Turks and Caicos Islands

and the Protected Area Division, also known as the National Parks Division, which is responsible for the
overall management and protection of National Parks, Reserves, Sanctuaries and Historic Sites.
Strong interagency collaboration is required to effectively manage the islands using the multidisciplinary
approach adopted by the Government. As such, the Departments of Planning and Environmental Health
work along with the DECR to manage coastal resources. Although there is no formal integration of these
Departments they routinely work together, particularly when addressing large-scale developments.
Another major constituent in the management of Protected Areas is that of the Turks & Caicos National
Trust, a non-governmental organization that conservation issues. Co-management of resources is
encouraged through public consultation and collaboration with formally established community groups
such as the Hotel and Restaurant Association and the Water Sports Association. These groups assist DECR
with dive mooring installation and maintenance, research initiatives and educational programmes.
Despite these initiatives the DECR is still constrained by a limited staff and finances. Only six enforcement
officers are available to patrol the waters around the entire Caicos Banks from Providenciales to French Cay
(Green, 2011). The Fisheries Division and Protected Area Division share personnel so that in some cases
Fisheries Officers may act as Park Wardens and Park Wardens may act as Fisheries Officers. The officers are
too few in number to effectively enforce regulations over marine areas, which account for more than 90%
of TCI’s territorial extent. Furthermore the DECR’s current budget for staff has been reduced by 27% from
2008-09 levels, and money for repairing and operating boats has been cut even more limiting their capacity
to monitor activities and enforce regulations within MPAs (Green, 2011a). Despite the shortage in human
and financial resources, the DECR remains committed to the protection of TCI’s fragile environment.
Protected areas
Strengthening protected area networks is one way of adopting an ecosystem-based approach to
adaptation, i.e. one that integrates the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services into an overall strategy
to help people adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change (A. Colls & Ikkala, 2009). Such strategies are
recognized as being more effective in biodiversity conservation than a species based approached and at the
same time promotes sustainable use of natural resources so that people are not denied the use of
resources but rather, are placed in a position to better cope with climate change. In 1992 the Government
set aside 33 protected areas, which fall into four categories: national parks, nature reserves, sanctuaries
and areas of historical interest. There are now 34 Protected Areas (11 National Parks, 11 Nature Reserves, 6
Historical Sites, 4 Sanctuaries, and 1 Fisheries Reserve), with 19 having marine or coral reef resources. The
management of these systems is financed by the Conservation Fund, which was legally established in 1998.
This self-financing revenue system is reserved for environmental management programmes and is financed
by a 1% share of the Accommodation Tax (Tietze, Haughton, & Siar, 2006).
Less than 10% of the coral reefs are protected within MPAs (Jones, et al., 2004) and those MPAs outside of
Providenciales are not actively managed because of a lack of park wardens. One of the adaptation
strategies of the TCI Green Paper on Climate Change is to enhance the resilience of coral reefs through the
creation of MPAs in areas of upwelling or local cold-water currents that may reduce their vulnerability to
increased SST and bleaching. A fish sanctuaries and MPA management mechanism founded on a
partnership between the public and private sectors and the community could provide additional support
for such an adaptation strategy and help to ensure its ecological and financial sustainability.
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