An Overview Of Our Solution
Sandy Island/Oyster Bed Marine Protected Area (SIOBMPA)
Who is this solution impacting?
Ecosystem
Oceans/Coasts
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: North America
Problem
Describe the problem
The Government of Grenada through the Ministry of Carriacou & Petite Martinique Affairs established the Sandy Island/Oyster Bed Marine Protected Area (SIOBMPA) officially as a solution to sustaining and managing our marine resources and mitigating against threats. This solution effort is just one of four MPAs proposed for this eight-mile-long island. As part of an effort to preserve Carriacou stunning natural environment and marine resources, the SIOBMPA was launched in Hillsborough, Carriacou on Saturday July 31st, 2010 at 6:30PM after nearly ten years of community consultations, research and planning in collaboration with various local, regional and international organizations.
Biodiversity Impact
The SIOBMPA located on the southwest coast of Carriacou is considered to be one of the most important marine ecosystems in the region and a culturally significant area for the people of Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Safeguarding this area ensures the health of our marine and coastal ecosystems including our extensive coral reef system, coastal mangrove forest, and small islands for wild life habitat, fisheries nursery and sea grass beds. Protected areas around the Caribbean and the world have resulted in increased numbers, species variation and sizes of fish, as well as improved fish production for areas outside their demarcated boundaries. The SIOBMPA operates as a fisheries nursery where all marine life forms within the zone is protected and untouched, thus ensuring the preservation and sustenance of fish species to mitigate against overfishing and destruction of other marine resources. The area also provides for a number of migratory birds a safe habitat or nomadic zone and also harbors one of the most diverse ecosystem, including iguanas.
Solution
The SIOBMPA seeks to protect and enhance bidiversity within the protected zone. The conservation and rehabilitation of the coastal zones is geard towards significantly lowering the potential threats through human impact within the area. This marine reserve solution implemented clear and strategic zoning plans with the main aim of managing potential threats and sustaining the rich biodiversity of the area. The zone plans regulated all activities within the protected area ensuring that all human activities are adequately monitored and controlled. The SIOBMPA has initiated the establishment of an MPA network between two other protected areas along with other important resourcefull stakeholders to ensure that technical traning and information sharing is achieved through management synergy. One of the most important aspect of this solution effort is the integral role play of immediate communitites and the island as a whole in supporting and providing invaluable recommendations on how our resources are managed. This we believe is an invaluable assest to the management board of the SIOBMPA. These communities play a critical role in monitoring, reporting and enforcing of regulations related to the proper procedure as it relates to biodiversity within the protected area. The management of the MPA also continues to educate community members on the importance and benefits to be derived from the sustainable management of our marine resources. These practical conservation and management procedures can and will ensure biodiversity security and enhancement once properly monitored. // The SIOBMPA comprises an area of 659 hectares on the southwest coast of Carriacou. It is one of the four proposed MPA for the islands of Carriacou and Petite.
Replicability
How many years has your solution been applied? 1 year // Have others reproduced your solution elsewhere? Yes // The SIOBMPA presently operates under co-management arrangement overseen by a board representing non-governmental organizations, private associations, Government Fisheries, Para statal and community-based organizations. The MPA is patrolled daily by two wardens from a team of three, to monitor and ensure regulations are upheld. The daily patrol has been a major challenge for the SIOBMPA as our brand new patrol boat was stolen about two months after MPA launch. We are unable, at present, to purchase a new patrol boat, as such we have loaned one from a company on mainland Grenada. The wardens also maintain and clean moorings and collect MPA user fees. They are also certified scuba divers, as well as Reef Check Eco-Divers. The wardens are supervised daily by the chairman of the board who will periodically report to the MPA Board on matters of the MPA and feedback from users and community members. The MPA at present does not have fully established structure to finance its operations, as such all financial inputs like wages for wardens and MPA supplies are provided by the Ministry of Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs. All fees collected from users of the MPA goes directly to the government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund. It is intended that the SIOBMPA will eventually have its own structure to support and operate independently of the Ministry once financial grant support, or otherwise, is received.
Human Well Being and Livelihood Impact
The sloution effort of the SIOBMPA is just in its neonatal stage and we can from monitoring and assessment of the fish stock we can see a mark rise in fish quantity and variety within the area. There is also better and more frequent catch by our bait fishermen. This we see as just the tip of the ice burg as it related to the full potential of the MPA. The development and improvement in the knowledge resource base of our fisherment regarding the solution and other sustainable alternative means of fishing is quite evident. The operations of the MPA has seen a new source of revenue for the people of carriacou through the Tourism sector. This is achieved through the increased visits by yatchs to the MPA to enjoy the clean and prestine undisturbed environment. Carriacou is an unspoilt island and MPA has created better opportunities for water taxi operators, vendors who operate on the beautiful paradise beach opposite sandy island, which is also within the MPA. The main area of improved livelihood is within the fishing and Tourism sectors. The MPA is immediately impacting approximately over 2,500 persons and can even stretched further to the population of Carriacou and Petite which about 8,000 people. // As indicated the establishment of the SIOBMPA resulted from numerous consultations, workshops with all stakeholders of the immediate communities and the island as a whole over a ten year period. This resulted in community ownership of the MPA as community members form part of the daily surveillance of our marine resources. To further support the management of the SIOBMPA the Ministry of Carriacou and Petite Affairs has hired and trained three community members to serve as SIOBMPA wardens to execute daily patrols and maintenance of MPA amenities. The SIOBMPA has even gone further to continue supporting and securing a sustainable socio-economic environment by providing training for fishermen who were displaced by the MPA establishment in new and alternative fishing techniques like Fishing Aggregating Device (FAD), long line fishing and vertical line fishing. The SIOBMPA has also provided training for our fishermen in benefits and importance MPA and were provided with opportunities to visit other MPA like in Belize to better understand its operations and get a fist hand look of its real benefits to the people of Belize. As the SIOBMPA continues to develop we foresee as seen in other MPAs there will be more opportunities for community members to benefit through business ventures and jobs in areas of water taxi service, tour guides, food vending, art and craft and other livelihoods associated with marine conservation protection measures.