A guide for planners and managers - IUCN

PART II
Protected Areas for Small Islands
the public at large, since the public generally determines the actions of politicians.
If the island is remote, there is more reason to provide the public with pictorial
material.
Monitoring programmes. Monitoring programmes should be instigated as soon
as possible after a protected area is established. They should specify tasks for both
scientists and the area manager to carry out. Valuable information can be obtained
from simple monitoring exercises, such as a series of photographs taken from the same
location about every six months to show changes in beach structure and vegetation,
counts of bird pairs or nests, and tagging of turtles and nest counts. A map of the
whole island is a basic requirement.
The consensus planning approach. Where only a part of the island is protected,
consensus planning can often resolve matters relevant to both the resident community
or resort and the protected area managers. The approach requires frequent discussions
and consultations between all parties and invariably benefits all. A plan formulated
in this manner may have no legal status. Nonetheless, all agree to abide by resolutions,
which are recorded and subject to review when required by any party. Such a plan
was prepared for Heron Island.
Access to islands. Some forms of access (e.g., helipads, airstrips, marinas and
jetties) may damage limited island habitats and interfere with the life functions of
species. Air access to seabird nesting islands will often be inappropriate and will always
need to be carefully planned and sited. Wind and waves erode shorelines in natural
erosion and accretion cycles in monsoon and trade wind areas. Waves move diagonally
up the beach carrying sand and fall back vertically down the slope. As a result sand
is transported to the downwind side of the beach or island in one season and returns
the next season when winds change direction. This can cause islands to change
shape radically.
When jetties, breakwaters, groins, boat ramps, or other solid structures are built,
they trap sand, which builds up on the upcurrent side and erodes from the other. For
example, a pier built in 1948 on the south side of Ste. Anne Island in the Ste. Anne
Island Marine National Park in the Seychelles blocks the seasonal movement of sand
(Salm, 1978). During the northwest monsoon the sand moves east along the southern
shore behind the fringing reef, and during the southeast monsoon it returns west. After
construction of the pier, sand moving east piled up behind the pier and smothered
the reef. Seasonal covering with sand prevents coral recolonization. At Heron Island
a harbor was blasted through the reef crest and reef flat. Cyclones have breached the
harbor walls so the harbor now acts as a giant drain through which sand is lost from
the island.
Travel through island habitats. Special pathways may be required through
sensitive island habitats (Figure II-38). These may take the form of boardwalks
through fragile primary dune areas to avoid damage to sandbinding plants, or of hides
and viewing towers beside seabird nesting areas.
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