National beach policy recommended to deal with illegal sand mining

Tuesday, February 11, 2010 – Representatives of the public and private sectors along with other non governmental organisation met on Tuesday, to explore the need to develop a national beach policy to address illegal sand mining in Saint Lucia.

Director of the Saint Lucia National Trust Mr Bishnu Tulsie, says a national beach policy is very important for developing countries like Saint Lucia as it will guide the sustainable management of beaches and its resources.

Mr. Tulsie says the policy will also serve to regulate to what extent development is to be allowed along beaches considering historic, social and environmental interests.

“We must bear in mind that as a small island, Saint Lucia must develop and the beaches are a major attraction for development particularly tourism developments; whilst this sort of activity must be encouraged, it must be done in a way that does not compromise the traditional uses of the beach or the environmental integrity of those resources.”

The need to develop a national beach policy to address illegal sand mining has also been welcomed by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Mr. Celsus Baptiste.

He says the Department of Crown Lands is very concerned about beach usage as recent trends indicate an increase in the level of illegal sand mining around the island.

“If those trends continue we will have a lot of issues relating to beach access, beach usage and erosion along our coastlines. The historical mechanisms that we have in place have so far failed, so we need to develop new mechanisms in order to address the issues which now arise and those which have been in existence,” Baptiste said.

The national trust director has expressed optimism that the implementation of a national beach policy will receive the necessary support from government.

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