Location 13 53 N, 60 68 W -- Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago

National websites http://www.stlucia.gov.lc/ http://www.stats.gov.lc/

Embassy / Chancery in U.S.

Embassy of Saint Lucia 3216 New Mexico Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20016 Telephone: (202) 364-6792/93/94/95 Fax: (202) 364-6723

Agencies responsible for biological inventory and conservation

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment 5th Floor, Block A NIS Building Waterfront, Castries St. Lucia Tel:  (758)451-8746 Fax:  (758)453-6314

Non-governmental organizations concerned with conservation

St Lucia National Trust:  The Trust has the authority to make laws to regulate all activities within these areas to protect the resources, preserve order and prevent nuisances

St Lucia Naturalists' Society, whose primary area of activity is environmental education, Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust which has supported the establishment of the St Lucia Parrot

Sanctuary, amongst other initiatives.  Caribbean Conservation Association (CCA) dedicated to promoting policies and practices which

contribute to conservation, protection and wise use of natural and cultural resources. The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute Soufriere Foundation (1994) protect the coral reefs of St. Lucia and promote sustainable

development for the island’s local communities. Coral reef conservation activities include monitoring of coral

reefs and water qualitySource Source

Major Natural Resources

 Perhaps the most important natural resource of St. Lucia is its beauty, as tourism becomes more important to the economy in the midst of rising environmental concerns.  St. Lucia is lucky to have white, sandy beaches and beautiful coral reefs.  St. Lucia also has a rain forest providing a rich habitat for species endemic to the island.  The natural resource most important to the economy at present is the banana industry.  Other resources are pumice and mineral springs. 

Major Environmental and Conservation Issues

 Big on conservation.  They are doing a great job.  One of the biggest issues on the island is the inadequate solid and liquied waste management system, especially in the lesser-developed interior of the island.   The exterior of the island, developed by the tourist industry faces other evnironmental problems such as habitat loss and coastal pollution.  Plus, the coral reefs have been silted up by coastal construction, to some degree in certain locations.There is an increasing amount of industrial and agricultural acitivity on the island as well, leading to problems such as soil erosion.  Deforestation is also an issue although the island does have a good preservation system. 

Statistics Information SourcesLand area 620 Sq. km  SourceArea of forest (967,169 ha)  SourceArea of wetlands (6831 ha)  SourceArea of territorial waters 16Sq. km  Population  152,335  SourcePopulation Density ( 230 /Sq. km)  Area protected (ha) (only areas >1000ha) at all IUCN levels

 130,343 ha For extensive information please  click here

 Source

Fraction of land area protected (%)  6.5%  Source

Major Protected Areas  National Rain Forest Reserve 19,000 acres See also

 http://www.wcmc.org.uk/cgi-bin/mp_countryquery.p

Endemic Species

Mammals  Birds  Reptiles  Amphibians  Fish  Invertebrates  Plants   

 There are several endemic reptile species including St Lucia tree lizard, pygmy gecko, Maria Island ground lizard and Maria Island grass snake Source

Endangered, Threatened and Vulnerable Species Mammals  0

Birds  3Reptiles  6Amphibians  0Fish  0

World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal  

World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Plants

Invertebrates  0Plants  6

Complete Plant Listing 

Extinct Species

Mammals  1Birds  0Reptiles  0Amphibians  0Fish  0Invertebrates  0Plants  0

Complete Plant Listing 

World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal  

World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Plants

Species listed on CITES Appendix I  

CITES-listed Species Database

Species listed on CITES Appendix II  

CITES-listed Species Database

LegislationLaws protecting endangered or threatened species

Wildlife Protection Act No. 9 (1980) Provides for the protection of wildlife, the establishment of wildlife reserves, and effecting St Lucia's accession to the CITES treaty.

National Trust Act No. 16, 1975 provides for a statutory trust to promote, conserve, and manage land and marine areas of special natural (or historic)interest to protect the wildlife which they support 

The Fisheries Act No. 10, 1984 provides for the creation of marine reserves andfisheries priority areas

The Forest, Soil and Water Conservation Ordinance Cap. 25, 1946, as amended (1957 and 1983), contains provisions governing the declaration of forest reserves and protected forests on private

Complete Animal Listing

Complete Animal Listing

Complete Listing

Complete Listing

land  Saint Lucia National Trust Act (1975) Preservation of beauty or natural or historic interest, including

the flora and fauna found therein. Forest, Soil and Water Conservation Act (1983) Contains provisions governing the declaration of

forest reserves and protected forests (on private land)

Source

Laws protecting endangered ecosystems

 The Beach Protection Act No. 2, 1967, as amended No. 9, 1984, deals with sandremoval and other issues affecting beaches, while the Parks and Beaches

Commission Act, 1983 provides for the control, maintenance and development of public parks, gardens and beaches

The Parks and Beaches Commission (1983) manages tourist beaches and regulates beach vendors. It has an advisory role over certain uses in the coastal zone, including the removal of coral and on any matters related to protection of the sea-coast from erosion (OECS, 1986)

SourceSignatory to CITES (3/15/83)Signatory to Ramsar Wetlands Convention NO

Signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity  July 28, 1993

Signatory to Migratory Bird Treaty (date)

Member of International Whaling Commission Yes

Signatory to other international treaties designed to protect or manage biological resources

Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean region:  concerning specially protected areas for wildlife

Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection

Natural Resource Use Information SourcesFisheries  347 million   Source Forestry  Please click here  

Ecotourism Currently being developed.  However, much of the current tourism revolves around the natural environement. $200 million

  Source

Trade in wildlife products    Hunting    Other uses of natural resources  74.5 million in revenues from bananas  Source

Human Impacts on Natural Resources Information SourcesAir pollution    

Water pollution Changes in the coral reef system surrounding the island include fewer/smaller fish, bleaching and an increase in seaweed.

 Source

Development activities    Introduced species    Legislation addressing these issues

 The coastal zones have been divided into areas for tourists, fisherman, and nature reserves.  Source

Restoration and Reintroduction Information SourcesPrograms for restoration of damaged habitat     

Programs for ex situ conservation (captive breeding and reintroduction) of endangered species

 "The national bird is the colorful St Lucian parrot (Amazona versicolor), which can be seen in the dense rain forest around Quillesse and Barre de l’Isle.  A successful conservation programme established in 1978 probably saved the species from extinction and allowed numbers to rise from 150 birds in 1978 to over 400 by 1994."

 Source

Return to Endangered Species Protection around the World

Page compiled by Christy Egbert as part of a class project in h90 "The Science of Biodiversity and Conservation" (Peter J. Bryant, Instructor), University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA