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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 / J a n u a r y 1 9 8 4 ( n o . , , » ■ Environmental Planning •Integrated Development •Technical Assistance •Applied Research BULLETIN TO OUR MEMBERS, FRIENDS, AND PROGRAM ASSOCIATES ... We pose a question for our readers: who was it who recently said efforts to promote conservation and environmental protection strategies in developing countries are critical to the economic development process? Not an environmentalist, as you may have assumed, but a banker — A.W. Clausen, president of the World Bank, who has affirmed that "...sustain able development and wise conservation are in the end mutually reinforc ing — and absolutely inseparable — goals." For the Island Resources Foundation, the linkage between the two — the environment and development — has provided the central focus for a twelve year effort to help small island communities protect and enhance their natural, cultural, and human resource base in the achievement of development goals. We review in this issue of the BULLETIN some of the programs and accomplishments of this last year, acknowledging that while we have increased our overseas assistance activities, strengthened our institutional resource base, and initiated several new and promising re search programs for island areas, there is still much left undone. On behalf of this yet unfinished agenda, we seek your continued support and assistance. A membership envelope for 1984 is enclosed, and we hope that we may once more include your name on our members' roster. We take this opportunity also to extend our appreciation to new LIFE MEMBERS who, collectively, have accepted a special responsibility to support the work of the Island Resources Foundation. Our thanks to: •Dr. Samuel M. Lumpkin • Bruce & Kincey Potter • Mad River Foundation B a l t i m o r e N e w Y o r k N e w Y o r k ESTABLISHMENT OF WASHINGTON FACILITY And Headquarters Re-Location in the Virgin Islands In June the Foundation opened a small branch office in the DuPont Circle area of Washington, D.C. to function as a combination research, fund raising, and liaison facility servicing on-going programmatic/field ac tivities in the Caribbean and elsewhere. A portion of the IRF library on insular systems (primarily those sections focussing on specific is land archetypal environmental, resource, or development planning pro blems or topics) was moved to the new Washington office. However, re ference materials relative to the U.S./British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Caribbean fisheries and other selected topics of interest to the Eastern Caribbean are still housed at Foundation headquarters in the U.S. Virgin Islands. continued page 4 —*~ Published periodically by ISLAND RESOURCES FOUNDATION, a non-profit research and technical assistance organization concerned with the development of small island areas. Sent without charge to members and those concerned about the development of insular areas. -' President . . Edward L. Towle FOR MEMBERSHIP DETAILS WRITE: Red Hook Center Box 33, St. Thomas, USVI 00802 OR E d i t o r . . . J u d i t h A . T o w l e 1 7 1 8 P S t . , N . W . , S u i t e T - 4 , W a s h i n g t o n , D C 2 0 0 3 6 MARINE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT ... FOR ISLANDS (i) COASTAL RESOURCES Under contract to the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), the U.S. National Park Service (International Affairs Branch) has undertaken to carry out a series of case studies in the area of coastal resource man agement. These studies are part of a joint AID/NPS project to provide guide lines and pro j ect design aids on the role of renewable resources in sustain able economic development. Within this context, it is recognized that coas tal ecosystems are increasingly threatened by inappropriate development pat terns in Third World countries. The Island Resources Foundation is carrying out three of the eleven studies. The first, prepared by IRF research associate Random DuBois, deals with coastal fisheries management in the Caribbean and includes site speci fic analyses of fisheries management approaches in Belize, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Antigua, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The second study, comparing resource development strategies in the South Pacific and the Caribbean, focuses on coral/sand mining, an increas ingly significant economic activity in tropical developing countries. The study will be jointly prepared by Mr. DuBois and IRF president Edward Towle, with the assistance of a variety of Foundation research associates in the Caribbean and South Pacific. The final IRF study is more generic in approach, emphasizing "the island microcosm" as a unique ecosystem where resource management strate gies might provide instructional replication possibilities for developing areas. Towle and DuBois are also co-authoring this case study which will examine insular resource management experiences in the Caribbean (Virgin Islands, both U.S. and U.K.) and the South Pacific (Fiji). All case studies prepared for NPS will be integrated into a larger case-book for distribution to AID missions overseas. (ii) MARICULTURE DEVELOPMENT In recent years increasing attention on aquaculture to supplement the harvest of natural fish stocks in