TRUST NEWS ANGUILLA NATIONAL TRUST - "Preservation for Generations" - Vol 6, #4, May/June2001

ECO-CORNER

POLITICAL WILL TO CONSERVE AND SUSTAINABLY USE BIODIVERSITY IN ANGUILLA

In Anguilla and many other countries throughout the region the dominant ingredient for effective conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity is political will. It is crucial for everything else, and its absence is the sole cause of the continued loss of biological diversity in Anguilla. But what is Biological Diversity? Biological Diversity (biodiversity) is a term used to group all varieties of plants and animals together.

Political will is essential to ensure conservation and sustainable use of Anguillaýs remaining biological diversity locally, nationally, regionally and internationally. Two key factors, which can influence political will in Anguilla, are awareness and understanding of the value of biodiversity and the benefits of its conservation. Secondly, the capacities of institutions and people to influence policy, incite political commitment to conservation, and effectively channel resources to and carry out actions in the field. In Anguilla the degree of institutional capacity to be effective is controlled by political will and local resource constraints.

Furthermore other ingredients such as, policy, legal framework and the incentives provided for (or against) conservation. The extent to which the value of biodiversity and the services provided by ecosystems are real and immediate; although adequacy and diversity of financial resources allocated to conservation are largely the product of political will. Finally, international policies, commitments, and organizations are important determinants of sustainability of biodiversity in Anguilla.

In Anguilla political leaders and government institutions determine policies and the degree to which these policies are implemented or enforced. Furthermore they control resource allocations and development initiatives that affect whether biodiversity is sustained or not. The level of local political commitment to conservation and sustainable use of biological resources as expressed in the Country Strategic Programme will determine our seriousness and level of maturity in the management of our natural heritage.

Political leaders everywhere are face with a range of competing choices for improving the well being of their people and country. Privileged groups often prevail by forcing politicians to make short-term decisions which benefit the chosen few. Anguillaýs political leaders and other interest groups need to be more aware of the economic benefits of biodiversity and the habitats that sustain it. It is often not appreciated how conservation and sustainable uses of biological resources can meet development aspirations and objectives, and conversely, how destructive and exploitative economic uses can undermine the countries long term well-being for us. In Anguilla outside agencies normally play a significant role in strengthening local conservation efforts and civil society in the debate over development management options. But the effectiveness of these interventions is limited without political support.

Ownership and commitment are essential at every level to ensure biodiversity conservation is sustained here in Anguilla. Participation in political processes or creating new vehicles to give voice to all stakeholders including those directly affected by the conditions of biological resources can increase commitment. In addition it will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to be involve in, and have influence over, decision-making about biodiversity. Overall, active participation enables all participants to feel more responsible for conservation outcomes in particular if cost and benefit sharing is possible.

The building of commitment and political will is a continuous social development process that must be constantly reinforced here in Anguilla. Special attention must be made to gather support across the political spectrum, thereby transcending partisan politics, in an effort to put nation before self.

Awareness, understanding and credible institutions and capable people are three major components, which influence the level of political will. If these are not present it is highly unlikely that there will be a sustained commitment to the conservation of biodiversity. Anguillians need to understand the material and social benefits of conservation and the consequences of failing to conserve biological diversity. By being aware of these benefits and costs and instilling national pride we can make more informed decisions so that we, our children and our childrenýs children can enjoy a rich and natural heritage.

  DID YOU KNOW???

A wetland is any place that is regularly flooded with fresh, brackish, or salty water. They are also known as swamps (usually with trees) or marshes (grassy looking).

Mangrove wetlands are found in salty and tidal areas along, coastal ponds, lagoons and on coastal cays and islets. Mangrove wetlands are normally dominated by four species of mangrove trees - red, black, white and button or buttonwood.

MEETINGS MEETINGS MEETINGS

COMMUNITY BASED TOURISM FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT

DOMINICA MAY 21-26, 2001

The workshop was a great interaction through discussion among the participants. It shed new light on the ideas of Community Based Tourism for Rural Development CBTRD and looked at new concepts for dealing with development in rural communities to ensure that communities are the ones that really benefit rather than earning miniscule profits.

