Background Paper No. 2


biological, social, and economic effect upon the island of

St. John, and to a lesser extent the other Virgin Islands.


 Entirely aside from the very real social and economic

 changes wrought, the Virgin Islands National Park brought

 to the West Indies the concept of a major portion of a large

 island being under almost complete ecological control, with

 that control having it's ultimate authority and administra-

 tion from without the territory. From a historical stand-

 point, this represents a reversal of the general trend in

 the West Indies for greater territorial control, including

 that of natural resources. It is interesting to note that

 this same event coincided with the establishment of the

 Five Year Development Programmes leading to the independence

 of two major West Indian islands, Jamaica and Trinidad and

 Tobago, under which programs transferrence of authority for

 Crown Forest Lands and Reserves was made to the regional

 governments.


 In terms of it's meaning to regional ecological re-

search, the Virgin Islands National Park has provided for

the following:

 1) It has reserved a large mass of lands and waters,

comprising some 6,000 acres, where ecological disturbance

has been reduced to a minimum. The reserve includes reef

and inshore habitats; mangrove swamps; cactus, arid thorn

scrub, tropical deciduous, and some regenerating rain for-

est communities. No single reserve in the West Indies con-


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