shwater 
  
  
  
  
  
  
PLATE 1 (Black and white reproduction of colour photograph) 
Low altitude, oblique aerial photography of a section of 
the western coast of Barbados, showing the area in which a 
piece of fringing reef was bulldozed. Note the rock 
deflectors (L shaped ) and the development of a beach on 
the right of the photograph. 
  
  
  
  
This is exemplified by a critical examination of Maps 4 and 5 and Table 1l. An 
area of approximately 140 hectares of land adjacent to the coastal zone is 
examined. In 1951 the dominant controlling factor on the use of land was 
agriculture. This explains why 96.7 hectares (69 per cent of the total area) 
was devoted to sugar cane. By 1972 the emphasis had shifted from agriculture 
to tourism. The growth of tourism was particularly rapid during the period of 
th 1960's and the early 1970's. In 1972, buildings, most of which were hotels 
or residences, recreational and premature subdivided land, accounted for 119.5 
hectares or (85 per cent) of the total study area. Knowledge of the type and 
magnitude of land use change is of great value to the physical planner, the 
coastal decision maker and the environmental scientist. 
  
  
  
LAND USE CHANGE IN AREA ADJACENT TO COASTAL ZONE 
BARBADOS (1951-1972) 
  
  
  
  
  
  
1951 1972 
Area(Ha) Percentage Area(Ha) Percentage 
BUILDINGS 5.7 4 73.9 53 
WOODLAND(Vegetation) 18.9 13 18.7 13 
SOUR GRASS (unprod.) 12.1 9 - - 
SUGAR CANE 96.7 69 - - 
WETLAND 4,8 3 - = 
CEMETERY 2.4 2 2.4 2 
| growth RECREATIONAL ue - 27.3 19 
PREMATURE SUBDIVISION - - 18.3 13 
TOTAL 146.6 100 140.6 100 
TABLE 1 
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643