Land use planning for development of environmentally sensitive areas: a case study of Saint Martin's island

Abstract

5L :Ylallin's lsland is th~ only corell bearing l,l~nd of B:mgladesh and one of the most biologlcally diverse area, \\')th surerb bei",ty of n~tllr~ The island has been facing emironmenwl threats due lO uneontrolkd nnd 11l1rcguh:.~ed(oUrL~mduring tht In,t fe\'.. years, Coastal ero~j()n, coral extra~llOn, IOCJIpOllution, u'1planned phYSLealdeve~opment and d~structive fishmg techniques ~l'e the maJ0'" environmental threalS OCCUHmgdue to unconlrolled tollrism acti\,itles. The ),Iand IS now identified as one of tbe environmentally sensllive area, in Bangladeoh. Til" study reveals that land prices in the dand soared ~lgnificalltly due to ur,reglliated tourism and i, now about 7-!CI times hlgher lhan it \\~s [en year, ago, The bnsmessll1en from ddTerent pans 01 lhe countl)' ,110w their inlere<;!s [0 buy land on the ,sland 10 stan [Ourism bu-,iness. The tourism development " haphaz3rdly expanding. Land use planmng and zonir.g can control and guide thlS sporadic developmer;t. Zoning facilitate" the proper ,electi"" of siteo for housing, :~ooL'l'>, hotels. busi"e,s arc~s, agricultme <ire:'.~ and eon,ervJtion ;;Tea,. COll>ld~rmg the i,IJnd i'-San en\'lronmcntally sel'sitll'e 3l'ea, a conservation v:J.luefor difi",rent areas has been develClped. Major thre:J.[s to environment and associ3ted reSOLlrces due to unplanned development have been ld~nllfied. And against the ldemified threats, a Relative Threat Level ha" bcen me~tiol1ed to prioritize the aCliotls which <;houldbe taken first. Major enviwntllental problems occuning duc to uncontrolled and unregulated tourism and other development works have b~en ldentified. Somc policy and guidelines to mill gate these problem, have been described in tile study, People's participation (]-i~ough priority rankmg for develo?mem iSSLLtShas been valued so that tbe ?r0po~cd developm~"t plays siglllficant role for the betterment oj local people. To make local people and tOllrl.>tsaw~re about present .-ulcs ,md regulation, to pl'otect lhe "Innd, some m~asures like campmgn, seminars, and \vorkshops have been proposed in the srudy. The island', potentiality for eommutlity-b~sed ceo-tourism development is such that this opportunilY can be greatly increased by the appropriate use of every available pieee of land, The pristine beauty and neh ecology of 5t Martin's island can only be preserved through community-based teo-tourism, Th,s would also lead to mitigate of poverty of the ioh!.'lders. development of local li\'ehhoocl, hCfltage ami conservation of the environm~nl.