Welcome!
Welcome to our site about Jost Van Dyke’s environment. Here you will find
information about the island’s special environmental features, progress reports on
research and local projects, and references to relevant information about
environmental matters. Stay up-to-date via our newsletters at the News page.
Browse to the Education page - and take a look at the wide-range of local sponsors
on our BVI Sponsors page.
The Latest News - The Profile is Available
In September 2009 the Environmental Profile was completed - a 149 page overview
of the island with supporting listings of the primary flora and fauna of the island.
It is available here online.
From the Profile we will be producing an abridged version for general distribution
and erecting environmental information signs in key locations on Jost van Dyke.
For a quick overview, click here for 5 summary sheets.
January 2010 Newsletter - Our very latest newsletter includes a discussion of
the challenges of livestock control - the impact of unfettered goat grazing - when
the livestock is culturally iconic and still a small part of the island economy.
Additionally, there are project updates and some community news.
Background
This site was initiated in June, 2008 as one part of a special programme funded
primarily by the Foreign and Commonwealth’s Office of the Overseas Territory
Environment Programme (OTEP) in their Fifth Bidding Round. We are thrilled to
have been funded and our programme, titled "Jost van Dyke's community-based
programme advancing environmental protection and sustainable development" is
now underway. We are joined in this effort by our partners, the Island Resources
Foundation, who are providing professional, technical research, and guided further
by two agencies of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) government, Conservation &
Fisheries and the National Parks Trust.
Throughout the world, the environments of homelands and special places are under
stress from growth and modernization. Jost Van Dyke (JVD) is no exception.
Following over 300 years of agriculture and ranching, tourism has become the
primary industry of the island. Today, the community of Jost Van Dyke, fourth
largest of the inhabited British Virgin Islands, faces the challenge of balancing
economic growth with sustainable use of its natural resources.
Jost Van Dyke has only been lightly developed, with economic growth proceeding
at a slower pace compared to its larger, nearby neighbours—Tortola in the BVI and
St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Much of the island’s environmental and
cultural elements remain relatively untouched; its lifestyle seems less hurried and
stressful than on more developed Caribbean islands. Yet the pressures for change
and growth are also evident in new houses, new roads, and new businesses.
Our government has recognized the importance of the environment and has
established the BVI Environment Charter for the territory.
Our First Major Programme for the Environment
Jost Van Dyke finds itself positioned between a past it does not want to lose or
squander and a future that promises more options with expanded growth. It
therefore is an opportune moment for JVD islanders to examine not only their
island’s environmental resource base—upon which future economic growth will be
established—but also to identify and assess priority environmental issues and
concerns and place these in a forward-looking context that supports sustainable
growth. As it wrestles with development changes, there has been little
scientifically-based information for the community to employ in evaluating the
short and long-term impacts of growth.
To make progress in environmental protection and sustainable development,
residents need more information about their island and how to affect the future.
And that is the primary mission of our first major programme Jost van Dyke's
community-based programme advancing environmental protection and sustainable
development.
Welcome to our site about Jost Van Dyke’s environment. Here you will find
information about the island’s special environmental features, progress reports on
research and local projects, and references to relevant information about
environmental matters. Stay up-to-date via our newsletters at the News page.
Browse to the Education page - and take a look at the wide-range of local sponsors
on our BVI Sponsors page.
The Latest News - The Profile is Available
In September 2009 the Environmental Profile was completed - a 149 page overview
of the island with supporting listings of the primary flora and fauna of the island.
It is available here online.
From the Profile we will be producing an abridged version for general distribution
and erecting environmental information signs in key locations on Jost van Dyke.
For a quick overview, click here for 5 summary sheets.
January 2010 Newsletter - Our very latest newsletter includes a discussion of
the challenges of livestock control - the impact of unfettered goat grazing - when
the livestock is culturally iconic and still a small part of the island economy.
Additionally, there are project updates and some community news.
Background
This site was initiated in June, 2008 as one part of a special programme funded
primarily by the Foreign and Commonwealth’s Office of the Overseas Territory
Environment Programme (OTEP) in their Fifth Bidding Round. We are thrilled to
have been funded and our programme, titled "Jost van Dyke's community-based
programme advancing environmental protection and sustainable development" is
now underway. We are joined in this effort by our partners, the Island Resources
Foundation, who are providing professional, technical research, and guided further
by two agencies of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) government, Conservation &
Fisheries and the National Parks Trust.
Throughout the world, the environments of homelands and special places are under
stress from growth and modernization. Jost Van Dyke (JVD) is no exception.
Following over 300 years of agriculture and ranching, tourism has become the
primary industry of the island. Today, the community of Jost Van Dyke, fourth
largest of the inhabited British Virgin Islands, faces the challenge of balancing
economic growth with sustainable use of its natural resources.
Jost Van Dyke has only been lightly developed, with economic growth proceeding
at a slower pace compared to its larger, nearby neighbours—Tortola in the BVI and
St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Much of the island’s environmental and
cultural elements remain relatively untouched; its lifestyle seems less hurried and
stressful than on more developed Caribbean islands. Yet the pressures for change
and growth are also evident in new houses, new roads, and new businesses.
Our government has recognized the importance of the environment and has
established the BVI Environment Charter for the territory.
Our First Major Programme for the Environment
Jost Van Dyke finds itself positioned between a past it does not want to lose or
squander and a future that promises more options with expanded growth. It
therefore is an opportune moment for JVD islanders to examine not only their
island’s environmental resource base—upon which future economic growth will be
established—but also to identify and assess priority environmental issues and
concerns and place these in a forward-looking context that supports sustainable
growth. As it wrestles with development changes, there has been little
scientifically-based information for the community to employ in evaluating the
short and long-term impacts of growth.
To make progress in environmental protection and sustainable development,
residents need more information about their island and how to affect the future.
And that is the primary mission of our first major programme Jost van Dyke's
community-based programme advancing environmental protection and sustainable
development.
Jost van Dyke Environment Information Centre
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