Soufrière Marine Management Area, St. Lucia - a success story
This management area is focused around the picturesque town of Soufrière on St. Lucia. The coastline of this area is a 12km succession of beaches and cliffs. The population of Soufrière work in the agriculture, fishing or tourism industries.
As the tourist industry in Soufrière has developed there have been many conflicts between the three industries above. Inside the Soufrière Marine Management Area these conflicts were eased through regular communications between all groups, facilitated by the Department of Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture. The area is now zoned, each zone being used for differing purposes. There are marine reserves, recreational areas, fishing priority areas, multiple use areas, and yacht mooring areas. Technical support on the implementation of this scheme was offered by the Department of Fisheries and the results have been very positive. The resulting zoning has been very successful with less interaction between the different user groups and hence less conflict; a good example of how an integrated approach to management of a natural resource has worked.