Rural communities must be recognised by government and potential developers as the controllers of their own destiny and developers of their own process. Furthermore, CBTRD has a considerable problem, it is foreign owned and controlled, itýs almost always unrelated to the needs of community and its people. Communityýs participation is vital (but almost never occurs) in the process of defining the type of tourist activity that the community wants.

It was also realised that CBTRD should be planned, controlled and maintained locally at a small sustainable scale. Therefore, CBTRD must use the bottom up approach to stimulate community cooperation, pride and a sense of value to utilize local resources, provide some local income and encourage training. Overall, CBTRD needs to be tied to the aspirations of the community and the political development of such, because any further attempts will leave the people deficient. Capacity building of communities and individuals is vital to the effective sustainability of the CBTRD concept. All CBTRD projects require effective training (Empowerment) for community persons which would ensure that communities could take over the project and run it efficiently and effectively thereby ensuring its long-term sustainability.

Finally, it seems that the Caribbean has not perceived CBTRD and other similar initiatives through-out the region as being destructive to their environment and traditions until it is too late. The Caribbean allows visitors to use our most precious asset, our environment and they pollute it, while not making any significant contribution to the development of the rural economy. Instead of taking a firm stand against it, senior decision makers are all over the place and clearly there is little political will and lack of policy. This makes it difficult and appears like the community canýt lay a foundation on which to benefit.

THE APPLICATION OF ECONOMIC VALUATION AND ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS TO ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN OECS COUNTRIES 

St. Lucia June 18-21st

Mr. Karim Hodge, Associate Executive Director of the Anguilla National Trust participated in the above mentioned workshop ýApplication of Economic valuation and economic instruments to Environmental Management in the OECS Countries. Nineteen participants attended the workshop from OECS countries and various different ministries and non-governmental organizations were represented. The workshop was organised and made possible by the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the World Bank.

The workshop examined various concepts and techniques in environmental valuation and looked at how countries could measure the value of environmental benefits using various methods. Furthermore, the links between economic valuation of natural resources and the macro-economy enhanced the discussion which dealt with the linking of finance, natural resources and setting national priorities for environmental policy by government.

Participants at the workshop stated that in order for economic valuation of the environment, to be taken seriously government finance planning officers need to be trained in methods of economic valuation of natural resources. The need for training of senior decision makers in Government up to the ministerial level is needed to ensure commitment. Overall the workshop was timely in light of the fact that entering that economic valuation of biodiversity in the Caribbean region.

The theory of how to conduct economic valuation of the natural resources was detailed, and provoked discussion among the participants of the workshop, but failed to provide participants with detailed information and skills needed to conduct valuation or even design tools for such, example, questionnaire design etc. The facilitators of the workshop acknowledged limitations, which was due to time constraints, however they provided information as to where participants can seek information on various aspects of economic valuation of natural resources.

INFORMATION FOR ACTION: COMMUNICATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

Conference for Caribbean Communicators.

The workshop was held in Trinidad from 4th to 7th June 2001. Associate Executive Director, Karim V. D. Hodge attended the workshop. Funding for participation was provided through the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), the United National Information Centre (UNIC) and the Department of International Development (DFID).

The workshop did not give new direction or present new ideas, experiences and strategies for selling stories related to the environment and development.

Some of the sessions and presentations of the conference were excellent and provided the scope of the issue at hand. However the quality and significance of presentations to the issue of communication were less detailed and the time for discussion after presentations and small group work sessions did not occur.

It offered a quick glimpse through poster displays, ideas about efforts made by other countries in the region in their effort to sell their stories to the media. Some participants displayed different materials they had produced for the purpose of media use. If an opportunity had allowed time for dialogue relating to poster displays it would have created outputs of how best to develop and sell particular environmental and development stories to the media.

The concept of the meeting was great, however if more time was given the workshop it would have been of greater success and usefulness to the participants. There should be a follow-up workshop with initiatives that provide for greater interaction and participation through small group work, using communicator and media persons to enhance environmental and development stories for the news.

