sustainable development in the us virgin islands blkojis nj quinn et al caribbean affairs 1995

8/7/2019 Sustainable Development in the US Virgin Islands BLKojis NJ Quinn et al Caribbean Affairs 1995

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July/August 1995 Yol.7 No. 5

crcA Caribbean Information Systems & Services Ltd. publication@ 1995

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coArIE rlsThe Credibility of ISO 9000Michael Lqu, Ken Joachtm, Berqrdo Peretra

FTom our ou)n consulting experience and with a closeinteractton with our clients, uhether theg are planningJor the ISO 9OOO path or theg are caught up with the'Wind oJ Qualitg Charge', theg seem to haue someunrque problems.

Cuba and CARICOMClifford E. GrtlfinEconomicallg, Caribbean cotrtries feel tncreasinglg. nsecure as a result oJCuba's abilitg to attract high-riskuenhre capitali.sts from mqjor Western countries. Fyomtheir perspecttue, Cuba is re-directing scarce capitalawag Jrom other countnes ur the regton.The Caribbean in the Year 2OOO

Cheddt JaganThe structural aQjustment programmes haue prouedto be merelg a palliatiue, not a cure. Theg will nof suc-ceed wtless, at the same ttme, there are debt forgiue-ness, uncondtttonal ai.d, and stnrctural adjustments inthe tndustrtal cortntrles, to tuhich theg are inextricablgIinked in a dependent relationship.Sustainable DevelopmentB arb ara Kojis, J o ant H atrtg an- Farrellg, Norman J. QuinnThe concept oJ "sustainability" is not eastlg defnedand is interpreted differentlg bg economr:sts, ecolqgtsts,resource managers, plarvters and others. Euen among

the uarious groups, e.g. economists, there are significantdiffe re nce s oJ inte rpre tation.My days in IsraelSqmantha LezomaThe tlwught oJTahani's tears strll moue me. Her egestuere aluags brimrtting ouer with sadness and I uon-dered uthat she couLd. haue experi.enced to express suchpain. She was onlg 19 gears old.

Caribbean Business ReportCARIBBEAN AFFAIRS is published

bi-monthly by Caribbean InformatlonSystems & Services Ltd. (CISS).Its registered office is in Port of Spain,Trinidad. West Indies.voL.7NO.5@1995rssN l0l I -5765

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Sustainable DeveloPmentThe U.S. Virgin Islands, with limited land,provide examples to study successesand failures that are applicable globally

B arb ar s. Koj is, J oan H aryg an-FarreLlganEL Norman J. Qutnnf\ne of Marx's most quoted remarks was that philoso-.\Jpners have only interpreted the world, while the realtask is to change it. until recently, the same could havebeen said of natural scientists. But in view of theunplanned changes to the Earth that humans have caused,an increasing number of scholars and managers al.eendeavori.tg io find ways to prevent destmction of theEarth's ecosystems in the face of increasing developmentpressures. The issue of "sustainability" is becomingincreasingly common in contemporary discussions of notonly economic development, but management of naturalresources and the environment.However, the concept of "sustainability" is not easilydefined and is interpreted differently by economists, ecolo-gists, resource managers, planners and others. Evenarnong the various groups, e.g. economists' there are sig-nificant differences of interpretation. Some seem to treatsustainabilifv essentially as another way of espousing eco-nomic efficiency in the management of services derivedfrom the natural endowment (e.g. World Bank, 1992). Whileothers claim that conventional economic efficiency criteriaare inadequate, if nct irrelevant, for addressing sustain-ability concerns (see, e.g. Norgaard, 1988: Daly and Cobb,1989; Costanza, l99l). Still others like Solow (1993) take aDR. RAI?RAII{ KOJIS is Senior Resource Ecologist in Ure Coastal ZoneManagement Program in the Department of Planning and Natural Resources:JOAN FIARzuGAN-FARRELLY is Manager, coastal Zone Management Program,DPNR: and DR. NORMAN J. gUINN is Associate Professor. Universilv of theVirgin Islands.