developing areas has focused on the ?!?? /°f«V*llll?le..f00d S°UrCe f°r the variou* species cultured in so- called fish farming" efforts. One of the most satisfactory and widely used such foods for aquaculture is the brine shrimp Artemia. which has been found in the salt ponds of a number of Eastern Caribbean islands. In order to provide a technical basis for evaluating the maricul- ture potential for Artemia in Eastern Caribbean salt ponds, AID'a Office of Science and Technology has awarded a lSnnonth grant to IRF, focussing AnM* * ^f gelf iSland areaS (S±X °f the Britlsh Vi*Si* elands, P^s Antxgua-Barbuda, Anguilla, and St. Kitts-Nevis) . Initial samples for early screemng are now being collected by IRF investigator Thomas Nunn for fur- of ^ann ? / as!ociates at collaborating institutions: Dr. Euna Moore IL n%UniV^S±t? „° the WeSt Indies (Cave Hill> and *- Kenneth Simpson of Cnldnf6F -y °f Rh°?e l8land- IRF reSearch a^ociate, Dr. MelvinGoodwin cipal invX^r311168^011^6^8' St' LUCia) iS thS ^e"'° P^- (i1i) RESEARCH COOPERATIVE FORMED Island Resources Foundation has joined eleven other institutions in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in the establishment of a collabor ative research body known as the Virgin Islands Resources Management Coop erative (VIRMC). Taking as its objective the need for a collaborative ap proach to the management of natural resources in the V.I. area, VIRMC has recently undertaken a study of the marine resources of the Virgin Islands National Park. This multi-institutional effort will focus on the V.I. National Park as a "biosphere reserve", an international designation of UNESCO's "Man and the Biosphere" Program which was officially conferred upon the Park in May of this year. MAB's global network of 200 such biosphere reserves (of which the V.I. Park is at present the only such site in the Lesser Antil- lean region of the Caribbean) represents a strategy to conserve varying examples of the world's ecosystems while recognizing the multiple roles of these areas within an integrated development approach. The research activities focussing on the Virgin Islands Biosphere Reserve (VIBR) and to be undertaken by VIRMC in the next ten months cen ter on an assessment of both the coastal features and contemporary uses of the VIBR, with a view to improving the information base for management of the Biosphere Reserve and its adjacent habitats, which extend outside the Park itself (i.e., to the waters of the British Virgin Islands). The funding agency for the project is the U.S. National Park Ser vice, with IRF as the local contracting agency to coordinate all sub- tasks of the study which have been developed cooperatively by VIRMC. Institutions collaborating on the study include the West Indies Labora tory of Fairleigh Dickinson University, the Caribbean Research Institute of the College of the Virgin Islands, the Division of Fish and Wildlife of the Virgin Islands Government, and the Eastern Caribbean Natural Area Management Program (St. Croix). NEW RESEARCH FACILITIES BARRIER ISLAND FACILITY: In 1976 IRF benefactor, Virginia Rad- LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK cliffe Hurst, bequeathed her beach front property on Fire Island to the Island Resources Foundation, to be used as a base for ongoing barrier island research studies. (Note: IRF is a founding member of the Barrier Island Coalition). Early in 1983 the property, comprising a shorefront lot and two-bedroom dwell ing at Davis Park, was finally transferred to the Foundation, follow ing a lengthy estate settlement. The bequest from Ms. Hurst also in cluded a modest trust fund to be utilized by the Foundation for pro perty maintenance and appropriate environmental studies. continued page 5 (insert sheet) HEADQUARTERS RE-LOCATION, continued from page 1 The Washington office is located at 1718 P Street Northwest, Suite T-4, Washington, D.C. 20036 (telephone: 202-265-9712). Its library, like the one in the Virgin Islands, remains "user friendly", that is, materials are structured along topical problem, thematic, subject lines, focussing on the user's assumed interdisciplinary approach and need for easy ac cess to current as well as historical information. We have also moved to new headquarters in the Virgin Islands, where we are now located at No. 11, Estate Nazareth in the Red Hook area of St. Thomas, adjacent to the facility we had occupied at the former Johnny Harms' Marina for over a decade. Mail address and telephone number re main the same. Virgin Islands library users should note that the entire map and chart collection are still housed at the St. Thomas facility, as well as our comprehensive collection of Virgin Islands EIS and EIA materials. IN MEMORY - EUAN P. McFARLANE It was with a heavy sense of personal and institutional loss that IRF learned of the death of Foundation trustee, Euan P. McFarlane. A resident of some 35 years of the Virgin Islands, Mac (as he was known) had, prior to his retirement three years ago, served as Laurance Rockefeller's Carib bean representative, overseeing many of Rockefeller's construction activities in the U.S./British Virgin Islands and, also, representing Mr. Rockefeller's early interest in the Caribbean conservation movement in the 1960's and early 1970's. In the summer of 1969, McFarlane accompanied Sir Philip and Lady Sher lock and Edward Towle (then newly