Geography of Saint Lucia

thumb|300px |Map of Saint Lucia

thumb|300px|Enlargeable, detailed map of Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is one of many small land masses composing the insular group known as the Windward Islands. Unlike large limestone areas such as Florida, Cuba, and the Yucatan Peninsula, or the Bahamas, which is a small island group composed of coral and sand, Saint Lucia is a typical Windward Island formation of volcanic rock that came into existence long after much of the region had already been formed.

| date = November 2018

| source =

Terrain

Volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys.

Extreme points

Northernmost point: Pointe du Cap, Gros Islet Quarter,
Southernmost point: Ministre Point, Vieux Fort Quarter,
Westernmost point: Grande Caille Point, Soufrière Quarter,
Easternmost point: Louvet Point, Gros Islet Quarter,

lowest point: Caribbean Sea Sea level
highest point: Mount Gimie elevation: ,

Natural resources

Saint Lucia has forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, and a geothermal potential.

!Type

!Percent

!Area

|Total Agricultural Land||style="text-align:right|17.4||

| - arable land||style="text-align:right|4.9||

| - permanent crops||style="text-align:right|11.5||

| - permanent pasture||style="text-align:right|1.0||

| - irrigated land||style="text-align:right|2|| (2012 est.)

|Forests and woodland||style="text-align:right|77.0||

|Other||style="text-align:right|5.6||

Forest reserves and botanical gardens in Saint Lucia:

thumb|Diamond Falls at Diamond Botanical Gardens

Castries Waterworks Forest Reserve,

Dennery Waterworks Forest Reserve,
Edmond Forest Nature Reserve,
Frigate Island Nature Reserve,
Grand Bois Forest Reserve
Maria Island Nature Reserve,
Quilesse Forest Reserve,
Savannes Bay Nature Reserve,
St. Lucia Botanical Gardens (also known as Diamond Botanical Gardens, part of the Soufrière Estate)

Islands

The island of the island nation of Saint Lucia include the following:

Burgot Rocks,
Dennery Island,
Des Bateaux Island,
Fourreur Island,
Fous Island,
Frigate Island,
L'Islet a Ramier,
Laplins Island,
Liverpool Rocks,
Maria Islands,
Pigeon Island,
Praslin Island,
Rat Island,
Rouche Island (also called Barrel O'Beef),
Scorpion Island,

Districts

thumb|right|Districts of Saint Lucia and the forest reserve

The island of Saint Lucia is divided into 10 Districts and the Forest Reserve:

Anse la Raye, Leeward Caribbean Sea
Canaries, Leeward Caribbean Sea
Castries, Leeward Caribbean Sea
Choiseul, Leeward Caribbean Sea
Dennery, Windward Atlantic Ocean
Grand Bois Forest Reserve, Internal (entrance at )
Gros Islet, Leeward Caribbean Sea, Windward Atlantic Ocean
Laborie, Leeward Caribbean Sea
Micoud, Windward Atlantic Ocean
Soufrière, Leeward Caribbean Sea
Vieux Fort, Windward Atlantic Ocean, Leeward Caribbean Sea

Natural hazards

The island country of Saint Lucia is affected by hurricanes and volcanic activity. The island was severely affected by Hurricane Allen in 1980 and Hurricane Tomas in 2010, causing agricultural damage and a drop in visitor arrivals, but Saint Lucia has generally had fewer hurricanes than many other Caribbean islands, due to its southerly location. Hurricanes and volcanoes would both damage the coral.

Environment

thumb|[[Sulphur Springs, Saint Lucia|Sulphur Springs, ]]

Current issues include deforestation and soil erosion, particularly in the northern region.

Saint Lucia is party to the following treaties and conventions:

Ballast Water Management Convention
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Convention on Biological Diversity
Endangered Species
Environmental Modification Convention
International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
International Plant Protection Convention
London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer

REDD+ reference levels and monitoring

Under the UNFCCC REDD+ framework, Saint Lucia has submitted two national forest reference level (FRL) packages. On the UNFCCC REDD+ Web Platform, the country's 2021 package is listed as having an assessed reference level, while its 2023 package is listed as under technical assessment; for both packages, a national strategy, safeguards and a national forest monitoring system are listed as "not reported".

The first assessed FRL, submitted in 2021 and technically assessed in 2022, covered four REDD+ activities at national scale: reducing emissions from deforestation, reducing emissions from forest degradation, conservation of forest carbon stocks, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. Using a 2001-2013 reference period, the original submission proposed 24,200 t CO2 eq per year, but the assessed FRL was revised to -121,333 t CO2 eq per year; the technical assessment states that it included CO2, CH4 and N2O and covered above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, dead organic matter and soil organic carbon.

A second national FRL/FREL submission, made in 2023 and listed on the platform as under technical assessment, again covered four of the five REDD+ activities, excluding sustainable management of forests. According to the submission, it used a 2016-2020 reference period and proposed a benchmark of -251,126 t CO2 eq per year for 2021-2025.