ITMEMS 1998 Proceedings - Case Studies

Session 5: Protected Areas & the Private Sector

Sustainable Coastal Tourism in the Caribbean and the Private Sector Perspective  [Adobe Acrobat Format 51 Kb]

The Wider Caribbean encompasses an area that includes 12 continental countries bordering on the basin and 14 island nations, as well as seven dependent territories. Within this Region is found a variety of people, cultures and political systems representing countries with different types and stages of economic development. French, Dutch, English and Spanish are the common languages of the Region, while a mix of Creole is found intermittently. Generally speaking, tourism is the largest single source of foreign exchange earnings in much of the Wider Caribbean. According to a report issued by the World Travel and Tourism Council in 1995:

• more than 500 000 people are employed in the tourism industry in the Caribbean, which means one in every four jobs;
• tourism accounts for roughly 25% of exported goods and services, which contribute 31% of the Gross Domestic Product—the largest relative producer of travel and tourism in the world;
• in 1995 the Region earned US$11.8 billion of foreign trade from overseas visitors;
• over the next decade an estimated 36% increase in tourist arrivals is anticipated;
• In the Caribbean, travel and tourism has the potential of expanding 70%, creating 2.2 million jobs by 2007;
• scuba diving is an increasing valuable attraction in the Caribbean, which provides 57% of scuba diving tours worldwide;
• An estimated US$1.2 billion will be earned from scuba diving alone by 2005.

Dive-Tourism and Private Stewardship of Small-Scale Coral Reef Marine Protected Areas [Adobe Acrobat Format 40 Kb]

Dive-tourism has the potential to help protect or to destroy nearby coral reef habitats. This paper explores the activities of two dive resorts that became de facto managers of small-scale Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and suggests that commercial partners, such as dive resorts that have a vested economic interest in promoting abundant marine life, can become the primary stewards of small-scale MPAs in a limited number of coral reef areas.

The Chumbe Island Coral Park Project: Management Experiences of a Private Marine Conservation Project [Adobe Acrobat Format 108 Kb]

Chumbe Island Coral Park (CHICOP) in Zanzibar, Tanzania, is a rare example of a small but increasing number of privately created and managed protected areas operating in an often difficult institutional and legal environment. Over six years the project has invested heavily in the conservation of Chumbe Island and has made exceptional achievements in establishing it as an efficiently managed protected area, providing significant educational benefits. It is the only existing marine protected area in Zanzibar and was the first established in Tanzania.

This paper analyses the background and history of the project and describes management experiences, problems and achievements in the legal, political and institutional environment of Zanzibar, Tanzania; a country which after Independence embraced a socialist development model and only recently encouraged private investment.

Protected Areas and the Private Sector Report [Adobe Acrobat Format 26 Kb]