Monday, January 01, 2007The Rockefeller Influence

Staff of the BVI National Parks TrustEnvironmental Management in the BVI

The story of Environmental Management in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) cannot be told without referring to the contribution of Laurance Spelman Rockefeller (May 26, 1910 to July 11, 2004). Mr. Rockefeller, a member of the wealthy Rockefeller family, was a financier, philanthropist and conservationist. He was born in New York, educated at Princeton and also spent two years at the Harvard Law School.

The Rockefeller family represents a group of successful businessmen and women, filled with a love and passion for the environment. Beginning with Rockefeller Senior (John Davison Rockefeller; 1839-1937), the family has been a major force for the conservation of land, creating over twenty National Parks and open spaces in the USA. Although many of the parks were created without public fanfare, in November 2005 the family was honoured by the National Audubon Society for this achievement. Speaking at the ceremony, the president of the society, Mr. John Flicker, stated “Cumulatively, no other family in America has made the contribution to conservation that the Rockefeller family has made”.

While specific information on Mr. Laurance Rockefeller’s initial association with the British Virgin Islands is difficult to find, his influence in the neighbouring United States Virgin Islands (USVI) is well documented. In the 1950’s Mr. Rockefeller established the National Park on St. John USVI, through a single donation, thereby preserving thousands of acres of tropical forest and beaches that might otherwise have gone into real estate. Currently, approximately half of Saint John (USVI) is preserved as a National Park and is managed to maintain its conservation and recreational value. Mr. Rockefeller, through his resort company, Rockresorts, also opened a luxury hotel at Caneel Bay on St. John, USVI which followed a model of development that incorporated the environment into its design in contrast to several of the other hotel developments of its time.

In the early 1960s, due in part to the proximity of the USVI to the BVI and Mr. Rockefeller’s love for the British Virgin Islands, he turned his attention to conservation of the BVI’s natural resources. Following the model on St. John, his Company, Rockresorts developed Little Dix Bay Hotel on Virgin Gorda in 1964, infusing a large amount of capital into the economy of the British Virgin Islands and in a sense changing the islands forever. The development of a luxury resort hotel on Virgin Gorda was significant at that time as there were then only seven small hotels and guesthouses in the BVI, and the tourism industry was in its infancy. The new resort provided employment opportunities for the people in Virgin Gorda and served as a stimulus for the development of infrastructure on the island.

While Little Dix Bay stands tall as an example of sustainable development and a model for how environmental features can be incorporated into a development plan, it is Mr. Rockefeller’s contribution to the development of the National Parks System of the British Virgin Islands that is the main thrust of this article. Prior to Mr. Rockefeller’s involvement in environmental management in the British Virgin Islands, the people of the territory maintained environmental quality and values through traditional practices. The small population of approximately eight thousand lived in a very intimate relationship with their environment, relying heavily on it for their survival. Farming and fishing were the twin industries of the BVI and provided sustenance for the people as well as for those in neighbouring St. Thomas.

Local knowledge and understanding of the environment, passed on by oral traditions, assisted the local population to regulate itself. Fishermen did not fish in certain areas while fish were spawning, providing an easy and natural mechanism for protecting spawning aggregations, which were vital to maintaining a productive fisheries industry. The fisherman often returned to the ocean, fish including conch, whelk and lobsters that were less than a certain size if caught. There were even special words coined to describe these undersized specimens.

Islanders also understood the medicinal value of many of the plants around them and relied on these plants for preserving health. Furthermore the population understood the value of the natural ecosystems such as mangroves, sea grass beds and coral reefs. They also understood the linkages and interactions between these systems and sought to actively protect them.

Perhaps Mr. Rockefeller foresaw that as development took place in the Territory these traditional methods of preserving the natural environment of the islands were not enough for environmental preservation. He therefore took the initiative to offer the BVI a precious gift of land to be managed as a national park for the benefit of future generations. It is typical of Mr. Rockefeller’s style, however, that he did not attempt to create a national park system on his own. He sought local involvement and allowed British Virgin Islanders to chart their own course.

One British Virgin Islander who was very involved in the development of the national parks system of the British Virgin Islands was Mr. Joseph Reynold O’Neal (1911 to 2005). In his book Life Notes: Reflections of a British Virgin Islander, Mr. O’Neal recalls that Mr. Rockefeller donated the money to purchase ninety acres of land at Sage Mountain, seven acres at Spring Bay (the Crawl) some twenty acres at Devil’s Bay in Virgin Gorda and for the reforestation of Sage Mountain. Mr. O’Neal also noted that the then Administrator Captain G.J. Bryan had the initial responsibility for developing the national parks. However on his departure from the Territory, Mr. O’Neal became his successor and through his perseverance the National Parks Trust was established under the National Park Ordinance of 1961 as a statutory body with responsibility for parks and protected areas. Mr. O’Neal served as its Chairman for thirty years until his retirement.