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KAI IS, FIARRIGA/V-FARRELLy AND OUINTV 169more middle ground position, acknowledging the signifi-cance of intergenerational equity in sustainability, butlargely emphasizing conventional efficiency criteria. Thereare some who believe in the capacity of substitution andinnovation to address any problem of natural capitalscarcity. While others believe that the total rate of savingsglobally expressed in both accumulation of built capitaland maintenance of natural capital may be too low to main-tain or expand utility, even if substitution and innovationpossibilities are favorable. Clearly, if these possibilities areless favorable, then the maintenance of natural capitalbecomes even more important in anticipating the basicinterests of future generations.- Small island territories, such as the U.S. Virgin Islands,*ittr ti-ited land may provide the examples to which weturn to study successes and failures of sustainable devel-opment that are applicable globally. Lovejoy (1988) assert-ed that we had to the end of the century to develop a glob-al environmental policy which would allow enjoyment ofecosystem services and amenities on a long-term sustaineduse basis. lt is a rare ecologist who believes that the pre-sent rate of loss of biodiversity, combined with the destruc-tion of habitat, can continue into the 21st century withoutresulting in severe ecological disequilibrium. The definitionof sustainable development implies the creation of a modelwhich determines limits for these factors for various geo-political areas and translates them into politically accept-able threshold values beneath which the economy has toremain. Economic activities likely to bring society near orbeyond these threshold values would have to be scrutinizedfor opportunities to reduce their environmental impacts bynew technologies. The establishment of the Coastal ZoneManagement Prograrn (CZM) in the USVI is a legal mani-festation of that concept.

Coastal ZoneResources;Program.of the

THs SerrrNc - VtRcrr.r Isr.enosThe Virgin Islands are arnong the northern most islandsof the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles Island chainin the Caribbean Sea. The USVI is a territory of the United


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170 CARIBBEAN AFFAIRSStates and has a total land area of 344 km. It is a pre-emi-nent tourist destination with considerable natural capitalsuch as numerous bays which provide safe anchorages andswimming beaches.Our consumptive growth has far exceeded our growth inpopulation and employment during the last decade (Fig l).People are spending more and using more resources. Thishas resulted in the proliferation of vehicles to the extentthat walking is frequently faster than driving alongVeteran's Drive, the main road through town. Constructionof buildings has surged and along with it electrical con-sumption. On small islands, such as ours, space is limitedand continued development comes with ever-increasingenvironmental costs such as the destruction of mangroves,the filling of wetlands, and loss of wilderness areas andundeveloped beaches.Like many other Caribbean islands, the USVI is fortunateto be endowed with many natural renewable resources,unong these are its clear tropical waters; sandy beaches;protected bays: coral reefs, mrngrove and seagrass habi-tats; moist forest and cactus communities; and mountainvistas. These resources are the source of the isiands'wealth and make them a coveted place to live and visit. St.Thomas/St. John are virtually dependent on a single rev-enue source, tourism, which accounts for approximatelyone third of the people employed in the non-agricultural,private sector economy and accounts for more than 60 percent of the USM's Gross Domestic Product. The agricultur-al and fishing industries only make a small contribution tothe territory's economy as much of the food consumed onthe island is imported.In the last few decades there has been rapid growth inpopulation and in the number of marinas and anchoragesfor boaters, cmise ship facilities. sea side hotels and con-dominiums, and even shoreline industrial development.This development has dramatically accelerated loss of wet-lands and shallow water marine habitats. At the same time

pollution has contributed to the loss of critical marinehabitats and degradation of water quality. With changes to


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is character-The USVIfor touristsvegetablesis in a non-it produces.

