Protecting Heritage in the Caribbean

8. St. Kitts and Nevis

8 St. Kitts and Nevis Todd M.Ahlman and Kelley Scudder-Temple Introduction The islands of St. Kitts and Nevis lie within the Lesser Antilles chain of the eastern Caribbean.Officially known as the Federation of St.Kitts and Nevis these islands constitute the smallest country in the Western Hemisphere, in both geographical region and population. Although these islands are separated by a channel of less than 3 km, the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural climates of these islands vary greatly. This divide between the islands has even resulted in attempts by Nevisians to secede from the Federation. The seat of federal government for the Federation lies in St. Kitts, the larger of the two islands and where the country’s capital (Basseterre) is located and the prime minister currently resides. While the seat of formal government resides in St. Kitts, Nevis has its own semiautonomous governmental structure (Nevis Island Administration) that parallels the federal government and administers directly to Nevis. The extent of the semiautonomous nature of the islands’ administration is apparent in many avenues,including the way each island identifies and manages cultural resources and where intraisland initiatives are virtually nonexistent.This chapter first addresses the federal legislation for the islands, then examines each island as a distinct entity, and then considers the strategies being implemented to protect cultural sites. Federal Legislation The national legislation for cultural resource (often called cultural heritage) studies is primarily addressed in the National Conservation and Environmental Protection Act (NCEPA) of 1987 that states the importance of cultural sites on the islands and designates the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park and Wingfield Estate, both on St. Kitts, as important cultural sites. Any archaeological studies at these sites require government permission. The act 66 / Todd M. Ahlman and Kelley Scudder-Temple also requires that all researchers receive permission from the Ministry of Finance , Development, Planning, and National Security prior to removal of any artifacts from the Federation. The measure is meant to ensure that artifacts of the Federation’s cultural heritage are not permanently removed in the name of timeless research. Although the NCEPA does require that all environmental studies of proposed developments include a section on cultural heritage, there are no explicit standards or cultural resource regulations in the act that guide the government or developer on the subject of cultural resource investigations. Subsequent plans outlined in the National Environmental Action Plans of 1994 and National Environmental Management Strategy and Action of 2005–2009 call for the protection of cultural heritage. Principle 12 of the latter plan specifically calls for “appropriate measures, including legislation where necessary, to provide for the researching, documenting, protecting, conserving, rehabilitating and management of cultural, historic and natural monuments, buildings and symbols, as well as areas of outstanding scientific, cultural,spiritual,ecological,scenic or aesthetic significance” (Homer 2004). This principle also recommends that the federal government involve various ministries and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to create plans for the recording and management of historic, natural, and cultural heritage sites. Mechanisms are not well defined in the plan, but the onus is placed on the Ministry of Finance, Development, Planning, and National Security to work with the St.Christopher Heritage Society (SCHS) and Nevis Historical and Conservation Society (NHCS) to develop management plans. To date, plans have not been enacted by Parliament. In response to the devastation of Hurricane Georges, the Development Control and Planning Act No.14 of 2000 was passed.The act,and its amended versions,makes provisions for further establishing government control of the way in which future development is implemented on the island to lessen impacts from natural disasters. A direct result of this act is the requirement for an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) prior to any development of more than three structures. The study of cultural heritage sites is supposed to be included in each EIA, but no specific guidelines are available that address the way in which heritage studies are to be conducted. Due to increased economic dependency of St. Kitts and Nevis on tourism , unregulated development projects present a constant threat to the nation ’s cultural heritage.The administrations on each of the two islands have differing attitudes and policies toward heritage resources, as well as involvement of NGOs in the development and implementation of cultural resources management plans. St. Kitts and Nevis / 67 St. Kitts Over the past 35 years cultural resource studies on St.Kitts have been undertaken at the Brimstone...