Mr. Rockefeller’s donations became the basis for the National Parks System with Sage Mountain designated as the first National Park in 1964. He ensured the success of the park system by contributing additional resources to support the development of the Mt. Sage National Park. Mr. O’Neal recalls that Mr. Rockefeller’s personal representative on St. Croix supplied the Trust with mahogany seeds for more than a decade making the reforestation efforts on Sage Mountain a viable project.

Mr. Rockefeller’s commitment was further demonstrated by his continued support of the conservation efforts in the British Virgin Islands. He financed the removal of wild goats from Fallen Jerusalem as he observed that these animals were depleting the natural vegetation on the island. His philanthropy in the British Virgin Islands continued with the donation of two hundred and sixty five acres of dry forest at Gorda Peak, Virgin Gorda to the National Parks Trust in 1974. Currently, even after his death on July 11, 2004, his contribution to the conservation effort continues with the Sandy Cay project.

Mr. Rockefeller developed a fascination with a tiny undeveloped cay in the British Virgin Islands known as Sandy Cay and acquired the island, investing in maintaining its integrity for over thirty years. The island is currently referred to as a managed landscape and is carefully maintained as an ideal tropical paradise, which is open to the public. The Island Resources Foundation (IRF), a leading organization in environmental management in the region refers to this island as an entity ahead of its time. In the late 1990’s, Mr. Rockefeller, then in his nineties, considered long-term management options for Sandy Cay and commissioned the IRF to develop a management plan for the island’s unique ecosystem. This impetus to ensure management and protection of Sandy Cay as a natural area propelled Mr. Rockefeller to invest further funding for parks and protected area management in the BVI.

An important concept in environmental management is that today’s action or inaction impacts future generations. Mr. Rockefeller’s foresight in assisting with the preservation and reforestation of Mt. Sage and Gorda Peak forty-two years ago has given us the opportunity to review the long term impact of his decisions. The BVI now enjoys a well-developed national parks system of twenty national parks. The last one declared in March 2003 was the Copper Mine National Park.

Governance of these parks now falls under the National Parks Act, 2006 which was enacted in March 2006 and gives the Trust authority for establishing and managing protected areas, preserving historic shipwrecks, developing conservation agreements and controlling activities within its parks and protected areas. The current list of national parks includes areas, which protect unique geological features such as the Baths, important historical sites such as Coppermine and Little Fort on Virgin Gorda and Mt. Healthy on Tortola.

The Trust, through its ongoing biodiversity conservation programme and in collaboration with its external partners, is actively rehabilitating the Anegada Rock Iguana (Cyclura pinguis). The total number of animals released as of September 2006 is one hundred and one. The Trust also facilitated the increase in the colony of magnificent frigate birds on Great Tobago National Park by the removal of wild goats through funding from a private donor. The reintroduction of the Greater Flamingo on Anegada is seen as a remarkable conservation achievement, as the population has grown to over one hundred and twenty birds in fourteen years.

Recently, the Trust with funding from the Overseas Territories Environmental Programme (OTEP) assessed over two hundred marine sites in the BVI and has shared the results with stakeholders, government departments and interested parties in several workshops and meetings. The ultimate goal is to complete a systems plan in which important natural areas may be defined, mapped and put forward for conservation. Parks frequented by the local residents and visitors are the Queen Elizabeth II Children’s park and the Joseph Reynold O’Neal Botanic Gardens National Park on Tortola and the unique Baths and Devils Bay National Parks on Virgin Gorda.

Public Awareness and Environmental Education are vital in sharing the work of the Trust with students and members of the community to promote environmental values. The annual Arbour Day celebrations and the Flower Show are examples of these special community events.

The Trust has been internationally recognized for its conservation efforts in the past and recently received an award for Outstanding Management in late October 2006 from the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force for its work in strengthening local coral reef management, conservation and education efforts in the BVI.

It is clear that the people of the British Virgin Islands value their natural resources and are willing to protect them. The threat of rapid development throughout the territory underscores the need to strengthen the formal mechanisms for protecting its fragile natural resources. The National Parks Trust is working assiduously to safeguard the precious natural resources of the Territory and to ensure that the legacy of a beautiful, well-functioning, diverse natural environment is passed on to future generations. Mr. Rockefeller, through his life and work in the British Virgin Islands, has epitomized the level of contribution that the business sector can make towards protecting the natural assets of a nation. However this requires a clear vision and an understanding of the role that a pristine environment plays in the many diverse businesses, which comprise the tourism industry in the BVI.

Mr. Rockefeller did not set out to chart the environmental future of the BVI, but merely to assist the Territory to initiate the process of conserving its natural resources. In his words, Mr. Rockefeller’s request was: “Let me help you to help yourselves”. We all have the opportunity to volunteer our services and to contribute to the protection of our valuable resource. What will we do with our opportunity?

For more information on the work of the BVI National Parks Trust please call 284-494-2069 or 282-494-3904 or log onto www.bvinationalparkstrust.org

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