Union Island

Union Island has a health clinic, two primary schools and one secondary school. Few goods are produced locally, and the island relies on virtually everything being imported from mainland Saint Vincent and other islands, much of it via ferry. Light aircraft are served by the Union Island Airport, with frequent connections to Saint Vincent and other neighbouring islands.

Most residents are employed either by the state (schools, postal service, airport, etc.) or by the commercial and hospitality sectors (accommodation and excursion businesses, retail outlets, bars, restaurants, etc.). Fishing is still a major economic activity, with fish, conch and lobsters from Union Island sold to major hotels across the Grenadines. The tourism industry plays a majorand rising role in Union Island’s economy today. A large number of yachts visit the island each year, often on their way to the nearby Tobago Cays Marine Park. Total visitor arrivals numbered 160,000 in 2004, and that number has undoubtedly increased since.

Union Island supports a remarkably rich and diverse wildlife, considering its relatively small size and dry climate. The old forests in Chatham Bay are of outstanding interest for their flora (Box 1): according to Father Mark de Silva “The remains of Union forests show a remarkable species richness, certainly one of the best in the Grenadines, despite the small size of the island.” The island’s mangroves are the largest in the country. Union Island has 14 species of terrestrial reptiles (but no amphibians), important nesting beaches for hawksbill and leatherback turtles, and a rich diversity of birds, but there are no native mammals apart from bats.

The “old forest of Union” is characterized by well-developed secondary deciduous forest, which appears to be surprisingly healthy for such a dry island. In the most sheltered areas as between the trail in the area of Water Rock Reserve and the cliffs below the crest of Mount Taboi, the canopy reaches up to around 15 to 18 metres high and is constituted mainly of Turpentine Bursera simaruba, Mapoo Pisonia fragrans, Longhocarpus violaceus, Albizia caribaea, and Hog Plum Spondias mombin. Pisonia fragrans has to some extent replaced White Cedar Tabebuia heterophylla, which was largely wiped out for boat construction.

Under these is a stratum of smaller trees including Bourreria succulenta and Guettarda scabra. Smaller trees include Chionantus compactus, Maytenus laevigata, Genipa americana, Bunchosia glandulosa and mainly Ocotea cariacea. The presence of certain species suggests that the original climax forest was never completely cleared in the Water Rock Reserve area.