Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park

Established in 1958 and reckoned by many conservation historians the first fully protected land and sea park in the world, the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park has since 1986 banned any extraction of natural resources — fishing, shell or coral collecting — across the whole of its territory, a model of complete protection that served as a reference for the design of later marine parks around the world. Reachable only by private boat, with no tourist accommodation within its boundaries, it protects one of the last healthy populations of the Northern Bahamian rock iguana, endemic and listed as endangered.