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KOJIS, FIARRIGAIV-FARRELLY AND OUn'/l/ 173agement programs. As the United States Virgin IsiandsComprehensive Land and Water Use Plan states, "whetherit is truly understood or not by the local businesses andinhabitants, all that the Territory has to sell is its environ-ment. If the environment is degraded, so is the economicbase."For example, thousands of visitors come to the USVI tosail, swim, snorkel and scuba dive. By doing so, they con-tribute signiflcantly to the economy of the territory. In thel98os, boating activity rapidly increased. Many harborsand bays experienced a growing demand for mooring per-mits and became popular as anchorage areas for boats.fhe sea grass meadows and coral reefs which support finand shell fish populations were damaged by anchors andmooring chains. Permanent, ecologically sensitive moor-ings are now being planned for popular anchorages toreduce damage by anchors. Other recent examples which

illustrate potential economic effects of environmental prob-lems include the detection in 1991 of high quantities ofbacteria in bays by two major resort hotels which tlrreat-ened the closure of the hotels and the employrnent of hun-dreds of people.The nature of these issues shows that a sustainabilitypolicy invariably becomes a political process and not justtlte result of determinations of economists or ecologists.The necessity for governmentai involvement in the man-agement of environmentally sensitive land comes from theessentially public character of tfrese resources. Citizens ofa territory have a right to protect a valuable resource whichmust be balanced with the American freedom to developone's land.Economic and ecological concerns need not be diametri-cally opposed. Good environmental policy is good econom-ic development poiicy when ttre obiective is sustainableeconomic development. For example, policies that preservevegetation funcLion to reduce erosion and increase thelong-term prospects of continued agricultural and fisheriesproduction.As well as managing deveiopment, it is necessary to set


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L74 CARIBBEAN AFFAIRSaside land for no development. In relation to other territor-ial land masses, much of the territory has protected status.Presently the protected areas comprise about 10.3 per centof the territory's land. In comparison, protected areas inEurope (excluding the former USSR) amounted to 3.9 percent of the land; in the USSR 2-5 per cent: and in NorthAmerica 8.1 per cent. (Fi. 2). The relatively high percentageof protected area in the territory Is significant owing to theextremely limited amount of land available. However, about8O per cent of the protected area is on the small island ofSt. John. Consequently, mzrny territorial residents on St.Thomas and St. Croix feel that more land must be protect-ed on their islands. A proposal for a territorial park systemis presently being drafted.

Tue FnauEwoRK exo PLaNNtlvc PnocBssIn recent decades local laws have been passed to promotesustainable development. Those actions most related toland and coastal use issues are listed below:l. The Earth Change Law sought to control and reducesoil erosion and to restrict land alteration activities whichwere adversely affecting the natural resources,2. The Open Shoreline Act guaranteed public access tobeaches,3. The Shoreline Alteration and Dred$in$ Control Actcontrolled the dredging and mining of sand, gravel, andcoral from the beaches and submerged lands,4. The Trust lands, Occupancy and Alteration ControlAct declared that it is in the public interest to preserve,maintain and improve submerged and filled lands for thebenefit of the public,5. The Water Pollution Control Act and the SpillPrevention anC Pollution Control Act controlled pollution ofthe surface and underground waters and established stan-dards of water quaiity and pollutant discharges, and6. The Virgin Islands Coastal hne Management (CZM)Act serves as the guide for planning and managing the useof coastal erreas.TLc CZM program endeavors to involve all departments


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KOIIS, fr4.l"uGAiv-FARRELLY AND OUIIVI/ r75of the government, non-government organizations, the ter-ritory's university and the public in the management of thecoastal zone. It has been the goal of the program to devel-op a management plan which would:i. accommodate growth and facilitate economic gains andat the same time protect valuable and irreplaceable natur-al resources.ii. promote public use and enjoyment of the shoreline aswell as uses of submerged lands which are in keeping withthe doctrine of public trust,iii. acknowledge the importance of individual rights andfreedoms in using the coast by establishing sound man-agement with a minimum of regulation and administrativerequirements.It is impossible to maintain coastal embal'rnents in theiroriginal pristine condition and support a large economicbase with its attendant human population. We can, horvev-er, try to limit development to levels appropriate to the loca-tion and adjacent habitats, develop and enforce the use oftechnologies which reduce environmental pollutants andtheir effects. and select an economic base which has lessdeleterious impacts on the environment with the endorse-ment of the community.

