4 - Integrated Coastal Area Management and Public Perceptions in the Caribbean Islands:

Conclusion and Recommendations

We have presented data on the natural coastal hazards and anthropogenic problems which affect the Caribbean Islands, including summaries of the results of our 1995 questionnaire/contest survey. We also discussed briefly the coastal resources, specifically marine protected areas and tourism, the legal framework of integrated coastal zone management, and such adjuncts as cooperation, emergency preparedness, and environmental education.

Sewage and Solid Waste Pollution was recognized as the major manmade problem and hurricanes as the principal natural hazard. Laws related to ICAM are on the books but appear to be inadequate and poorly enforced. It is obvious that considerable strengthe ning of institutional arrangement is a dire necessity in the Caribbean islands.

Our recommendations paraphrase those of many others with more experience in specific topics.

1. The principles of ICAM should be based on recommendations in UNCED Agenda 21 and summarized in the Noordwijk Guidelines (World Bank, 1993):
   • (a) the precautionary principle;
   • (b) the polluter pays principle;
   • (c) use of proper resource accounting;
   • (d) principle of transboundary responsibility;
   • (e) principle of intergenerational equity.
   
   
2. ICZM is the recommended option in the effort to prevent environmental legislative power and responsibility from being spread around among too many different Acts and Ministries.
   
   
3. Effective ICZM depends on a high level of public awareness and involvement, and therefore requires intensified environmental education as well as expanding the opportunities for public participation in decision making.
   
   
4. Regional cooperation is the only effective approach to sharing scientific and technical expertise, especially for small islands with limited financial and managerial talent resources.
   
   
5. In cases of multi-use coastal recreation, more efforts should be directed to designating and enforcing primary use regimes and protected areas and to promotion of water safety.
   
   
6. Rigid set-back regulations should be established for any buildings in the coastal zone, taken into account not only the preservation of natural areas, public access and prevention of coastal pollution and erosion, but also the anticipated rise in globa l sealevel.
   Avoid 'hard' solutions, e.g., seawalls, whenever possible, based on their prolific record of failure.
   
   
7. In accordance with scientific experience and recommendations, building codes should be developed, improved, and enforced, to cope with the possible increase in number of earthquakes and hurricanes. Insurance companies should include rebates for compliance.
   
   
8. Disaster prevention should stress public education, evacuation exercises, establishment of multiple escape routes, and integrated and rapid communication networks with redundant backups and minimum bureaucratic and non-essential (e.g. press, sight-seeers) interference.
   
   
9. Workshops, short-courses, video discs and CD-ROMS, as well as networking (World Wide Web) should be tools not only to teach new methods and techniques but also to avoid repeating mistakes of others.
   An excellent example is the summary of problems caused by Hurricane Andrew as published in the Workshop Proceedings (Miami Seagrant, 1994).
   
   
10. More funding should be made available for the distribution of computers to schools, public libraries and service organizations, and NGO's, and for maintaining them and training people in their use, for the multiple purposes of increasing public awareness, sustainable development, improving environmental education and making emergency measures more effective.