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May 2008

Organization(s): Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Colombia, Corporación para el Desarrollo Sostenible del Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia; Santa Catalina "CORALINA"; Reserva de la Biosfera "Sea Flower".

Project Name and Location: Managing Visitor Impact in the Diving Areas of San Andrés Island, Colombia -- Colombia.

Lessons Learned

• The participation of stakeholder communities is vital, as a source of information, appropriation, and project continuity. A balance between official measures and community vision is key for decisions that will generate good results.

• Whenever possible, photographic sampling of coral is preferable to submarine counts and much friendlier than chain transects.

• Some of the recommended priority sites for diving buoys were changed, causing overuse in some areas while other critical sites were overlooked.

• Some sites targeted by the study were not used because of changes in diving staff in the area. As well, other sites with more visitors were not monitored by environmental authorities.

Goals

• Determine use intensity, types, and impacts in the dive sites and define their visitor carrying capacity.

• Propose and evaluate general management strategies for the dive sites according to biophysical and socioeconomic or cultural conditions, intensity of use, and observable impacts.

• Develop a system of prioritization for the installation of mooring buoys at the dive sites.

• Recommend strategies for the protection, conservation, and use of dive areas that take into account the zoning standards of the marine protected area and disseminate them to dive operators.

Project Conclusions

• Visitor carrying capacity is the most important outcome of this study. To establish management criteria, important factors to consider are quality standards for diving rather than quantity and the composition of the ocean floor. An average yearly capacity of 10,657 dives was set (between 18 and 35 per day depending on the site) as compared to 4,000 established by other studies. This is most likely due to the composition of the ocean floor made up of hardy leather corals and to better diving instruction and equipment.

• The direct impact of diving on coral was moderate and was mainly related to involuntary contact and discharge of particles. The relationship between moderate damage and activities such as instruction and underwater photography was linked to patterns of vulnerability of certain species and deficiencies in flotation devices.

• Artisanal fishing anchors pose greater threats than diving boats (191,43 m² of coral per year vs 66,79 m² of coral per year) because anchors get hooked onto the coral. Environmental authorities did not, however, implement any measures that were identified as priorities by this study.

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