St. Margaret’s Bay

Top environmental challenge faced by the community (currently or in the past 10 years):

Rapid urbanization, without proper zoning or land use planning, was leading to a loss of environmental quality. The bay was being polluted and the forests depleted, causing negative impacts on resource uses and on tourism.

How the environmental challenge has affected local livelihoods:

The livelihoods of residents and especially those reliant on natural resources (including the tourism sector) were negatively affected.

Community response to the challenge, through environmental stewardship (conservation) initiatives that improve environmental well-being and support sustainable livelihoods:

The community established a strong St. Margaret's Bay Stewardship Association to conduct research, hold community meetings, and push governments for better land use planning and zoning.

Extent to which governmental policy (at local, regional or national levels, as relevant) has supported, or been contrary to, the community's responses to the environmental challenge:

The association showed such leadership that governments gradually came to respect it, and to engage in many of the initiatives, such as watershed planning, that the association was promoting.

Keywords: Ecosystem

Coastal

Keywords: Resources

Soil, Animals, Water

Keywords: Big Issues

Human-wellbeing, Education, Environmental law, Land use

Keywords: Solutions

Protected areas, Public participation, Management, Spatial planning

Contributed by: Tony Charles

The information provided and opinions expressed above are the responsibility of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views and analysis of the Community Conservation Research Network (CCRN), nor those of all members of the community described.

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