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t h e O R G A N I Z A T I O N ISLAND RESOURCES FOUNDATION — ¾ is a non-endowed, operating foundation ¾ is a not-for-profit organization that is tax exempt in the United States ¾ funds its activities primarily through a combination of grants, contracts, collaborative partnerships, contributions and membership support ¾ is a service organization that provides technical and professional assistance to small island states, primarily with donor support or public-sector contracts ¾ is a major contributor to global initiatives designed to enhance the development options of small islands o u r A P P R O A C H A UNIQUE APPROACH TO ISLAND DEVELOPMENT THAT EMPHASIZES — ¾ the application of sound science to environmental problem solving ¾ skills building for islanders and collaborative capacity building for island institutions ¾ strengthening the availability of information resources for informed decision making ¾ educating international agencies and donor institutions about the uniqueness of islands P R O G R A M S THE FOUNDATION’S TRADITIONAL PROGRAM AREAS — ¾ environmental planning and impact assessment, emphasizing coastal and marine resource development ¾ island-focused biodiversity research and conservation ¾ capacity building for island institutions ¾ environmental information management and dissemination S P E C I A L I Z E D S K I L L S SPECIALIZED SKILL AREAS THAT HAVE SHAPED IRF’s 35 YEARS OF RESEARCH, PLANNING AND CONSERVATION WORK — ¾ Integrated coastal area planning keyed to small-island conditions, especially island states with expanding tourism sectors and increasing vulnerability to natural disasters ¾ Technical expertise in biodiversity conservation for highly stressed insular environments ¾ A considerable body of hands-on experience in institutional strengthening, especially public sector agencies and NGOs in the English-speaking Caribbean ¾ An established track record of sound environmental impact assessments within a small-island context ¾ An unusual capacity to assess, interpret and assemble complex scientific information in accessible formats useful for island decision-makers h o w y o u c a n h e l p I R F ¾ Make a generous contribution to help the Foundation maintain its commitment to islands. Annual memberships start at US$35 for individuals and US$200 for institutions. ¾ Other donations and gifts— including a designation for IRF in your will—are encouraged. Please contact IRF’s Washington, DC office for more information. h o w t o c o n t a c t I R F ¾ WASHINGTON, DC — 1718 P Street NW, Suite T4 Washington, DC 20036 TELEPHONE: 202.265.9712 ♦ FAX: 202.232.0748 ¾ US VIRGIN ISLANDS — 6292 Estate Nazareth #100 St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands 00802 TELEPHONE: 340.775.6225 ♦ FAX: 340.779.2022 ¾ BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS — 123 Main Street, PO Box 3097, Road Town, Tortola, BVI VG1110 TELEPHONE AND FAX: 284.494.2723 ¾ INTERNET — www.irf.org ♦ irf@irf.org i s l a n d r e s o u r c e s F O U N D A T I O N environmental planning for island development M I S S I O N In 1972, IRF’s founder, Edward Towle, wrote in the Foundation’s organizing prospectus, Within a small island, no problem or area of study can stand by itself, no piece of life remains isolated; every living and non-living thing forms an integral part of a structured whole. Similarly, an island chain is a delicate and fragile network, representing a set of highly interdependent relationships—island to island, system to sub-system, island to sea. From this fresh perspective was born the central mission to which the Foundation has dedicated 35 years of research, education, information sharing, technical expertise, and capacity building. TO PROTECT AND ENHANCE THE ENVIRONMENTS OF SMALL ISLANDS, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN TROPICAL AREAS, AND TO ASSIST ISLANDERS IN THE PURSUIT OF DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS THAT PRESERVE THE SPECIAL QUALITIES OF ISLAND LIFE V I S I O N Island Resources Foundation envisions a world where island systems are not miniature microcosms of continental areas, but rather where it is recognized that a failure to understand the differences between insular and continental systems has unanticipated and too often undesirable consequences for islanders. For 35 years, the Foundation’s body of work has addressed those differences and assisted in the emergence of island-focused and island-specific environmental guidelines, practices and institutions. For 35 years, the Island Resources Foundation has been buying time for islands—and for the people who call them home. 3 5 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y D e c a d e B y D e c a d e : 1 9 7 2 — 2 0 0 7 1970s Edward and Judith Towle found Island Resources Foundation in the U.S. Virgin Islands (1972) as an independent, science-based, non- government organization focusing exclusively on small islands and their fragile environments. IRF publishes the first environmental guidelines for island development (Ecological Guidelines for Island Development, 1974) which for the first time calls attention to the special development needs of small islands. IRF serves as the Secretariat of the Caribbean Conserva- tion Association and assists the regional organization in developing and implementing its first five-year program plan. IRF prepares a comprehensive marine resource assessment and coastal classification system for the U.S. Virgin Islands plus planning guidelines for the USVI Coastal Zone Management Program, the first in the Eastern Caribbean. Among the earliest advocates for environmental impact assessments to guide Caribbean island development, IRF prepares the first model resource development guidelines for Caribbean planners. IRF implements a pioneering endangered species protec- tion program in the Caribbean region, tagging over 1200 green sea turtles over six nesting seasons at Aves Island, a primary nesting site for the endangered species. IRF conducts the first regional review of development im- pacts and planning needs in eight Caribbean islands (spon- sored by the UN Development Programme), reporting on key problem areas requiring special management approaches well before these issues were generally appreciated in the region. IRF carries out an inventory of Caribbean historic sites; over 100 historic landmarks on ten islands are surveyed, documented and photographed. 