Development of Beach Management Plans for Priority Beaches
A Climate-Resilient Marine Spatial Plan will guide the protection and sustainable use of the Virgin Islands’ marine environment. It will define key zones for conservation, fisheries, recreation, and development—supporting climate resilience while enabling a balanced blue economy.
Introduction
The Virgin Islands boasts beautiful white sand beaches that are the drivers of the tourism-based economy. Beaches face direct risk of erosion and inundation from stronger storm surge and sea level rise as a result of climate change. Tourism development along beachfronts exacerbates these risks.
Basic sea level rise mapping indicates that without proper long-range planning to accommodate landward migration of beaches to keep up with sea level rise, the Territory could lose most of its sandy shores by the end of this Century.
The Impact
The 2020 Virgin Islands Beach Policy mandates the development of a Territory-Level Beach Management Plan and Individual Beach Management Plans. These Plans create the space to ensure the future of beaches can be safeguarded. For example, the pilot Long Bay, Beef Island Beach Management Plan, currently under implementation, features appropriate setting back of beachfront development and restoration of the beach dune to guarantee that the beach dune of today can become the beachfront of the future as sea level rises.
This Project will result in the development of Beach Management Plans for up to seven priority beaches, including at least one on each of the four main islands.
The Problem
Sea levels rising in the territory
The Solution
Planned vending zone developed as part of the Long Bay, Beef Island Beach Management Plan
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