Meeting title: Planning for and Mapping Tourism and Hospitality Activities in the USVI 2014

Transcription

1 Meeting Minutes June 30, 2014 Prepared by: Peter Freeman USVI CROP Coordinator Meeting title: Planning for and Mapping Tourism and Hospitality Activities in the USVI 2014 Date and time: Wednesday, June 25, 2014, 9:30am 3:30pm AST Location: West Indian Company, Ltd. conference room, St. Thomas, USVI Hosts: 1. Mr. Jean-Pierre Oriol, Director of the Division of Coastal Zone Management, U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources 2. Mr. Peter Freeman, Coordinator for USVI, Caribbean Regional Ocean Partnership Meeting purpose: The purpose of the meeting was to introduce representatives from the tourism and hospitality industry in St. Thomas and St. John to the Caribbean Regional Ocean Partnership (CROP) and marine planning, discuss the future of the tourism and hospitality industry within the context of the marine planning process, and begin to map water-based recreational activities located at beach resorts in St. Thomas and St. John. Appendix A presents a complete meeting agenda. Participants: Excluding members of the CROP team (TNC, DPNR) and staff from Geographic Mapping Technologies, Corp. (GMT, Corp.), 10 participants from 10+ organizations were able to attend the meeting. Efforts will be made to provide individuals who were not able to attend with information on the CROP, marine planning, and human use mapping in the USVI in lieu of their attendance. Table 1 presents a list of participants in attendance, and Appendix B provides a scan of the meeting sign-in sheet. Table 1 List of participants in attendance Name Organization Lisa Hamilton USVI Hotel and Tourism Association Jim Trilling Resort Adventure Centers / Fun Water Tours, Inc. March Storm Island Time / Cruz Bay Watersports John Quetel Coral World Jodi Longshore St. Thomas Concessions 1

2 Name Paul Doumeng Maritza Borges Audrey Penn Patrick Duffy Sybille Sorrentino Jean-Pierre Oriol Pedro Nieves John Knowles Aurora Justiniano-Santos William Hernández Marisa Rivera Peter Freeman Organization Bolongo Bay Beach Resort Marriott Morningstar Cove The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas Marriott Frenchman s Reef and Morningstar Beach Virgin Island Ecotours Div. Coastal Zone Management, USVI DPNR Div. Coastal Zone Management, USVI DPNR The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy Geographic Mapping Technologies, Corp. Geographic Mapping Technologies, Corp. USVI CROP Coordinator Materials presented and distributed At the beginning of the meeting, participants were provided a CROP fact sheet, prepared by Dr.. Justiniano-Santos (TNC), that included information on the CROP; marine planning; and the related implementation efforts of CROP to date. Participants were also provided document titled, Caribbean Regional Ocean Partnership General Marine Planning Priorities, which was also prepared by TNC. (Contact Ms. Justiniano-Santos at ajustiniano@tnc.org for a digital copy of these documents.) Mr. Freeman began the meeting with a presentation titled, The Caribbean Regional Ocean Partnership and Marine Planning in the USVI (Contact Mr. Freeman at peter.freeman@dpnr.vi.gov for a copy of this presentation.) The presentation covered the following topics: o Inception of the National Ocean Policy and regional marine planning o The governor s agreement establishing the CROP o The Caribbean Regional Planning Body o CROP evolution and current status o Current data-related efforts of the CROP Mr. Oriol gave a presentation titled, Human Use Mapping in the USVI. Contact Mr. Oriol at jp.oriol@dpnr.vi.gov for a copy of this presentation.) The presentation covered the following topics: o An introduction to the St. Thomas East End Reserve (STEER) o Workshops held to map human uses in STEER o Current needs of DPNR and the CROP to map human uses further Mr. Hernández gave a presentation titled, Maps and Spatial Data as Decision Support Tools in the Marine Spatial Planning Process. The presentation covered the following topics: o An introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology o The application of GIS to map human uses and other data relevant to marine planning o An example of how human uses data is gathered in a participatory workshop setting Topics discussed In the morning, a group discussion was held to address the outlook, perspectives, and concerns of the tourism and hospitality industry in the USVI within the context of the marine planning process. Topics discussed included: 2

