Deputy director of the Coastal Zone Management Unit, Dr Lorna Inniss is rebuking some of the practices surrounding the tourism industry as counter-productive to disaster management.
In a frank presentation on Tsunami Preparedness And Readiness today at the annual Ministry of Tourism and Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association’s multi-hazard disaster management symposium at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St Michael, Inniss said catering to the whims of visitors could result in their deaths.
“Mature coastal vegetation slows down flood waters so whenever you decide to remove coastal vegetation that is binding the sand on your beach because your tourists want to lie down on their towels without any leaves around, then remember this.
“Yes, people want to go into the sea and they want to walk on sand but coral rubble actually helps to slow down these waves [tsunamis] . . . A lot of the stressors on coral reefs are associated with the tourism sector – people harvesting coral for sale; anchor damage from dive boats; land based marine pollution and inexperienced divers walking on the coral reef,” she said.
Inniss said in many cases of tsunamis worldwide it was tourists who lost their lives first as despite the benefits of coastal tourism; it also put people into harm’s way.
Deputy director of the Department of Emergency Management, Robert Harewood spoke on Earthquake Readiness. He said it was necessary to utilize both mitigation and preparedness practices when dealing with earthquakes.
He said this was achieved in four phases: initial setup where emergency centres were put into place; saving lives and protecting property; damage assessment and finally, recovery.