Finally, the workshop had two major successes, one being the formation of an e-group for Caribbean communicators that relates directly with environmental and development stories in the media. The other success of the workshop was one for the Solid Waste Management participants, where they formed a small working group and came up with strategies of what needs to be achieved to ensure that their task is executed efficiently and effectively through sharing of information.

The question for Anguilla remains on how can we effectively target the media to view environmental and development stories as a priority. There must be need for creativity and persistence in ensuring that the media gives your story priority and runs your story. CEHI should be encouraged to have a follow up workshop focusing on how to get the most out of the media, how to stimulate media interest, how to deal with packaging of media stories (whether to put it in the sports section or the business section etc). Training needs to be ongoing in selling the story using different strategies, to efficiently capture media interest.

FOR SALE AT THE TRUST OFFICE:

• Bird Identification Cards US$ 5.00

• Wetlands Field Guide of Anguilla US$15.00

• West Indian Iguana Posters US$ 2.00

• National Trust Caps US$ 8.00

• T-Shirts

• Turtle US$20.00

• Big Spring US$12.00

• I Am the Anguilla National Trust US$12.00

• Sand Dune US$ 20.00

LANDOWNER SEMINARS

Two landowner seminar took place during the months of May and June 2001 one at Stoney Ground Primary School and the last seminar at East End Primary School. If Anguillians desire to establish protected areas for the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity they need private landowners on board because they are the owners of 95% of the land. This will be the major factor in deciding whether the protected areas concept will see the light of day. Ongoing and continuous dialogue with private landowners and other influencial stakeholders are crucial to the success of any protected areas efforts. The support of landowners is the sole prerequisite for any success in establishing protected areas in Anguilla.

The land owners were given an overview of, 1) What is biodiversity and why it important to Anguilla, 2) the criteria for selection of size and location of site with potential for national park, 3) profiting from biodiversity through protected areas management and 4) an outline of possible preliminary management arrangements for national parks establishment.

The general conclusion from the seminar was that private landowners were not willing to offer portions of their land holdings for protected areas establishment. They seemed to support the idea that protected areas management should initially focus on crown lands and marine areas.

The Anguilla National Trust will continue to take the lead to encourage government to demonstrate its willingness to promote biodiversity conservation.

BIODIVERSITY AWARENESS SURVEY

The Anguilla National Trust through the Darwin Project conducted and survey to assess the level of biodiversity awareness amongst the Anguillian population.

The biodiversity awareness survey has been completed and the final report has been written. Copies of the report are now available at the office of the Anguilla National Trust.

The Trust would like to extend many thanks Ms. Dawnette Bryan for her assistance with data interpretation and analysis.

BIG SPRING ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE MANAGEMENT PLAN COMPLETED

The Big Spring site is one of two exciting limestone caves, which was used by Amerindians in Anguilla several centuries ago. These caves are noted for the many well-defined petroglyphs thought to date back to about 900 to 1200 AD. Further archaeological exploration of the site started in early June 2001 by a team of researchers led by Jim Petersen from the University of Vermont, USA. The results of this investigation will be made available to the Anguilla National Trust in due course.

Island Harbour residents had recently expressed a renewed interest in developing the site into a national park. This approach will facilitate new economic and recreational opportunities through the conservation of the biodiversity and heritage value of the site.

Several planning meetings with the community were held in 2000 and 2001 which led to the preparation of a management plan, based more on the needs of the community but congruent with national developmental goals. The core of the management plan was presented to a public gathering at Island Harbour on 9th June, 2001. About 70% of the people present, openly supported the plan (through a show of hands) and wanted to see it succeed. There were no objections to the proposal but several persons had some reservations on getting the funding to implement the plan.

The first draft of the management plan was sent for review to 24 key stakeholders, including Ministers and Permanent Secretaries of Government, Heads of Government Departments, The Big Spring Advisory Committee, The Anguilla Archaeological Society, and residents of the Island Harbour community who participated in the planning process. A copy of the final management plan can be requested from the Anguilla National Trust.