1980s Using the Virgin Islands National Park as a model, IRF prepares an innovative economic impact assessment model for Caribbean parks and protected areas. IRF prepares case studies for USAID documenting coastal resource management issues in developing island states (Turks and Caicos, Antigua, US/British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Sri Lanka, Kiribati, Fiji); included in the series is The Island Microcosm, a pioneering study that argues for serious modifications of standard continental approaches to coastal resource management when applied to small islands. IRF assesses mariculture potential in Eastern Caribbean salt ponds and carries out a fisheries sector assessment for the Eastern Caribbean. For seven years IRF provides technical support for the Islands Directorate of the Man and the Biosphere Program of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. IRF coordinates a five-year research program focusing on the Virgin Islands Biosphere Reserve—30 research studies carried out by 33 investigators from nine institutions resulting in publication of a landmark 31-volume report series. From its Antigua office, IRF launches a ten-year assistance program for conservation NGOs in the Eastern Caribbean, the largest single program in the Caribbean targeted specifically on the role of non-governmental organizations in environmental affairs. With an endowment provided by Laurance S. Rockefeller, the Foundation establishes the Euan McFarlane Environmental Leadership Award for the Insular Caribbean—annual awards of $1,000 have been made since 1988. IRF sponsors a workshop at the Brimstone Hill Fortress in St. Kitts on the uses of historical resources for Caribbean island development, the first regional discussion on man- aging historical and cultural resources critical to development in the Lesser Antilles. 1990s In the early 1990s IRF launches an ongoing program of capacity building for Caribbean biodiversity initiatives, a logical extension of the Foundation’s decades-long commitment to Caribbean conservation; our current strategy is shaped by research, education, habitat and species protection, and information sharing. IRF completes (and publishes in 1991 as Environmental Profiles) a sector-by-sector review of the state of the environment in eight Caribbean countries; the Profiles remain the most comprehensive environmental overviews prepared to date for each of the target islands. IRF initiates a series of research studies (ongoing) in the Virgin Islands (primarily at Fish Bay, St. John) and at La Parguera, Puerto Rico, to develop erosion models and sediment control practices for land-based activities that impact fragile coral reef systems—IRF prepares guidelines for sediment control in the insular Caribbean (published by UNEP’s Caribbean Environment Programme, Jamaica, 1994). IRF develops detailed management plans for 18 “areas of particular concern” as designated under Coastal Zone Management Legislation in the U.S. Virgin Islands. IRF produces a coastal damage assessment and Hurricane Hugo recovery plan for the U.S. Virgin Islands (1990) and updates the Territory’s Disaster Hazard Mitigation Plan following Hurricane Marilyn in 1995. IRF develops comprehensive guidelines for integrated coastal area planning in the Wider Caribbean (published by UNEP’s Caribbean Environment Programme, Jamaica, 1996). IRF establishes a new office and environmental information center in the British Virgin Islands (1999), working in collaboration with the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. IRF’s new president in 1998 is Bruce Potter, who brings to the Foundation over 30 years of experience—in both the public and private sectors—in information system management, economic planning, and institutional development. 2000 and Forward Collaborating with the University of the Virgin Islands, IRF takes on the issue of wetlands loss in the U.S. Virgin Islands; a comprehensive inventory and documen- tation of wetlands and associated riparian areas in the Territory is carried out by IRF, as a first step toward conserving and restoring surviving sites. In partnership with the British Virgin Islands National Parks Trust, IRF commences a 5-year pro- gram to help strengthen institutions, laws and policies that support conservation and protected area management in the BVI; this initiative in the 21st Century compliments IRF’s three decades of resource assessment and planning guidance on behalf of park and protected area development in the Caribbean. Identified as one of 44 “collaborating centers” worldwide, IRF joins an extensive assessment and reporting initiative known as the Global Environment Outlook (GEO); working with UNEP’s Mexico City office, IRF supports state of the environment reporting in the Caribbean. The Foundation is a charter member of the Global Islands Network (GIN), a worldwide, Internet-based information consortium designed to provide easy access to the best information available on sustainable island development. IRF joins Monitor Caribbean and the Wildlife Land Trust of the U.S. Humane Society in an NGO consortium to prepare guidelines for the SPAW Protocol; SPAW is the only multinational legal instrument designed to protect threatened or endangered species and to avert future species endangerment. With more than 30 “e-groups” under its management, IRF concentrates on building regional and global networks among islanders to facilitate improved communication and information exchange critical to environmental planning for island development— a calling that remains at the heart of IRF’s 35-year-old mission. Aves Island, 1973 IRF’s Jean-Pierre Bacle and Kevel Lindsay where they most like to work—in the field Sandy Cay, British Virgin Islands