Conservation in a Third World Country MARIA GRECH* P.O. Box 892, Castries Saint Lucia, West India

SUMMARY

The problems o f man's increasing abuse and misuse o f his environment are multiplying in direct proportion to the increase in the human population. This is particularly true o f much o f the Third World, where often a low level o f literacy is accompanied by a steadily growing birthrate. Small island habitats, because o f their long geological separation from the large land masses frequently have flora and fauna that are unique but the pressures on their environment are considerably greater. In the struggle to compete in an increasingly mechanised and industrial world they are forced to devastate the natural habitat o f many o f their indigenous species in order to obtain agri- cultural land, building materials and fuel. While wooing the tourist market on the one hand with the beauty o f their beaches, they are at the same time removing the sand wholesale for construction purposes.

I f the people themselves are to survive, industrial growth is quite obviously essential. Because the practices that at present place the environment under threat are, in many cases, vital to the individual's ability to support himself, reasonable alternatives must be offered before they can be effectively controlled.

The world's escalating human population has already dealt a death blow to many types of plant, insect, and animal life. Within the last two hun- dred years, over two hundred species of animals and birds have become extinct, and another seven hundred are still on the endangered list. Among the reptiles and amphibians, one hundred and eighty-six species are dangerously close to extinc- tion, and in the plant world an incredible 30 000 varieties are threatened.

*Ms Mafia Grech came to Saint Lucia originally in 1961 and spent almost eighteen years in the restaurant business. When she sold out in 1979 she decided to devote more time to writing and speeificaliy to writing about the island which had become her home. For two yeats now she has written and illustrated a month- ly conservation news-sheet that is distributed throughout the schools here by the local Forestry Division. In November 1981 the paper--Bush Talk--was awarded a prize for creative journalism and funding is now being sought to have it published in book form.

She is an executive member of the Saint Lucia Naturalists' Society and is currently compiling their first year book. She has also been a regular contributor to the Caribbean Conservation News.

In the past, the termination of a species was often brought about by over-hunting, not only for food, as in the case of Steller's Sea Cower the Passenger Pigeon, but for fur and feathers as was the case with the Quagga and some of the more exotic birds. Today with man's continual en- croachment into previously undisturbed areas, fauna and flora both are being endangered by the destruction or the pollution of their environment.

Man is an adaptable animal, and there are few places on the earth where he is unable to survive, his diet and his mode of riving being dictated by his surroundings. But few wild animals or birds have this facility, many of them being limited by geographical boundaries of climate, vegetation, elevation and so on. For a good number of them, interference with their habitat will eventually bring about their disappearance, and this for many unique species living on small islands, means total extinction.

It has become increasingly necessary to intro- duce legislation that will prevent man from up- setting the fragile balance of his environment, but in order for this legislation to be properly effec- tive there must be respect and understanding of the reasoning behind the laws. In a developed country where conservation is largely a matter of education and conscience, the formation of both private and Governmental bodies has done much to increase public awareness of the problems. The activities of organisations like World Wildlife Foundation, Greenpeace, and the Department of the Environment, are widely publicised, and edu- cational programmes and television documentari_'e= on emotional subjects like seal culls, or whale hunts, or the plight of the South American Con- dor, have d o n e a great deal to awaken a sense ot responsibility, especially in the young. But how efficient are methods like these likely to prove in a Third World country like Saint Lucia, a 238 square mile island in the centre of the Caribbean chain ? (Fig. 1).

A 1980 survey in Saint Lucia, revealed that oI the then population of 120 000, 45% of the per sons over 15 years of age had had at the most five years schooling. Many of the restrictions thai

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Government and bodies like the newly formed Environmental Commission are attempting to enforce, directly inhibit the earning ability of the individual. A large percentage of the population exist at bare subsistence level with an annual income of 3500 EC dollars or less* and are un- likely to change or even modify their practices unless offered reasonable alternatives.

In an island ecosystem, the result of pollution and other abuses of the environment can be swift, and all too often, irreversible. Agriculturally, Saint Lucia depends chiefly on its banana crop, and in order to keep quality and quantity high enough to satisfy the UK market, both aerial and ground spraying are done on a regular basis. In combination with this form of control, weedkillers and chemical fertilisers are also employed, which indiscriminately affect both bird and insect life. A chemical used to eliminate leaf spot in bananas may also destroy certain beneficial insects, this in turn, by causing a break in the food chain, may

*Present rate of exchange is roughly $4 EC to s 1,

bring about the eventual disappearance of the birds that feed on these insects. If the insects in this case were also responsible for the pollination of certain fruit trees or other crops, then these will subsequently give a poorer yield as a conse- quence. The banana grower however is, in most cases, concerned only with the acceptability of his crop, and so is likely to be -unconcerned about the failure of others. Only by being shown an equally efficient method of control that is per- haps also less costly, will he be persuaded to aban- don his present habits.

