Central Forest Reserve National Park Management Plan St. Kitts and Nevis, West Indies In 2007 and 2008, Seventh Generation Institute staff completed a management plan for a new national park in St. Kitts--the Central Forest Reserve. This park’s 12,500 acres of cloud forest provide habitat for a number of threatened resident birds as well as important stopover habitat for migratory birds. It was designated as a globally important bird area (BirdLife International, 2009) in the Caribbean where large-scale tourism development continues to fragment and degrade the remaining wildlife habitat. Equally important, the newly designated park protects several important cultural sites and the watershed that supplies a clean, stable water supply and flood control for the human population of this rugged volcanic island. Staff spent six weeks in St. Kitts, working with small farmers and business owners, government officials, and local conservation organizations. The final product was a management plan that provided for ecotourism while ensuring resource protection. The plan including maps of existing trails and resources, habitat data, and plans for local education, hiring and training of local staff and methods to obtain needed funds. Over the next few years, ecotourism in the new national park will be carefully expanded to provide economic opportunities while maintaining resource protection. Tourism will be small-scale and dispersed, based on a network of long-distance footpaths that connect villages, historic sites, and spectacular vistas around the island. This small-scale development will foster economic opportunities for the islanders who most need them, while increasing the pride that the people of St. Kitts and Nevis have in their natural and cultural heritage. |
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