E
nvironment TOBAGO (ET) is a nongovernment, non-profit, volunteer organisation , not subsidized by any one group, corporation or government body. Founded in 1995, ET is a proactive, advocacy group that campaigns against negative environmental activities throughout Tobago. We achieve this through a variety of community an environmental outreach programmes. Environment TOBAGO is funded mainly through grants and membership fees. These funds go back into implementing our projects. We are grateful to all our sponsors over the years and thank them for their continued support
W
hat’s inside
Vanishing Species
1
What is Island Tameness?
2
Environmental degradation in T&T (pt 2)
3
The Tobago Environment and Services Map (2007-08)
4
A New Island Experience
5
Book Review
7
Activities @ ET
8
What’s happening @ ET
9
Notes to contributors
10
Volume I Issue2
June 2007
Vanishing Species Giancarlo Lalsingh, Environment TOABGO
Plant and animal species have been going extinct for millions of years and is a process that occurs naturally, without human influence. Today however, species are going extinct because of abrupt changes brought about by human actions. The rate of species vanishing from the earth is 50 to 500 times higher today than extinction rates in the fossil history. There are an estimated 5-10 million species in the world today with only 20% (1.9 million) having been described and named by man. Of this 1.9 million, over a quarter are globally threatened. The World Conservation Union or IUCN has a Redlist of species threatened with extinction. In 2004 this list consisted of 15,589 plants, animals, insects and fungi. In Trinidad and Tobago there have been no definitive studies on any of the species that we consider to be threatened or endangered. Species extinction seems to be most prevalent on islands such as ours. Seventy-five percent of all extinctions recorded since 1600 have been in these areas The Caribbean as a whole is classified as ‘hotspot’ for biodiversity due to the hundreds of endemic plants and animals found here that do not exist in any other part of the world. A number of our endemic species from our region have already gone extinct since colonization, before we ever had a chance to study them or their role in our environment. There are many gaps in our knowledge and understanding of species. Many species are poorly known and have small distributions. We know more about species on land than we do about those in our rivers the seas. We know more about mammals and birds than we do about insects and fungi. Only now are we beginning to understand more about the pressures that affect species and their habitats such as habitat fragmentation, which affects the free movement of animals. Why such a fuss about extinction? All species depend on each other to survive, so if one becomes extinct other species that rely on it will go extinct as well. Species are disappearing at an alarming rate with humans being the main cause. Habitat destruction is the leading cause and has already led to the destruction of 60% of the earth’s original forest cover. This loss continues today with the annual destruction of 14.6 million hectares of forest, the greatest of which is taking place in tropical countries such as ours. Invasive species are also a great cause for alarm. These are species not native to an area or country that were introduced by accident or on purpose. They can establish themselves and compete with native species and take over new environments and pose a serious threat to biodiversity. Invasive species like the pink mealy bug came to Trinidad and Tobago via Grenada in1994, threatening many plants and our agricultural crops. Non-native species, such as rats, mongoose, dogs, cats, pigs, sheep and cattle have lead to the extinction of many endemic species right here in the Caribbean and around the world. Overexploitation and over-harvesting of plant and animals species in greater numbers and at a faster rate than they can reproduce is driving many species to extinction. In Trinidad and Tobago overhunting may be responsible for the Pawi being critically endangered. Collection of song birds for the pet trade, have made birds such as the semp and chickichong locally extinct. Overfishing and fisheries by-catch is decimating our commercial fish populations and other marine animals such as dolphins, sea turtles and non-commercial species of marine life. Billions of unwanted marine organisms are caught every year by industrial fishing practices that are mining the seas. The dead or dying discarded back into the ocean. Pollution and contaminants can affect species by reducing fertility and increasing deaths. Pesticide spraying on our crops have increased 20 times in the last 50 years. Birds have accumulated pesti-
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June 2007 Editor: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Assist Editor: Christopher Starr Design & Layout: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Technical Support: Nolan Craigwell, Jerome Ramsoondar Nigel Austin Enid Nobbee Contributors: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Christopher Starr A.B. Hilton Clark Giancarlo Lalsingh Bertrand Bhikarry Photographs: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Trevor Orchard
Environment TOBAGO newsletter cides in their tissues to such an extent that it affected the hardening of their eggshells and therefore the development of their young. Pollution alone has caused the extinction of 164 freshwater species of fish. Pollution can also increase the in incidence of disease, which can cause populations to declines, death or reduction in reproductive success impacting the survival of a species. The worst may be yet to come. Humans are altering the climate of the earth through emissions of greenhouse gases, slowly warming the planet. By the end of this century, experts believe that global climate change, brought about by global warming, may alter one third of plant and animal habitats. It could therefore be the cause of massive extinctions of millions of land-based species this century. Why should we care? Biodiversity is all life on earth, the plants and animals, their genes and the ecosystems that they live in and influence. This biodiversity is of great value to us. Plants and animals are environmental indicators, telling us what is happening in our environment and how it can affect us as human beings. Biodiversity maintains valuable ecological services such as soil erosion, flood prevention, water treatment, fisheries protection and pollination. The need for conservation of our vanishing species is recognized worldwide. It is especially important on islands like Trinidad & Tobago where many plant and animal extinctions take place. Finding a balance between conservation of species while meeting our human needs is vital to ensuring the long-term sustainability of natural resources. The wise-use of species and ecosystems must be an integral part to planning in all parts of national life.
