An Environmental Profile of the Island of Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands including Little Jost Van Dyke, Sandy Cay, Green Cay and Sandy Spit This publication was made possible with funding support from: UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Department for International Development Overseas Territories Environment Programme An Environmental Profile of the Island of Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands including Little Jost Van Dyke, Sandy Cay, Green Cay and Sandy Spit An Initiative of the Jost Van Dykes (BVI) Preservation Society and Island Resources Foundation 2009 This publication was made possible by Use of Profile: Available from: the generous support of the Overseas Reproduction of this publication, or Jost Van Dykes (BVI) Preservation Territories Environment Programme portions of this publication, is Society (OTEP), UK Foreign and authorized for educational or non- Great Harbour Commonwealth Office, under a commercial purposes without prior Jost Van Dykes, VG 1160 contract between OTEP and the Jost permission of the Jost Van Dykes (BVI) British Virgin Islands Van Dykes (BVI) Preservation Society Preservation Society or Island Tel 284.540.0861 (JVDPS), for implementation of a Resources Foundation, provided the www.jvdps.org project identified as: source is fully acknowledged. www.jvdgreen.org BVI503: Jost Van Dyke’s Community- based Programme Advancing Citation: Island Resources Foundation Environmental Protection and Island Resources Foundation and Jost 1718 P Street Northwest, Suite T-4 Sustainable Development. Van Dykes (BVI) Preservation Society Washington, DC 20036 USA (2009). An Environmental Profile of the Tel 202.265.9712 The JVDPS contracted with Island Island of Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Fax 202.232.0748 Resources Foundation to provide Islands, including Little Jost Van Dyke, www.irf.org technical services as a part of its Sandy Cay, Green Cay and Sandy agreement with OTEP, in particular to Spit. JVDPS. Jost Van Dyke, British Cover Photo: execute the Environmental Profile Virgin Islands: 135 pp. The island of Jost Van Dyke from the phase of the project, for which this north shore of Tortola document represents the primary output. TABLE OF CONTENTS vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii LIST OF ACRONYMS AND PHOTO CREDITS ix EXECUTIVE SUMMARY x PREFACE 1 CHAPTER 1. DESCRIPTIVE OVERVIEW 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROFILE ISLANDS 3 THE PHYSICAL AND NATURAL SETTING 7 THE COMMUNITY SETTING 11 CHAPTER 2. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 11 THE PUBLIC SECTOR 14 ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION 16 ENVIRONMENTAL NGOs (NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS) 19 CHAPTER 3. CONSERVING THE BIODIVERSITY OF JOST VAN DYKE 19 FLORAL HERITAGE 26 SALT PONDS: A CRITICAL ECOSYSTEM 31 FAUNAL HERITAGE (TERRESTRIAL) 47 CHAPTER 4. JOST VAN DYKE AND THE SEA 47 THE PEOPLE OF JVD AND THEIR BOND WITH THE SEA 48 THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT 56 FISHERIES RESOURCES 58 SUMMING UP—THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF IT ALL 63 CHAPTER 5. JOST VAN DYKE’S HISTORICAL HERITAGE 63 IMPORTANT SITES 69 DOCUMENTARY RESEARCH 75 CHAPTER 6. JOST VAN DYKE’S CULTURAL HERITAGE 75 COMPONENTS OF JVD’s CULTURAL HERITAGE 82 VANISHING HISTORY 85 CHAPTER 7. WASTE MANAGEMENT AND POLLUTION CONTROL 85 POLLUTION SOURCES 93 CHAPTER 8. DIRECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE 94 WHAT IS ALREADY PROTECTED 96 CRITICAL SPECIES AND SITES 100 FUTURE PROTECTION PRIORITIES 102 COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT: A JVD APPROACH TO RESOURCE PROTECTION 108 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES CITED APPENDICES 115 APPENDIX 1. JOST VAN DYKE ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE PROJECT TEAM 117 APPENDIX 2. PRELIMINARY LIST OF PLANT SPECIES FOR THE PROFILE ISLANDS 127 APPENDIX 3. PRELIMINARY LIST OF MARINE SPECIES FOR THE PROFILE ISLANDS iii LIST OF TABLES 5 TABLE 1. Known elevations for Profile islands. 6 TABLE 2. Recent storms and hurricanes in the BVI. 7 TABLE 3. Population figures for JVD compared to total BVI population, 2001-08. 7 TABLE 4. Age distribution of Jost Van Dyke population, 2008. 13 TABLE 5. Current JVD interaction with the primary environmental units of the BVI Government. 15 TABLE 6. BVI legal and regulatory instruments related to the protection and management of the environment. 20 TABLE 7. List of the thirteen plant communities of Jost Van Dyke. 21 TABLE 8. Vegetation communities of Jost Van Dyke and the satellite islands. 28 TABLE 9. Salt ponds of JVD and other Profile islands, listed from west to east. 33 TABLE 10. Bird species identified for Jost Van Dyke, Little Jost Van Dyke, Green Cay, Sandy Cay, Sandy Spit. 41 TABLE 11. Common mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates for Jost Van Dyke, Little Jost Van Dyke, Green Cay, Sandy Cay, and Sandy Spit. 97 TABLE 12. Plant species of special concern, with locational information. 