Dominica: Nature Island of the Caribbean

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Dominica Nature Island of the Caribbean
Clayton Shillingford
President Dominican Academy of Arts and
Sciences On the Occasion of the Memorial
Breakfast for Jay D. Hair
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Brief History

• Before the arrival of Columbus the island was
  inhabited by the Caribs
• In 1492 Columbus sailed into the Caribbean while
  searching for India, hence the name West Indies
• One year later on Sunday, November 3rd he comes
  upon an island of rugged green mountains and
  natural beauty. The island is named Dominica from
  the Latin Domingo.
• The island was subsequently colonised by the
  French and the British
• In 1727 the first African slaves arrived
• Dominica attains Independence in 1978

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• DOMINICA
• Small volcanic island of 290 sq miles with the
  most intact forest cover in the Caribbean..65
  covered by natural vegetation
• Climate humid tropical ave. temperature 27 C and
  ave. rainfall 175 inches per year, central part
  up to 400 inches
• Government, a Parliamentary Democracy
• Population..71,242
• Language..English and French Creole

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In the wild grandeur of its towering mountains,
some of which rise to five thousand feet above
the level of the sea in the majesty of its
almost impenetrable forests, in the gorgeousness
of its vegetation, the abruptness of its
precipices, the calm of its lakes, the violence
of its torrents, the sublimity of its waterfalls,
DOMINICA stands without rival, not in the West
Indies only , but I should think throughout the
whole island catalogue of the Atlantic and
Pacific combined
W. Palgrave, 1876
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DOMINICAS BIODIVERSITY Dominica is signatory to
the UN Convention on Biological Diversity
(1994) Flora and fauna widely studied by
Dominican and Caribbean scientists and from Kew
Gardens, FAO, Smithsonian Institution (Bredin
Archbold- Smithsonian Survey of Dominica) Morne
Trois Piton National Park was declared a World
Heritage Site in 2000 by UNESCO
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AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE Agriculture is
Dominicas major economic activity..followed by
Eco-Tourism Once a leading producer of sugar
cane, vanilla, limes, grapefruits ..now bananas,
coconuts, avocado, coffee, ginger, peppers, root
crops, spices, pineapples, tropical fruits
(mangoes, papaya, passion fruit) and cut flowers
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AGRO- PRODUCTS Rum, pepper sauce, syrups,
juices, bay rum, Soap, oil and perfumes (Colgate
Palmolive
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OTHER FOREST BASED PRODUCTS Handicrafts
including baskets, mats, straw hats The Caribs
are producers of much of these traditional
handicrafts. Furniture and building materials
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