elected president of the Caribbean Conserva tion Association) on a planning trip through the region for consultations with government leaders and indigenous organizations. That survey effort formed the basis for the eventual evolvement of CCA's first regional action program. Mac also served on CCA's Board of Management, at one point as its treasurer. He was first elected to the Board of Trustees of the Island Resources Foundation in 1973 and remained a member until his death. His counsel was a constant and steadfast source of support to IRF's founders, particularly during the institu tion's first halting years. Euan McFarlane shall be missed, as a decent and gen tle man who was dedicated to and served well the cause of Caribbean conservation. ISLAND RESOURCES FOUNDATION Red Hook Center Box 33 St. Thomas, USVI 00802 ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED NEW RESEARCH FACILITIES, continued from page 3 — EUSTUARINE ISLAND FACILITY: An entire estuarine island was acquired CHESAPEAKE BAY, MARYLAND by the Foundation in 1983 through dona tion of Wroten Island on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Compris ing some 500 acres in the Honga River, the island donation includes a win terized lodge, dock, vehicles, various outbuildings, and grass airstrip. Wroten is about two-thirds tidal marshland, one-sixth forested, and one- sixth arable flat land. The Foundation is pursuing development of a comprehensive use and management program for Wroten, initially emphasizing the island's potential (as an estuarine system) for ecological study and resource management ex perimentation. Those wishing further information on either the Fire Island or Wroten Island facilities should contact the president of the Foundation. RESEARCH VESSEL! Through a generous donation by Mr. and Mrs. W. O D Y S S E Y Tu c k e r m a n B i a y s o f P l a n t a t i o n K e y, F l o r i d a , I R F has acquired a superb research vessel which should greatly enhance our marine research activities in the Caribbean region and elsewhere. The vessel, ODYSSEY, is a diesel pow ered, custom-built steel ketch which for over a decade served as home, of fice, workshop and laboratory for the underwater filming activities of the Biayses. ODYSSEY's classic hull design and rig made an excellent backdrop for their motion picture work which included experimentation on a unique underwater color system developed by Tuck Biays. We expect the vessel will be in St. Thomas in early 1984 where it will initially be employed in marine archaeological, marine resource mapping and technical assistance projects. At a later date the ODYSSEY may be used in the educational programs developed at one or both of the new research fa cilities mentioned above. A FEW THOUGHTS ON GRENADA ... A number of IRF staff and associates were in St. Kitts attend ing the workshop reviewed on page 6 of this newsletter when the events which dramatically altered the situation on the island of Grenada were taking place. It was a difficult time for many in attendance and, as program associate Ivor Jackson recently wrote us, our thoughts were often with the short and longterm meaning of those events for the larger Caribbean region. Colleagues of the Foundation were particularly concerned for the safety of well-known Grenada journalist Alister Hughes, who has been an associate of IRF for many years and who was jailed by the military regime immediately following the death of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. Days of anxiety concerning Alister's safety were finally alleviated when, after the arrival of Ameri can forces, word was received that he had been released. continued—*▶ The Daily News, Wednesday, October 26,1983 Foundation for preserving historic resources By JONATHON C. GLASS Dally New* Staff The young nations of the East ern Caribbean cannot afford to overlook their historic resources as they plot their economic devel opment, say officials from the Island Resources Foundation on St. Thomas. "Development is usually thought of as development of tourism or development of the sugar industry," said Judith Towle, project manager with the foundation. "Historic resources also have economic implications," she said. "They deserve to be developed just as much as your fishing industry or sugar industry." Island Resources, with the gov ernment of St. Kitts-Nevis and the St. Kitts Society for the Restora tion of Brimstone Kill, sponsored a conference this weekend to exam ine the use of historic resources in national development. More than SO participants from the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and representatives of nine other Caribbean islands attended the seminar being held at the Brimstone Hill fortifications on St. Kitts. Two major challenges confront those who advocate the develop ment of historic resources, Towle says. First, they must raise greater public awareness of the value of historic buildings, artifacts and cultural traditions. In many cases, they nave to convince people these resources are more than relics of a colonial past that can be forgotten by everyone except "elitists," she said. In addition, they need to persuade international aid agen cies that development of such resources can be economically rewarding, create jobs and even tually pay for itself, she continued. The British agencies, more than their American counterparts, seem