Conservation in a Third World Country |
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Authors: | Maria Grech |
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Institution: | (1) P.O. Box 892, Castries, Saint Lucia, West India |
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Abstract: | Summary The problems of man’s increasing abuse and misuse of his environment are multiplying in direct proportion to the increase
in the human population. This is particularly true of much of the Third World, where often a low level of literacy is accompanied
by a steadily growing birthrate. Small island habitats, because of their long geological separation from the large land masses
frequently have flora and fauna that are unique but the pressures on their environment are considerably greater. In the struggle
to compete in an increasingly mechanised and industrial world they are forced to devastate the natural habitat of many of
their indigenous species in order to obtain agricultural land, building materials and fuel. While wooing the tourist market
on the one hand with the beauty of their beaches, they are at the same time removing the sand wholesale for construction purposes.
If the people themselves are to survive, industrial growth is quite obviously essential. Because the practices that at present
place the environment under threat are, in many cases, vital to the individual’s ability to support himself, reasonable alternatives
must be offered before they can be effectively controlled.
Ms Maria Grech came to Saint Lucia originally in 1961 and spent almost eighteen years in the restaurant business. When she
sold out in 1979 she decided to devote more time to writing and specifically to writing about the island which had become
her home. For two years now she has written and illustrated a monthly conservation news-sheet that is distributed throughout
the schools here by the local Forestry Division. In November 1981 the paper—Bush Talk—was awarded a prize for creative journalism and funding is now being sought to have it published in book form.
She is an executive member of the Saint Lucia Naturalists’ Society and is currently compiling their first year book. She has
also been a regular contributor to the Caribbean Conservation News. |
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