Perhaps an even more disastrous result of ba- nana cultivation has been the clearing of steep slopes and hillsides for planting. This has caused topsoil from the exposed land to be washed away with every heavy rainfall, rendering the land use- less for future crops unless increasingly large amounts of fertiliser are applied. The resultant sedimentation and siltation of the rivers has seri- ously affected the island's water supply, a supply already considerably diminished by the cutting back and clearing of watershed areas.

154 The Environmentalist

Development in the island has brought about other changes. Concrete block buildings are re- placing many of the old wooden structures, and more roads, more hotels, and more businesses are being built. In the past it was accepted that the beaches were an easy and available and free source of sand for construction, but with the increasingly heavy toll being taken of them, many have been excavated past any hope of recovery. The long- term effect of this is more than just the removal of a material resource. Perhaps second only in importance to the banana industry for the acqui- sition of foreign currency, is tourism, an industry that is largely dependent on those same beaches for recreational use. Disappearance of the beaches could mean disappearance of the tourists! The beaches are also the natural habitat for certain birds and animals, and to some, like the turtle, already hunted for its flesh, this destruction of its nesting sites could be a f'mal blow.

The labourer who fills his small van with beach sand to build the walls of the room that he is adding to his home, is concerned only with the fact that the material is free. If he gave the matter any thought at all, he would probably consider that his need ranked equally with that of either turtles or tourists. But Saint Lucia does in fact have good sources of alternative aggregates like the large deposits of pumice in the centre of the island which are still not being fully exploited. Only by drawing up strict and enforceable legis- lation to prohibit the removal of sand from the beaches, and by controlling the price of substitute materials to keep them within reasonable bounds, is there any hope that the present situation can be terminated.

Perhaps the most difficult task that confronts the conservationist is the prevention of heavy and continual encroachment into the forests (Fig. 2). This is caused by a number of factors; clearing for agricultural use, clearing for development, and clearing for the production of charcoal being the most prevalent. Of these, the last is perhaps the most difficult to control. Wood is the chief source of fuel for cooking for over 90% of the popula- tion, either in its natural form'or converted into charcoal. In some households the use of wood is supplemented by kerosene or bottled gas, but still the average consumption of charcoal for this por- tion of the population is about 13-14 pounds a week. Assuming a conversion factor of 8 to 1 (i.e., 8 pounds of wood to 1 of charcoal) this means that over 2 million pounds of wood (930 tons) are consumed annually in this way. With a 25 pound bag of coals selling for $20 or more, this production of charcoal is providing additional income for a number of agricultural workers, and

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Fig. 2. Map of Saint Lucia showing existing and proposed fores r e S O l V e S .

for them to continue in this occupation, a corr plete re-education programme is necessary. Wher a man's livelihood is at stake, and where often th reasons for legislation that restricts or forbids lu practices are obscure or misunderstood, ther will be little or no cooperation. By offering alte: natives rather than forbidding a man to do tha on which his life and the lives of his family de pend, it is possible to stabilise the ecological sitt ation and even, in some cases, to improve it.

Fast growing trees like the Leucena are read to cut for charcoal in five years, and during the: growing period will enrich the soil with nitroge: as well as provide good animal fodder. The Sair Lucia Forestry Division are already experimentin with this and other forms of reforestation, fearft of the example of Haiti where the once large are~ of forest have been reduced to less than 2% of th total land area, creating problems unequalled an~ where else in the Caribbean. With the rising co,~ of imported fuels, it is unreasonable to expect move away from those that are more readily an

Vol. 4, No. 2 (1984) 155

more cheaply available, but with educational pro- grammes the people could be taught to regard wood as a renewable source o f energy and to re- plant and harvest it accordingly.

It can be seen then that the key to the success o f any conservation programme is twofold. In the first place, the restrictive measures that are to be undertaken should not take away a man's source o f income unless reasonable alternatives can be offered. In the second place it is necessary that a person should have the knowledge and the educa-

tion needed in order to assess the reasons for the restrictions.

The designation 'Third World' , is an indication that for the biggest percentage o f the population, both income and educat ion are at a minimum, and so it is to be assumed tha t before any serious at tempt is made to enforce new and more severe legislation governing the problems of conserva- tion, the situations and the lifestyle of the per- sons most directly concerned will have been thoroughly investigated.

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