina including one spot for a mega yacht. The marina is sited in a narrow, high current channel a short way upstream from a marine protected area and another popular dive and snorkeling site that has also been a Reef Check survey reef since 1997. The developers claim that water quality will be ěmaintained by promoting seawater flushing through the marina and disregard the sensitive habitats in line to receive the flushed harbour pollutants. This marina was granted government approval against the recommendations of the Conservation and Fisheries department.
The Beef Island Development is next in line. This project that may well have a ground breaking ceremony in early November 2006 is in the final stages of approval. The development includes 663 residential units for vacationers, a 180 acre golf course, an inner marina with 170 to 200 slips, including at least 7 for Mega yachts, and an outer marina with 200 slips. This development will replace the only remaining large wetland system accessible to the majority of the BVIs population. ( estimated that 80% of BVIís mangroves have already been lost). Although plans have been slightly modified to save some of the mangrove areas, the largest wetland is the site for the inner marina and will be completely destroyed. Other mangrove wetlands will be partially filled and bordered by the golf course -a Jack Nicklaus golf course. The project will impact migratory bird populations that have been shown to concentrate in the Beef Island salt ponds during the migration and winter months ( Jarecki 2004).
The inner marina, again an unavoidable source of pollutants, borders a mangrove lagoon, rich seagrass beds and a coral reef system that has been shown to support more juvenile stages of commercially-important fish species and 3 times greater densities of juvenile fish than any other area sampled around Eastern Tortola and the neighbouring islands (Watson et al.2002; Munro and Watson 1999). Part of that lagoon system was declared a fisheries protected area in 2004. It is expected that the sediments and pollutants dispersed during the development stages and later by the marina and golf course will degrade if not destroy this rich ecosystem.
The planned implementation of more marinas in the BVI and hence encouraging more boats to come has failed to take into account that the charter yacht industry may well already be at saturation point. Crowded anchorages for a large part of the year indicate that there is little room left for expansion of the boating industry.
In addition to the excessive environmental costs of large-scale development, the BVI will face far-reaching social consequences of these mega- development projects. The greatest of which will probably be those brought on the increase in the already high demand for imported labor and the decreases in the already scarce green spaces for the use and well being of BVI residents.
Cited references:
Jarecki L.2004. Salt Ponds of the British Virgin Islands: Investigations in an unexplored ecosystem. Ph.D. thesis, University of Ken at Canterbury. 183 pp.
Munro JL, Watson M. 1999, Caribbean Marine Protected Areas Project: The role of marine protected areas in fisheries management and biodiversity conservation in coral reef ecosystems. Technical Report, International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management ( ICLARM).
Watson M, Munro JL, Gell FR.2002. Visual censuses of recently settled yellowtail snapper Ocyurus chrysurus. Marine Ecology Progress Series Vol. 237:247-256.
