Which forms of tourism management Exist in mangroves of the Caribbean? Case-studies in the french Antilles and in Jamaica
Avau, J.; Cunha-Lignon, M.; De Myttenaere, B.; Godart, M.-F.; Dahdouh-Guebas, F. (2009). Which forms of tourism management Exist in mangroves of the Caribbean? Case-studies in the french Antilles and in Jamaica, in: Dahdouh-Guebas, F. et al. Proceedings of the Symposium African Botany in Brussels. pp. 53 In: Dahdouh-Guebas, F. et al. (2009). Proceedings of the Symposium African Botany in Brussels. Université libre de Bruxelles - ULB / Vrije Universiteit Brussel - VUB: Belgium. 120 + 10 annex. pp., more |
| Available in | Authors | | Document type: Summary
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| Authors | | Top | - Avau, J.
- Cunha-Lignon, M., more
- De Myttenaere, B.
| - Godart, M.-F.
- Dahdouh-Guebas, F., more
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| Abstract | Mangrove ecosystems are in great peril world-wide, essentially because of human activities. Pollution, urbanisation, industry, transports; various factors contribute to the disappearance of mangroves. In a lot of countries, the mass-tourism industry is one of the major parties guilty of mangrove destruction. However side, tourism can also contribute to the preservation of those fragile ecosystems and provide financial resources to the local inhabitants. What's the best way to manage tourism?We are interested in investigating how tourists are brought in contact with the mangrove ecosystem, which kin of activities could be destructive and how we can reverse this trend for mangroves. A lot of touristic activities in the neighbourhood of mangroves have negative impacts on those ecosystems, but they could be organised in such a way that mangroves and their wildlife can be preserved and protected. Of course, there is not one good, easy and fast solution. Each mangrove area is unique and depends on some typical and well precise biological and socio-political aspects. This research sets out to analyze and to compare two Caribbean areas in their coastal zone management: the Black River Lower Morass in Jamaica, and Baie Fort-de-France in Martinique and Grand Cul-de-sac marin in Guadalupe, both part of the French Antilles. We investigated leisure and touristic activities in mangroves, their environmental impact, their implications for the local populations, the perception that stakeholders have on the mangroves and finally we tried to propose solutions to respond to the environmental and socio-economical problems. Principal information was obtained based on individual and group interviews with the respective stakeholders (local authorities, commerce and communities), and secondary data was extracted from local reports, theses, and other publications. |
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