A guide for planners and managers - IUCN

PART II
Protected Areas for Small Islands
– Coralline islands are sensitive environments, which, when disturbed, may completely
disappear as did Mawizi Island Reserve in Tanzania. Wind may erode beaches and
dunes if sand-binding vegetation is trampled or removed (Figure II-33), and waves
and currents may erode the entire island if reefs are damaged by coral mining or
channels are dug through to the shallows.
– Islands often have high scientific value
because of the opportunities they offer
for the study of the above characteristics
and the processes determining them.
Special attention should be afforded
to the ocean-land interface in the planning
and management of small island MPAs for
the following reasons:
– Islands, particularly small ones, have a
high ratio of shoreline to total land area.
– The shoreline is the area of dynamic
contact between sea and land (through
waves and currents) and wind and land,
Spinifex is an important sand binding plant and its
spines are a deterrent to dune walkers in Sri Lanka.
and serves as a buffer against the erosive power of these agents.
– Strand or seashore vegetation is quite sensitive to disturbance by trampling,
offroad vehicles, and other sources of mechanical damage, and is very important
in stabilizing the shore (Figure II-34).
– Beaches are especially attractive for
recreation, where visitor activities
concentrate.
FIGURE II-33.
FIGURE II-34.
– Facilities (seawalls, groins, and piers)
alter current patterns and the natural
erosion and accretion processes along
shorelines, causing both severe erosion
downstream and smothering by
deposited sand upstream of their
structures.
– Where practicable, protection should
apply to the entire island to control
Nesting sites for turtles need special protection.
exotic species (such as rats and cats on bird nesting islands) and to enable species
that are seasonal residents to respond to changes in weather conditions or
population size, by occupying additional areas.
Particularly on islands, protected areas should embrace both land and water
for ecological and practical reasons. There is much transfer of material from reef to
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Photo by Rod Salm.