Morne Trois Pitons National Park World Heritage Site-Improved Management Plan
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CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY CLIMATE CHANGE CENTRE/ SPACC PROJECT MORNE TROIS PITONS NATIONAL PARK WORLD HERITAGE SITE – IMPROVED MANAGEMENT PLAN PREPARED FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA Marie - José Edwards August, 2011 Technical Report Project No. Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre /SPACC -11-04-2 Copyright © 2011 by Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre Published by Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, Belmopan, Belize Printed Edition (April 2011) No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever. It may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) would appreciate a copy of any publication that uses this report as a source. Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, Ring Road, P.O. Box 563, Belmopan, Belize Visit our website at http://www.caribbeanclimate.bz ISBN- 978-976-8236-37-1 (paperback) 1 ACKNOWLEGEMENTS I wish to acknowledge the kind cooperation of the Director of Forestry and the invaluable contributions of the following persons: Bertrand Jno. Baptiste - Forester 1 Ag., Division of Forestry, Wildlife and Parks David Williams - National Parks Superintendent, Division of Forestry and Wildlife and Parks Jacqueline Andre‟ - Ag, Park Superintendent, Division of Forestry and Wildlife and Parks Konjit H, Gabriel- Environmental Coordinating Unit of the Ministry of Health. Lloyd Pascal, Director - Environmental Coordinating Unit, ECU, Ministry of Health, Minchinton Burton - Director of Forestry, Wildlife & National Parks Nick Larocque – Dept. of Lands & Surveys Ronald Charles - Forest Officer, Protection, Division of Forestry, Wildlife & Parks Stephen Durand, Assistant Forest officer, Division of Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Taihisa Hill - Geographic Information System, GIS, Consultant and her team – Eliyah Jno. Baptise & Gideon Dalrymple The following Village Councils Grand Fond Petite Savanne Trafalgar Laudat Improvement Committee Bagatelle 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 INTRODUCTION 13 Climate Trends and Projection 15 Green House Gas Emissions 15 Incompatible Uses in the Park 17 PART A – DESCRIPTION 19 – 46 1. BACKGROUND 18 1.1 Location and boundaries 19 1.2 Access 19 1.3 Legal and Regulatory framework 20 1.4 Park Establishment 21 1.5 Organizational Issues 21 2. PARK ENVIRONMENT 22 2.1 Summary of Physical Aspects 22 2.1.1 Elevation 2.1.2 Climate 2.1.3 Geology and Geomorphology 2.1.4 Soils 2.1.5 Hydrology 2.1.6 Natural Hazards 2.2 Biological Aspects 26 2.3.1 Flora and Vegetation Types 2.3.2 Fauna 2.3 Important Ecological Relationships 32 2.4 Summary of Cultural Aspects 32 3. SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND LIVELIHOOD CHARACTERISITICS OF THE PARK 33 3.1 Present Population and Settlement Patterns 33 3.2 Patterns of Poverty Assessment 35 3.3 Current Resource Use and Development 36 3.3.1 Tourism and recreation 3.3.2 Potable Water Supply 3.3.3 Hydroelectricity 3.3.4 Research 3.4 Gender Issues 39 3.5 Land ownership and Land Use 39 4. LEGAL STATUS & MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK 42 4.1 Current Management 42 3 4.2 Proposed Management 43 4.3 World Heritage Status 44 4.4 Policy, Legal & Regulatory Framework 44 4.4.1 Development of Policies 4.4.2 Legal & Regulatory 4.5 Complementary Projects 45 PART B – EVALUATION 47 – 58 5. IMPORTANCE OF THE PROTECTED AREA 47 6. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE 48 7. ANALYSIS OF ISSUES 48 7.1 Implementation of the 2002-2012 Management Plan 48 7.2 Analysis of Current Management Situation 48 7.3 Conflict 48 7.4 Sensitivity to Disturbance 50 7.4.1 Anthropogenic Activities 7.4.2 Impact of Climate Change 7.4.3 Proposed activities for Managing Climate Change PART C – PRESCRIPTION 57 – 89 8. VISION AND OBJECTIVES 58 9. ZONING PLAN 59 9.1 Special Use zone 59 9.2 Intensive Use 59 9.3 Extensive Use Zone 60 9.4 Environmental Study Zone 61 9.5 Research 61 9.6 Wildland Management 62 9.7 Buffer Zone 67 10. MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES 64 10.1 Resource Protection Programme 64 10.1. 1 Natural Resources Conservation 10.1.2 Natural Resources management 10.1.3 Scientific Research and Monitoring Programme 10.2 Environmental Education and Public Awareness Programme 74 10.2.1 Community Outreach Programme 11. GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION 76 4 12. PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE 79 13. