The St. Martin’s Island, the southernmost continental island of the country, is considered unique as because it supports an assemblage of diverse ranges of unique flora and fauna. Because of its natural state and scenic landscape in the sea, the St. Martin’s Island has been a destination of huge visitors, argued well beyond its carrying capacity. The unplanned and unregulated tourism in the island and high dependence of local community on the natural resources has resulted in the rapid degradation of its habitat quality and consequent loss of biodiversity, rendering the site to a critical state.
The overall objective of the project is to sustainably manage the biodiversity and its environment while ensuring its sustainable development. The specific objectives of the project area to-
- Conserve critical species (corals, fishes, invertebrates, seaweeds, turtles, migratory birds, etc.) and critical habitats
- enhance capacity of the local stakeholders to effectively participate in the conservation process
- Control the factors that contribute to the degradation of the islands environment and its biota
- Livelihood improvement of poor resource users through providing alternate income options.