Infrastructure and Land Use

Flying out of Denis the other week I was able to take a few aerial photos of the island as we banked away – whilst not the best due to the slightly fogged windows of the plane they are however sufficient to give an impression of the layout of infrastructure on the island. It is therefore opportune to give readers an overview of the island’s Land Use Plan (LUP).

The Environmental Management Plan for Denis (2008-2012) is based upon LUP which sets out five categories of land usage listed and set out in the photo graphics below:

Zone A: Primary Production Area: designated for intensive human activity, infrastructure placement and production landscapes.

Zone B: Secondary Production Area: designated primarily for production landscapes and low-density tourism/residential infrastructure.

Zone C: Conservation Management Area: designated primarily for management to attain conservation/biodiversity objectives.

Zone D: Ecosystem Restoration Area: area designated for restoration to island’s natural state. All other activities are subordinated to that end.

Coastal Zone: Land within 25m of high water mark – designated for management to optimise natural vegetation cover, structure and function for specific defined ends depending on locality – no permanent infrastructure.

The graphics below show the land zonations and also the main areas of infrastructure of human activity (simply click on the photos below to enlarge). The photos in the sidebar can be used to better interpret the second graphic below.

The LUP is the foundation upon which other aspects of the EMP (such as Biodiversity plan and ecotourism plan) are logically built.

Key:

Yellow: Staff accommodation & related infrastructure.

Blue: Workshops, generator house & fuel storage.

Pink: Livestock areas.

Dark Green: Vegetatble and fruit production.

Light Green: Hotel complex and guest villas.

Brown: Incinerator and solid waste sorting area.