On the island nation of Barbados, particularly on its developed west coast, the major problem is beach erosion. This is a serious concern anywhere, but particularly so when tourism is the country's number one industry. The causes are complex. Tourist hotels themselves are partly to blame because over the years their owners have built structures to trap sand, which prevents its migration further down the coast to other areas.

But the most serious threat to the beaches is the loss of offshore coral reefs through pollution, primarily caused by domestic sewage. As the reefs die, they lose their ability to reduce the energy and erosive force of incoming waves.

Into this complex scenario of cause and effect stepped the IDB-financed Barbados Coastal Conservation Program. Drawing on previous studies and surveys, the program has put in place a genuinely integrated approach that over the years has combined research, pollution control and anti-erosion measures with institutional and legal mechanisms to control coastal development and prepare a national coastal zone management plan. Meanwhile, the country has made significant progress in reducing pollution with a series of IDB-financed sewage treatment systems and solid waste disposal plants.

In December of last year, Barbados passed its Coastal Zone Management Act, only the second such legislation of its kind in the Caribbean.