ABSTRACT
The process of expansion of the borders of the capitalist world-system informs this chapter's reflections on the socio-economic changes that are occurring along the coast of the continental western Caribbean. Historic changes have occurred in land use in this zone, generating problems that are also being experienced in varying degree in other areas of the Caribbean. Appropriate policy changes need to be made by the governments of the region to ensure the preservation of the region's fragile ecological environments. The chapter analyzes these changes from a socio-environmental perspective. It offers a historical perspective that begins with the traditional models of coastal settlement and exploitation and ends with the model being employed today in the 1990s, one characterized by the dominance of tourism complemented by offshore fishing. The chapter explains a proposal for sustainable development of tourism, taking into consideration current conditions in the zone.