aware of the possibilities in this field, she said. English Harbour of Antigua, a former British colony, is a prime 'Historic resources also have economic implications. They deserve to be developed just as much as your fishing industry or sugar i n d u s t r y . ' J u d i t h T o w l e Island Resources Foundation example of successful economic development through historic preservation, she said. It has helped preserve the carpentry and stone masonry skills necessary for the the resto ration of eld buildings, and it encourages the traditional craft activities. A nearby hotel and yachting club that were developed in conjunction with the restoration project contribute to the economy of the area, she explained. "They made this resource pay its own way," she said. At Brimstone, the developers have made a point of showing the talents of the slave laborers who built the isolated fortifications. The dark side of the slavery era cannot be ignored as part of the islands' history, but historic pre servation also can show the dignity and skills of the people, she said. At Marie Galante, an island off Guadelupe, a community museum has evolved out of the interests of the fishing community there that sought to preserve its heritage, she said. Participants at the St. Kitts conference will review these sucessful projects and study res toration techniques, archeologtcal procedures and museum devel opment techniques. Monty Thompson, artistic director of the Caribbean Dance Company on St Croix, will lead one of the workshops. He will talk about the company's efforts to restore an old building in Chris- tiansted for a rehearsal studio and community arts center. After three to four years of planning, political wrangling and financial grant-writing, the company raised the money to restore the shell of building it had bought for $10,000, he said. The work should be complete within four months. The center will benefit the entire Island by preserving Caribbean dance, music, poetry and other arts, Thompson said. There is a measurable impact on young peo ple when they get a sensecftndr potential through the discovery of the arts, he said. "It gives the young people and some of the grown-up people a feeling of pride and sense of themselves,'' he said. Eventually, the company hopes to compile a library on Caribbean arts to be used by researchers from the entire area, he said. Other people from the U.S. Virgin Islands who will attend the conference are: Dr. Edward Towle, president of Island Reources; George Tyson, histori an with the foundation; Douglas White, historical architect with the foundation; William Cissel, curator of the Fort Frederik Museum; Elizabeth Righter, archeologist with the V.I. Plan ning Office; and Alan Putney of St. Croix, head of the Eastern Caribbean Natural Area Man agement Program. GRENADA, continued Since that time, Hughes has been to the U.S. where he met with offi cials of the Reagan Administration and testified before a Congression al sub-committee. In a recent column in TIME Magazine, Hughes com mented on his concern that the American "rescue mission" not turn into an "occupying force" with the U.S. seeking to dominate Grenadian poli tical decisions through the influence of a stepped up aid program. Similar concerns have been voiced by IRF vice president Henry Wheatley, who accompanied V.I. Delegate to Congress, Ron DeLugo, to Grenada in early November, as a member of the bipartisan Congressional fact find ing team. During that visit Wheatley had an opportunity to assess the future role of the U.S. and commented to us that institutions with pro ven experience in and knowledge of the Eastern Caribbean need to be in volved in the development of human resource programs in Grenada. "With the sudden and considerable attention now being given to that is land by the U.S. government," said Wheatley, "in an attempt in part to fill the void created by the displacement of Cuban assistance programs, there is a danger that inappropriate advice and aid will be offered by institutions and agencies not well acquainted with Grenada or the 'pol itics' of the Eastern Caribbean." (IRF's most recent involvement in Grenada dates to the early days of the Bishop administration when Ed Towle and George Tyson, at the invitation of the new government, assist ed in the design of a comprehensive national museum and cultural develop ment program.) The unfolding events in Grenada will continue to be of concern to those involved in development assistance work in the Caribbean. In the mean time, we await, with others, early resumption of publication of Alister Hughes' always timely and ever informative "Grenada Newsletter". ISLAND RESOURCES FOUNDATION 1984 YEAR END NEWS SUMMARY -- As 1984 draws to a close, we are pleased to report that it has been a very good year for the Foundation. The attached list of ten major project reports com pleted in the last eleven months suggests that we have been busy and productive and reflects a growing recognition among various national and international agencies, island governments, and businesses that the Foundation is a resource to be tapped for sound counsel, effective intervention strategies, and imple mentation of research programs focussed on island areas. Our grants and contracts funding for specific projects will exceed $300,000 for this fiscal year — a threshold for us — but still some