99 TABLE 13. Faunal species of special concern, with locational information. 101 TABLE 14. Areas of Jost Van Dyke and other Profile islands with multiple parameters of value or significance. LIST OF FIGURES xii FIGURE 1. Topographic map of Jost Van Dyke, Little Jost Van Dyke, Green Cay, Sandy Spit and Sandy Cay. 1 FIGURE 2. Location of Jost Van Dyke, Little Jost Van Dyke, Green Cay, Sandy Spit and Sandy Cay. 2 FIGURE 3. Little Jost Van Dyke, with Crown Land shown in yellow. 30 FIGURE 4. Location of salt ponds, Jost Van Dyke and Sandy Cay. 50 FIGURE 5. The coastal resources of Jost Van Dyke, Little Jost Van Dyke, Sandy Cay, Green Cay, and Sandy Spit. 52 FIGURE 6. Coastal features of Sandy Cay. 55 FIGURE 7. Marine features of Sandy Cay, with identification of four marine system zones. 63 FIGURE 8. Location of historic sites, Jost Van Dyke and Little Jost Van Dyke. 94 FIGURE 9. Crown Land on Little Jost Van Dyke, Green Cay and Sandy Spit. 95 FIGURE 10. Boundaries for the proposed Little Jost Van Dyke Marine Protected Area. 95 FIGURE 11. Boundaries for the proposed Northern Cays Marine Protected Area. 98 FIGURE 12. Location of plants of special concern on Profile islands. 100 FIGURE 13. Location of wildlife and habitats of special concern on Profile islands. LIST OF TEXT BOXES 12 BOX 1. Jost Van Dyke and Tortola 18 BOX 2. Successful NGOs Exhibit … 26 BOX 3. Why Salt Ponds Are Important 27 BOX 4. Salt Ponds and Sea Salt Production 51 BOX 5. Environmental Monitoring 56 BOX 6. Impact of Climate Change on Fisheries 57 BOX 7. Wooden Island Sloop 64 BOX 8. Born in Jost 65 BOX 9. Historical Artefacts on LJVD 66 BOX 10. Sugar Production in the British Virgin Islands 69 BOX 11. Prehistoric Sites 75 BOX 12. Cultural Heritage 76 BOX 13. Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle: A JVD Cultural Tradition? 77 BOX 14. A Memory from 1960 … 82 BOX 15. More Community Voices 89 BOX 16. Effects of Increased Sedimentation iv LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS 2 PHOTO 1. Pelican Cay. 3 PHOTO 2. Sandy Cay Vista, May 2008. 4 PHOTO 3. Near-vertical and contorted layers of volcanic bedrock along Cape Wright. 4 PHOTO 4. Photo taken along the Western Peninsula of JVD Illustrates ground that is completely devoid of soil. 4 PHOTO 5. Example of a well-developed soil profile. 5 PHOTO 6. The dramatic north-facing cliffs along the Western Peninsula, JVD. 6 PHOTO 7. Dry stream bed at Brown Ghut, Jost Van Dyke. 17 PHOTO 8. Sign outside of the office of the Jost Van Dykes Preservation Society in Great Harbour, JVD. 19 PHOTO 9. Lonely Tyre or Thatch Palm towering along the Western Peninsula of Jost Van Dyke. 23 PHOTO 10. Leaves of the JVD Indian Mallow (Bastardiopsis eggersii). 23 PHOTO 11. Cockspur in bloom (Erythrina eggersii). 24 PHOTO 12. Fruiting Lignum Vitae (Guaiacum officinale). 24 PHOTO 13. Lignum Vitae is easily distinguishable by its trunk. 25 PHOTO 14. Tyre Palm (Coccothrinax alta) seedling, Western Peninsula, JVD. 25 PHOTO 15. Barrel Cactus or Turk’s Cap (Melocactus intortus) is more common on the dry coastal cliffs of JVD. 25 PHOTO 16. Flowering tree, Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia rubescens) at Great Harbour, JVD. 28 PHOTO 17. White Bay Pond, wet season. 28 PHOTO 18. White Bay Pond, dry conditions. 28 PHOTO 19. Lower Dog Hole Pond, in dry conditions. 29 PHOTO 20. Great Harbour Pond, located just east of the Primary School, has standing water all year. 29 PHOTO 21. Clean Hole Pond. 29 PHOTO 22. View of the north and east sides of Cape Wright Pond. 30 PHOTO 23. Sandy Cay Pond. 32 PHOTO 24. Bridled Quail Dove (Geotrygon mystacea), locally named Turtle Dove. 36 PHOTO 25. The Roof Bat (Molossus molossus), common on Jost Van Dyke. 36 PHOTO 26. The Jamaican Fruit Bat (Artibeus jamaicensis), common on Jost Van Dyke. 37 PHOTO 27. Dwarf Gecko (Sphaerodactylus macrolepis). 39 PHOTO 28. The most common scorpion. 51 PHOTO 29. Green Cay and Sandy Spit. 52 PHOTO 30. Brown Pelican roosting in fringing Red Mangroves, south of Diamond Cay, East End Harbour, JVD. 54 PHOTO 31. Gorgonian-dominant habitat, north shore reef of Sandy Cay. 57 PHOTO 32. Sloop Endeavor II under construction on Jost Van Dyke. 59 PHOTO 33. Turtle hatchling at Sandy Cay, September 2004. 70 PHOTO 34. Historic sites of Jost Van Dyke and Little JVD. 77 PHOTO 35. Carnival parade through Great Harbour in the early 1990s. 78 PHOTO 36. JVD men harvesting thatch palms in the mid-1970s. 78 PHOTO 37. Example of wattle and daub house on JVD. 79 PHOTO 38. Wayson Hatchett demonstrates a killiwang made by his father, Baba Hatchett. 80 PHOTO 39. A common Great Harbour site. Fishing is an important part of daily life on JVD. 81 PHOTO 40. Model boat races in Great Harbour during the mid-1970s. 81 PHOTO 41. Bateaux building was popular on JVD during the second half of the twentieth century. 85 PHOTO 42. An example of point-source marine pollution. 86 PHOTO 43. Boat activity at White Bay, JVD. 87 PHOTO 44.