Creating CommunitY AwarenessLegislation alone cannot advance the common welfare.Community awareness, support and participation are nec-essary in decisions that affect island communities. Theimplementation of sustainable development concepts mustbegin with education in the schools and continue through-out one's life. Environmental education should be includedthroughout ttre other disciplines of the formal educationcurriculum at all levels. Biolory teachers have no propri-etary rights on teaching environmental awareness anvmore than English teachers have a monopoly on spellingand grammar and philosophy teachers on logic. If environ-mental issues affect us all, then good. creative teachers canfind ways to introduce these concepts in their curriculum.We need to provide citizens with information through out


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176 CARIBBEAN AFEAIRStheir life about finding a balance between sensitive ecosys-tems and man-made pressures including tourism, thecareful use and recycling of resources, and otlter issues.Increased community literacy rates, unrestricted access torelevant information, and the availability of alternativetechnical expertise is essential in promoting an informedpublic discussion.

Pr.qruNIruc FoR THE NEXT cENTURYIt has been suggested by many futurists that if the pre-sent growth trends in world population, industrialization,pollution, food production, and resource depletion contin-ue unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will bereached within the next lOO years. We suggest that small,insular communities will reach this point well before therest of the world. To be successful we must shape a visionof what a healthy, tropical island territory should look likeenvironmentally and economically. We need to determinewhat mix of commercial, residential, industrial and unde-veloped land would create a sustainable quality of life anda strong economy with full employment for its citizens.We also recognize that small, insular communities arenot alone in their problems, nor isolated from othersl prob-lems. Global ecological and economic interdependence arechallenging traditional concepts of national sovereignty.Polluters of the open ocean threaten the sustainability ofthis shared ecosystem. The potential tragedy of these glob-al commons impacts insular territories greatly as the oceanarea included in ttreir 200 km radius Exclusive EconomicZone is many times greater than the land mass.International co-operation and enforcement is needed forthe global commons as many nations are interdependentupon their proper management.THe rrr,tpeRrecr PeRaorcM - Frrrune ReseencH NEEDSIn conclusion. the coastal zone murnagement paradigmwe have described is, like many other social models, imper-fect and evolving. We are well aware of its shortcomings.but believe that it is a significant effort to legislate a demo-


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KO'JIS, HARR/GAJV-FARRETLY AND OLlrl{1V L77cratic, political solution to deal with the challenge of find-ing a sustainable development/resource managementequilibrium.within any sustainable development model it must berecognized that there are limits to development even whenit is managed properly. Furthermore, that a maximum levelof sustainittr development exists must be recognized andquantitative models to predict broad limits to it need to bedeveloped.The argument of the world commission on Environmentand Deve.-lopment (1987) that development is sustainable ift[e present generation can satisff its needs without com-piomising thg ability of future generations to meet theirown needs is attractive, but it must withstand examinationof the tradeoffs involved in satisflring different kinds ofneeds. If the present generation, by modifring a particularset of natural ecosystems is able to provide future genera-tions with greater endowments of capital or knowledge, ora larger set of undisturbedecosystems of a differentnature, it is not a foregone con-clusion that it is sociallY oPti-mal to sustain that Particularset of ecosystems.Of course, we looked at asustainability paradigm onlYwithin a single societY. Theworld is comprised of manY dif-ferent societies with more andless cultural homogeneitY.

Internationalco-operation andenforcement isneeded

NEEDSparadigmimPer-

a demo-

cultural attitudes towards sustainability influence philo-sophical views about intergenerational equity. It would beprofitable to examine the influences on individual and soci-etal values in other Caribbean cultures in order to betterunderstand the preferences of the current $eneration andtJre prospective values of future generations. These atti-tudes will inevitably be different in groups which haveexpanded rapidly by exploiting non-renewable resources,than in groups with nearly static territories and technolo-gies. This may help explain why material progress rather


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178 CARIBBEAN AFFAIRSthan sustainability has been the unquestioned overall aimof Western societies until very recently (Pezzey, 1992) andwhy a shift toward greater emphasis in sustainabiiity willencounter resistance. In this area ful.rther assistance isneeded from social scientists"

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sustainable development in the us virgin islands blkojis nj quinn et al caribbean affairs 1995

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