3 Marine space conflicts: Ferry traffic through Cowpet Bay and Current Cut comes very close to recreational users, in particular children sailing at the St. Thomas Yacht Club. Rotation of boats in high traffic areas: Off-property boats are no longer allowed at the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas, so scheduling notices or a no-wake zone could facilitate the rotation of boats in Cowpet Bay. Perception of rules and regulations: The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Park Service may consider additional management and enforcement for the purposes of maintaining an improved ethic among users. Sustainable development: The carrying capacity of the ecosystem should be considered when determining the appropriate scale of growth in tourism. Overcrowding will not only create an inauthentic experience, but will also put unsustainable strain on the environment. Moorings: More moorings and better management of mooring areas are needed in order to reduce anchorages, collect more revenue for DPNR and enforcement, and improve the ability of visitors (especially from the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico) to stay in the USVI overnight. Land-based pollution: Swage runoff, sedimentation, and non-point source pollution are major land-based issues for the marine environment that require integrated management solutions. Certified Vessels: The USVI needs to improve the process for certifying vessels in the industry. The BVI has a good process in place. STEER: Marine life within STEER has improved, so the USVI needs to start thinking of protected areas as its savings account. Pump out areas: Pump out stations and vessels are very important, and the USVI is working on increasing their availability. Participatory Human Uses Mapping After lunch, participants were grouped evenly according to the location of their respective beach resort (East End of St. Thomas and St. John, and all other areas) at two stations set up by Mr. Hernández and Ms. Rivera of GMT, Corp., for participatory mapping. At the lead of GMT, Corp., participants mapping all water-based recreational activities occurring at their respective beach resort areas, such as jet skiing, paddle boarding, kayaking, etc. Computer files generated from the mapping exercise will be made publicly available after they are processed by GMT, Corp. and approved by CROP members. Decisions No decisions binding or otherwise were made during the meeting. Actions agreed upon To maintain contact with meeting participants as all CROP, marine planning, and human uses mapping efforts move forward. To reach out to individuals and organizations not represented at the meeting either because they could not attend or because they were not originally recruited. 3

4 Appendix A Meeting agenda Meeting Agenda Planning for and Mapping Tourism and Hospitality Activities in the USVI When: Wednesday, June 25, 2014 (9:30am 3:30pm) Where: West Indian Co. (WICO) Conference Room, Havensight, St. Thomas, USVI About: As part of the Caribbean Regional Ocean Partnership (CROP), the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, and The Nature Conservancy are collaboratively developing marine planning guidelines for the U.S. Caribbean. It is critical to the success of the CROP that the perspectives and interests of local stakeholders are fully captured and represented in the marine planning process. This meeting will begin the process of ensuring that the tourism and hospitality industry is at the table and on the map. During the meeting, we will be discussing issues that can be addressed through the marine planning process, as well as collaboratively generating digitized computer files that identify the location of your waterbased recreation activities for use in the marine planning process. Agenda: Activity Presenter Time Registration and breakfast (fruit, pastries, juice, tea, coffee, etc.) JeanPierre Oriol, Welcome remarks Presentation: The CROP and marine spatial planning Peter Freeman, USVI in USVI CROP Coordinator Group discussion: Planning for tourism and hospitality in the USVI - What is the industry s outlook and goals for the future? - What are the coastal and marine issues and conflicts facing industry? - How can marine planning best serve the industry? JeanPierre Oriol, Presentation: Human uses mapping in the USVI Presentation: Maps and Spatial Data as Decision GMT, Corp. Support Tools in the Marine Spatial Planning Process Lunch Group roundtable workshop: Mapping coastal and marinebased hospitality and tourism activities in the USVI JeanPierre Oriol, Closing remarks and adjourn 9:30am 10:00am 10:00am 10:15am 10:15am 10:30am 10:30am 11:15am 11:15am 11:30am 11:30am Noon Noon 1:00pm 1:00pm 3:30pm 3:30pm 4

5 Appendix B Sign-in sheet from meeting 5