distance from our target of $500,000 which we estimate as our "break even" point, i.e., project overhead will cover the full, costs of operating the Foundation, its unique li brary, and some (although certainly not all) of its pro-bono services provided as a community service to oceanic and coastal island governments, private sector institutions, and island peoples. We truly like our new (lower cost) headquarters in the Virgin Islands, with ad jacent dock and the Foundation's new research vessel, Odyssey. We have also found the new branch office in Washington, D.C., including a portion of the "islands library", to be useful in maintaining liaison with funding agencies, research associates, and other international organizations. A few highlights we thought would be of interest to our readers: (1) This October marked the commencement of the second year of IRF management of a U.S. National Park Service marine resource research program for the Virgin Islands National Park on the island of St. John (which re ceived international designation as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1983). The first year represented a $190,000 contract from NPS and this year's is $140,000, a good part of which is expended as sub-contracts to other local and regional institutions but portions of which we are implementing as IRF projects (see Koester and Goodwin "fisheries" documents cited on the enclosure). (2) With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (US/AID), we were given the opportunity to develop three case studies on island and coastal marine resource development problems — one addressing fisheries management, one on coral harvesting and sand mining, and the last looking at the peculiar or specialized growth and development requirements of small islands, (3) We have recently completed a marine archaeological survey of Crown Bay (St. Thomas) for the Virgin Islands Port Authority and a study (for US/AID) on the mariculture potential of indigenous Eastern Caribbean brine shrimp. Both projects were completed on schedule and within budget with a total funding of over $200,000. RED HOOK CENTER BOX 33 • ST. THOMAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS 00802 • (809) 775-6225 (4) With funding from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, IRF has been able to continue our work on historical resource preservation and development in the Eastern Caribbean. A new report, reviewing a workshop held in St. Kitts last year and providing guidelines for the use of historical resources, will be re leased early next year. In looking ahead to 1985, we see the Foundation continuing its research manage ment program for the Virgin Islands National Park, pursuing technical assistance activities in the Eastern Caribbean in the area of cultural and historical re source development, and expanding the brine shrimp mariculture development pro ject with a pilot production strategy. We also expect to be involved with the Office of Technology Assessment (a research and service arm of the U.S. Congress) to (a) catalog our "island library" (which now includes over 250 linear shelf- feet of documents) and (b) assist OTA in a two year study project on the off shore island territories of the United States (Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, Samoa, the Trust Territories of the South Pacific, and the Federated States of Micronesia). The Island Resources Foundation continues to serve as the secretariat/fiscal agent for the U.S. Man and t.he Biosphere Program Directorate on Islands (under the aegis of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO). IRF also is joining forces with US/MAB, IUCN, and others in the development of a major global assessment of insular systems and appropriate research, resource use, conser vation, and development strategies — leading to a world conference on islands projected for 1987 (details available on request). In the midst of this varied contract and grant work, we have continued to pursue our primary purpose — that is, to serve as an independent center for the study of what makes islands "tick", to pursue experimental strategies in island resource management, and to provide technical assistance to appro priate, small island public service institutions engaged in programs of pre servation, conservation, and island resource development. To continue with and expand upon this function and to be able to have the time and support services to analyze and report on our findings, we continue to need financial assistance, in the form of unfettered (non-project) donations, mem berships, or gifts of equipment, vessels, or services. If you are able to pro vide a 1984 contribution to assist in our outreach programs and to provide us with the flexibility we need to be responsive to requests from islands, island institutions, and island people for counsel, guidance and assistance with com plex problems, it would be most timely and much appreciated. Your December 1984 membership check will cover Foundation membership for 1985 and will en title you to a discount on all IRF publications and reports. We look forward to keeping in touch with you in 1985 and extend to you our very best wishes for a most successful and prosperous new year. Sincerely, Edward L. and Judith A. Towle ISLAND RESOURCES FOUNDATION December 12, 1984 PLEASE NOTE NEW VIRGIN ISLANDS TEL. NO.: 775-6225