Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for Barbados - WIDECAST

CEP Technical Report No. 12
sea turtle conservation. The major role of the CCPU in terms of sea turtle recovery lies in
continuing to monitor the beach and nearshore environment, and in making recommendations on
how these areas can best be conserved. The objectives of the second phase of the Coastal
Conservation Project are to identify major sources of environmental stress on the coastal zone
and to suggest methods of mitigation. An institutional strengthening project will review existing
laws pertaining to the coastal zone and the present infrastructure for coastal zone management.
Recommendations
- Information on sea turtle nesting activity at specific locations should be made available
to the CCPU upon request to Bellairs Research Institute, and passed to the Town Planning
Department as part of the recommendations of the CCPU.
- Wherever possible, vegetation should be used in preference to boulder placement for
beach stabilization at turtle nesting beaches. Furthermore, the use of vegetation should be
recommended in preference to physical structures in order to delineate seaward boundaries of
properties adjacent to beaches.
4.612 Town Planning Department (TPD)
The Town Planning Department (TPD) has the responsibility of ensuring that the land
resources of Barbados are used efficiently for the wide range of demands made upon them.
Since Barbados is densely populated and also supports a large tourist industry, pressure to build
along the coastal zone is particularly intense. However, it is extremely important that the TPD
take into consideration the long term effects of development on the environment. It was partly
for this advisory function that the CCPU was established in 1983. The TPD takes the advice of
the CCPU into account when deciding whether to grant planning permission for construction in
the coastal zone. Nonetheless, at his discretion, the Minister of Housing and Lands can over-ride
a decision of the TPD, such as when the economic advantages to Barbados of developing a
particular site appear to outweigh potential environmental degradation.
Recommendations
- The TPD should take into consideration the level of sea turtle nesting activity at sites
where planning permission is being sought, particularly in regard to the positioning of seaward
boundary walls and fences. If the CCPU has recommended the use of beach vegetation in place
of a seaward boundary wall, this should become a condition of planning permission.
- The TPD should advise architects, landscape architects and developers when the
property they are designing/developing is adjacent to a sea turtle nesting beach.
- The TPD should consider restricting the types of lights permitted on all new
developments adjacent to beaches along the west, south and east coasts. There is recent evidence
that low pressure sodium (LPS) lighting, emitting light in the range of 590 nm, is less attractive
to sea turtle hatchlings that full spectrum white light (Witherington, 1990).
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