A guide for planners and managers - IUCN

224 MARINE AND COASTAL
PROTECTED AREAS
forms of development that are far less destructive of nature in the long term than large
centralized systems (Schumacher, 1974). Most islands are small and poor in primary
natural resources. If small is beautiful ecologically and socially, it may also be
inevitable for the long-term stability of people-nature relations on islands.
Agroecosystems in which energy ratios (energy out/energy at the farm gate) are
greater than one (Simmons, 1980) should be favored in island development and
conservation because they give a degree of independence to islanders and promote
integration of human and natural ecosystems.
3.6 Management Guidelines
The following guidelines for managing protected island areas are based largely on
the report prepared by Ogilvie and Wace (1982). For specific ecological guidelines on
the development of islands and tropical coastlines, readers are referred to Clark
(1974, 1977), Clark et al. (1980), McEachern and Towle (1974), and W.E. Odum
(1976). For guidelines on the management of turtle nesting beaches, see IUCN
(1979b). For discussion of the rational use of island ecosystems, see UNESCO (1973).
For an example of the interaction between people and wildlife on the Tristan da Cunha
Islands and a case study of an island management plan, see Wace and Holdgate (1976).
Construction of facilities. Where the whole island is a protected area, ensure that
any management, research, and visitor facilities can be fully controlled. This rule applies
to tourism in particular, since attempts may be made to exempt the land on which
a resort is established from protected area status. The consequences of such action
can be very damaging to the effectiveness of management.
Siting of facilities. On island protected areas, facilities should be placed well away
from sensitive habitats (e.g., seabird and turtle nesting areas and seal and sea lion
rookeries) and well landward of the high watermark. The latter precaution is especially
relevant on coral cays, where natural erosion and seasonal rearrangement of beaches
is common and where turtle nesting is widespread. Natural erosion and accretion cycles
are a feature of many beaches (Figure II-37). The construction of seawalls and groins
to modify this feature is generally discouraged, since it invariably transfers the
problem to another location. The same is generally true of reclamation activities.
Design of facilities. Consideration should be given to aesthetics and the culture
of the island or region. On Heron Island on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, for example,
there is an agreement that no building will be constructed higher than the Pisonia
forest canopy, that new buildings will be sufficiently landward of the high watermark
to not interfere with turtle nesting, and that outside lights will be shaded to avoid
disorienting hatchling turtles. Similar restrictions on the maximum height of buildings
on the Seychelles Islands have enabled the islands to retain their natural beauty
when observed from the sea, despite considerable construction.