Focus on the environment - Our island paradise By Leo Douglas,
Contributor
IN THE past two decades, eco-tourism has experienced faster growth than any other form of tourism worldwide, and increasingly, the Caribbean has developed a reputation as a nature lover's destination. Most marketing strategies now focus on this aspect; islands where one can experience all that the tropics can offer. It is therefore no surprise that visitors who arrive, come not only for sun, sand and sea, but expecting pure secluded streams and waterfalls, lush tropical vegetation and fruits, beautiful flowers, interesting wildlife and seemingly untouched areas of coastline. Birdwatching One of the major arms of eco-tourism increasingly dominating the industry globally is birdwatching. This is the fastest growing outdoor activity in North America. In 1991, the birdwatching industry (commonly called birding) was worth US$5.2 billion in the USA alone and around 191,000 jobs were dependent upon it. Between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, birdwatching grew by 155 per cent in that country. Globally some 78 million birdwatchers have travelled abroad on birding trips and it is estimated that they spend around US$78 billion in the countries visited. There is no doubt that the birdwatching industry is a growing economic force. Birding in Jamaica No one knows how many individuals visit Jamaica annually on birdwatching tours. What we do know, however, is that the Caribbean islands, including Jamaica, are heavily advertised as part of nature tour packages offered by a number of groups around the world. These dollars potentially represent important revenue to local economies, in particular the rural and suburban communities where the wild species abound. From the business and community side, eco-tourism is a good form of economic development because it requires little investment in infrastructure. The potential of eco-tourism brings into focus the need for Caribbean islanders to put a new premium on natural "undeveloped areas", and on our wild species of flora and fauna. The value of undeveloped areas differs depending on the observer. To environmentalists and conservationists, an economic value may not readily come to mind. Here the wild species and the natural environment are often regarded as a heritage, a treasure, with an inherent worth that cannot (or should not) be quantified in mere dollars and cents. To a real estate developer or a builder, however, it is a commodity that represents an investment, a salary, profits, tax benefits and liabilities, and future earnings. To a town planner, it may represent a park, a school, a parking lot, houses, or a factory. Therefore, there are many biases and perspectives when trying to determine the "true, long-term value" of a natural area. In fact, the inherent value and/or the long-term ecological importance of plants and animals have traditionally always been valued least, if considered of any value at all. Jamaican
endemic species It is now established that Jamaica and the Caribbean are among the world's most important areas for nature conservation. Collectively, the islands of the Caribbean contain about 7,000 plants and 800 vertebrates (birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians) that occur nowhere else on the earth, the majority of these species being confined to the larger islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. To use a well known group of animals birds, Jamaica has 47 bird species and subspecies found only on this island and nowhere else on earth (the Jamaican endemics). In a review of birding on the islands of the Caribbean in a recent publication, it was noted that in the region, Jamaica was the easiest place to find unique island birds. This includes our national bird, the Red-billed Streamertail, a hummingbird species that is not closely related to any other known species of bird worldwide but which is nevertheless a common garden bird. Besides our endemics, Jamaica's bird life contains many rare Caribbean species such as the endangered West Indian Whistling Duck and Golden Swallow in addition to the second smallest warm-blooded animal in the world, the Vervain Hummingbird (a mere two inches). Eighty-nine of Jamaica's 194 vertebrate animals are found no where else in the world. Add to this the over 900 species of endemic flowering plants (including 60 endemic orchids), and all this combine to make Jamaica recognised as one of the world's hottest biodiversity hotspots. Obviously, Jamaica is an important repository of the world's wild species of flora and fauna that unquestionably have economic benefits for us. The idea of walking along trails that cross mountain slopes covered with lush tropical vegetation filled with the song of beautiful birds is an exciting area of tourism that remains a relatively unexplored frontier. Several islands with a far less glamorous collection of species have been able to develop eco-tourist activities surrounding only one or a few endemics in conjunction with other more traditional nature activities such as hiking and camping. For example, St. Lucia, with a mere four endemic birds, has centred its eco-tourism drive around its endangered parrot the St. Lucian Parrot. Jamaica has two endemic Parrot species, both of which are threatened. An additional six Jamaican bird species are also listed as globally threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Lisa Salmon (1907-2000), owner and operator of Rocklands Bird Sanctuary and Feeding Station, St. James, was the first to show that Jamaica's birds could be a meaningful tourist attraction. Until her death in August 2000, Lisa lived in Anchovy, in the forested hills above Montego Bay. Here through great patience, Lisa attracted and taught wild birds to be hand-fed. The name Lisa Salmon, a woman who could coax brilliant hummingbirds into the hand to sit on the finger of a visitor to Rocklands eventually spread internationally. Need for
conservation For eco-tourism to be a sustainable form of economic endeavour, the natural resources on which this industry depends must be protected. Thus, eco-tourism is a sustainable form of economic endeavour only as long as the resource is protected, in this case, the island's forests and all the species that depend on them. Without habitat protection and management, local species will become endangered and eventually totally disappear. Only a comparative few of Jamaica's endemic species survive well in deforested, built up areas such as towns and cities. The best way to conserve the species is habitat protection. Supporting the protection of natural areas is therefore an important conservation challenge which must be met by government, including major industries such as tourism, mining and agriculture, all of which rely on and/or impact heavily on the environment. In addition, the support of every well-meaning Jamaican is vital. In that the environment is a shared resource, unless nationals can appreciate the cultural, ecological and economic values, uniqueness, and significance of nature conservation, the best intended eco-tourism ventures will fail. Leo Douglas is a graduate student in the Department of Life Sciences, UWI, and Media Relations Officer at BirdLife Jamaica.
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