Scotts Head, Soufriere and Pointe Michel, Dominica

The Fisheries Division of the Government of the Commonwealth
of Dominica, and
The Local Area Management Authority (LAMA)

The Soufriere/Scotts Head Marine Reserve, situated on the southwestern coast of Dominica, consists of communities built on a tradition of fisheries. The rapidly growing tourism sector causes the diversified and limited resource to be exploited and possibly threatened by other uses. The goal of the project is to minimize user conflicts, preserve traditional fishing cultures, cater to the trends in development and conserve a resource that is unique to the area. Dividing the area into four zones, Fishing Priority, Recreational, Scuba Diving and Fish Nursery, reduces potential conflicts among users of the area. User fees will be collected to assist in the financial management of the project.
The project involves education at all levels in the communities in addition to numerous consultations and negotiations. It became evident that the best way to manage the resources is to empower the people who have a direct interaction with them. There have been school visits and town meetings, which featured cultural activities such as role playing, and slide shows. As a result, schools islandwide now visit the area as an annual event called “SSMR Day” in order to gain first-hand experience and information about the SSMR. Two months preceding the event, the fisheries staff makes intensive school visits to sensitize students about marine environment issues and to prepare them for “SSMR Day”. To improve the community affairs further, a management body called the Local Area Management Authority (LAMA) was formed to govern the affairs of the SSMR. LAMA is made up of major stakeholders including dive operators, village counselors, Coast Guard, Boy Scouts and Fishermen’s Cooperatives.

The campaign started back in 1992 with high school students who volunteered their time by working tediously to sell the SSMR concept. The French Technical Cooperation funded the first “SSMR Day” in June 1994 and the Fisheries Division with asistance from local businesses has sponsored subsequent funding.

• Coastal and marine resources (Chapter IV of the Barbados
Programme of Action)
• Human resource development (Chapter XIV of the BPoA)

The Soufriere/Scotts Head Marine Reserve was established under Statutory Rules and Orders No. 19 of 1998. Within LAMA, four sectoral committees have been set-up to run the affairs of the SMMR. These committees are for Education, Operations and Development, Science and Research and Finance. This project created an overall increase in public awareness and understanding of marine resource conservation as it pertains to the SSMR.

Community-based co-management is the best approach to sustain resources because of the need to take into account cultural and traditional uses of marine resources. This can be achieved through the involvement of local stakeholders during the implementation and development process, referred to as the “bottom-up” approach. Good communication and overall involvement of all stakeholders in the project implementation is necessary so that everyone is aware of each other’s role. This includes the dissemination of information in forms that will have the greatest impact on target groups, for example, the use of Creole language, audio-visual aids, role-playing etc.

Mr. Harold Guiste
Chief Fisheries Officer (Ag)
Fisheries Division
M. E. Charles Boulevard
Bay Front
Roseau
Commonwealth of Dominica
Tel.: (767) 44 82401 ext. 3391, 3392, 3163
Fax: (767) 44 80140
E-mail: cfra@cwdom.com