ANGUILLA SAND DUNE

REHABILITATION PILOT PROJECT

What's wrong with this beach?

Anguilla National Trust
Preservation for Generations

Sand Dunes - What are They?

Sand dunes are mounds of sand that lie behind the active part of a beach and are formed over many years by wind action. Sand Dunes are important because they:
  • protact our island from storm surges, hurricanes and erosion;
  • provide habitat for coastal plants and animals;
  • provide nesting sites for sea turtles; and
  • provide a nesting place for birds.

SAND DUNE DESTRUCTION

In Anguilla sand has been extensively mined for construction.

Uncontrolled sand mining and development have resulted in the destruction of these important features.

THE ANGUILLA SAND DUNE REHABILITATION PILOT PROJECT IS AN EXPERIMENT WHICH CAN:

  • help nature rebuild damage dunes;
  • educate people about the importance of sand dunes; and
  • provide a model for member countries of the Organiztion of Eastern Caribbean States
The pallets you see on this beach are fences designed to trap blown against them. This sand will eventually bury the pallets to form new dune on which vegetation will be planted.

DO NOT DISTURB THESE PALLETS

DON'T:

  • touch them
  • hang towels on them
  • lean on them
  • tie your pets on them,or
  • remove them
DO:

Help the Anguilla National Trust to Protect our Sand Dunes!!

NOW....

What's wrong with this beach?

Absolutely Nothing!

The Anguilla Sand Dune Rehabilitation Pilot Project is being adminstered by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Natural Resources Management Unit (OECS-NRMU) and the Government of Anguilla. It is co-ordinated by the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, The Department of Physical Planning and The Anguilla National trust. The Project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the United Nationa EnvironmentalProgramme (UNEP).

Anguilla National Trust

Sand Dune Rehabilitation Project

Coastal Resources Management in Anguilla

Produced by the Anguilla National Trust
"Preservation for Generations"

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC VALUE OF COASTAL RESOURCES

Our coastal resources are inportant! Without them, we would have no tourism industry, no beaches, no coral reefs, no fish. The ecology and economy of the island depend on healthy coastal resources. In order to protect them, we need to identify the problems with coastal zone management and come up with sustainable solutions.

PROBLEMS

  • Trash/Pollution
  • Sand Mining
  • Resort and Home Development
  • Natural Disasters
SOLUTIONS
  • Educate the public!
  • Adopt -a-Beach (cleaning, surveying and monitoring)
  • Enforce laws and implement programmes at the government level with private sector support
  • Develop sound management plans for coastal zones

HIGHLIGHTING COASTAL VEGETATION

No vegetation brings Doom to the Dune!

Examples of the dune vegetation are:

  • sea bean,
  • lavender bush,
  • cow bean,
  • sea grape,
  • sea-side grass
These plants are important fro holding our dunes together and making them strong

DO PROTECT COASTAL PLANTS

  • Use designated access areas to get to the beach
  • Use established parking areas

DON'T DESTROY THEM BY:

  • Trampling across dunes
  • Driving on the beach
  • Removing sand from the dunes.

DUNES PROTECT THE LAND FROM WIND AND WAVE ACTION

SAND DUNES AND SEA TURTLES

  • No coral reefs, no sand dunes, no beaches, no turtles.
  • Dunes need vegetation to form properly and sea turtles need dune vegetation to nest.
  • Setback measures must be complied with to maintain healthy sand dunes and nesting ares for sea turtles.
  • Both sand dunes and sea turtles need algae and coral reefs as they nourish and replenish beaches and sand dunes.
  • Active community perticipation in sand dune rehabilitation will help to protect the dunes and sea turtles from extiction.
  • Prevent any disturbances from sand dunes on turtle nesting beaches.

COASTAL MONITORING

During the construction of this hotel in the 1980's, residents in the area recalled that in 1939, the beach just past the hotel site had suffered severe erosion. In 1995 Hurricane Luis produced the results we see below.

How to Avoid Hurricane Damage in the Future?

  • Adhere to the setback standards recommended by the Land Development Control Committee for all built development. Place buiult structures well behind the dunes.
  • Refrain from mining sand from beaches and dunes.
  • Protect and encourage the growth of the natural vegetation in coastal areas, especially on the dunes.
  • Leave the dunes as you find them. They protect both the land behind them and the coral reefs.
  • Support the Sand Dune Rehabilitation Pilot Project at Shoal Bay and Savannah Bay.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources is working to monitor, measure and record changes to beach profiles in Anguilla. Data collected are being used to help make informed decisions about the development of Anguilla's coastal resources.

The Sand Dune Rehabilitation Pilot Project currently taking place at Shoal Bay and Savannah Bay is one aspect of Coastal Resources Management in Anguilla. It is being funded by USAID through UNEP and is being adminstrated by OECS/Natural Resources Management Unit through the Government of Anguilla. Project Consultant is Dr. Gillian Cambers of the University of Puerta Rico Sea Grant College Program. Local implementing agencies are the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, the Department of Physical Planning and the Anguilla National Trust.

This pamphlet was developed by participants at the National Consultation on Coastal Resources Management in Anguilla on January 14th, 1998.
Copyright  ©2001-2005 The Anguilla National Trust. Preservation for Generations.