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK 84 REFERENCES 90 ACROMYNS 92 ANNEXES A – Maps 93 B – BUDGET 105 C – COMMUNICATION, EDUCATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS AND VISITOR USE 114 D – Conservation Trust Fund Concept 119 E – Proposed Research Monitoring and Training Programmes 123 F – Birds Found in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park 125 G – List of Persons Interviewed 127 H - List of Participants/ National Consultation 128 I – List of equipment for hydro-meteorological monitoring 129 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The review and development of the Morne Trois Pitons National Park World Heritage Site (MTNP WHS), is one of several initiatives being undertaken by the Government of Dominica under the Global Environment Facility, GEF-funded “Special Programme for Adaptation to Climate Change, SPAAC”, a regional programme, implemented by the World Bank and executed by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, CCCCC, as part of a strategy to reduce the vulnerability of Dominica‟s ecosystems to the impact of climate change. Morne Trois Pitons National Park World Heritage Site (MTNP WHS) is characterized by its ecological biodiversity with rare and unique natural features, a variety of natural attractions and a number of watershed areas and domestic water catchments. The MTPNP WHS is located in the central portion of southern volcanic complex of the island, covering an estimated 6,900 ha (17,000 acres) that includes four of Dominica‟s seven mountain ranges, Morne Trois Pitons, the highest peak at 1,387 m (4,550 ft), Watt Mountain (1,224 m or 4,017 ft), Morne Macaque (1,221 m or 4,006 ft), and Morne Anglais (1,113m or 3,650 ft), three lakes - the Freshwater and Boeri Lakes and the Boiling Lake described as the largest in the western hemisphere. Other features include the Emerald Pool, Middleham Falls and the Valley of Desolation with its several fumaroles. The Morne Trois Pitons National Park (MTPNP) was established in 1975 under the National Parks and Protected Areas Act. In 1997 it was established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site - Inscribed on the World Heritage List under Natural Criteria viii- “To be outstanding examples representing major stages of the earth‟s history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms or significant geomorphic or physiographic features” and criteria x. “To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation”. The present status of the boundary of the National Park indicates the following: The Archbold Preserve comprising of 940 acres though considered part of the park has not yet been legally incorporated within the National Park. As such, this has to be written into the schedule, demarcated on the ground and included on the map. The boundaries that have been gazetted for the National Park do not correlate to what is actually seen on the ground and in many cases the discrepancy is not only large, there is absolutely no cut lines or demarcation especially in the east and southeast areas A large percentage of the boundaries of the National Park have not been maintained over the years. As such, much work has to be done to re-establish these boundaries. CONSERVATION VALUE The United Nation Environment Programme, UNEP, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, describes the 6 conservation value of the MTNPWHS thus: “Morne Trois Pitons National Park includes large highly scenic tracts of the most extensive almost undisturbed tropical forest in the Lesser Antilles and the headwaters of most of the major streams and rivers in the southern half of the island. These support a high level of biodiversity. The Park lies within a Conservation International- designated Conservation Hotspot, a WWF/IUCN Centre of Plant Diversity and a BirdLife-designated Endemic Bird Area”. The operational guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention clearly states that the boundaries of a World Heritage Site should „include sufficient areas immediately adjacent to the area of outstanding universal value in order to protect the site‟s heritage values from direct effects of human encroachment and impacts of resource use outside of the nominated area” It defines a buffer zone as “an area surrounding the property which has restrictions placed on its use to give an added layer of protection: the area consisting of a buffer zone should be determined through technical studies. Details on the size, characteristics and authorized uses of a buffer zone as well as a map indicating its precise boundaries, should be provided” The Morne Trois Pitons National Park has three (3) visitor centres located at the Freshwater Lake, the Emerald Pool and the Middleham Falls. The centres are managed by the Ministry of Tourism & Legal Affairs. MANAGEMENT The Park is currently managed by the Forestry, Wildlife & Parks Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The National Park legislation makes provisions for the establishment of a National Park Service, NPS. However, to date, this has not been established and the function of management and development of the Park has been integrated into the work of the Forestry Division. A Forest Officer has been designated as Parks Superintendent and undertakes the overall supervision of the Park together with 10 park wardens.