We need no longer speak of conservation for future generations as species are vanishing now!
What is Island Tameness? Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies
Board of Directors 2006-2007 President:: Patricia Turpin Vice-President: Kamau Akili Secretary: Fitzherbert Philips Treasurer: Shirley Mc Kenna Committee members: Tanya Clovis Greta Akili Shirley McKenna Allison Sardinah David Rooks Wendy Heron Gerald Kalloo Gervais Alkins Tramaine Charles Audrie Armstrong
Oceanic islands naturally lack large predators. This does not mean that large predators do not arrive to these islands. They do not pose a great threat to the animals already present as they will most likely arrive alone and, therefore have no partner with which to reproduce. Also, the habitat of the oceanic island may not be suitable. Both of these conditions mean that large predators will not be able to establish viable populations naturally on oceanic islands. A result of this lack of large predators is that some species are more docile when compared to their continental counterparts. This docile behaviour is termed “island tameness”. Human colonisation of islands is a major factor when it comes to introducing large predators into the ecosystem. These predators include game animals which are hunted for sport but, are usually domesticated animals like cats and dogs, for use as pets. Although domesticated, the docile nature of animals with “island tameness” makes them easy targets. Some large predators may also enter the island undetected as stowaways on ships. “Island tameness” displays the important role predation plays in an ecosystem by regulating the population of the animals lower down the food chain. Without this regulation their numbers would increase in turn require large supplies of food to survive. When humans are present large supplies of food are readily available in the form of crops. Therefore, these large numbers of animals will attack the crops, thus earning them the status of “pest” to humans. It should be noted that not all animals regarded as pests display or displayed “island tameness”. But, humans appear to be the most dangerous predators by far by introducing these large animals and hunting the docile species themselves. Therefore, human intervention can also be considered a factor resulting in the extinction of an entire species, sometimes endemics.
Volume I Issue2
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Environmental Degradation in Tobago (and Trinidad) – Part 2 A.B. Hilton Clarke The idea that nature – the forest streams, sea coasts, coral refs, fish and wild game belong to anybody in particular and thus can be claimed with impunity, is inherent in the psyche of the majority of the population. To be taught otherwise will take generations. Misguided and outdated works in our educational system seem to be continuously made not to expose the adolescent in our school either to the benefits of conservation or to the tenets of ethics and responsibility. It is still not widely known that a house is not necessarily a home and that religion is the matrix of the family, the community, the tribe and the nation. Seventy percent of the population is not capable of contemplating and perceiving the existence of life during their life time and they live accordingly, and opportunistic, reap and harvest, praedial larceny attitudes based on a sliding scale, self preservation personality. Unable to admit it, most of us know so little and know it so fluently that I am constantly amazed that so many of us step forward to attempt to alleviate the problems knowing that our present corrective measures, inherited from the colonial sand so effective during that era, are now totally outdated and useless. These cannot be applied to modern day adult delinquents who have never been inculcated with the trends of ethics, morality, public responsibility, conservation, social and cultural accountability and respect for those aged, who have earned it. At least these traits are not seen to be practiced. Because people are at the centre of the environmental degradation problem, it follows that a mentally and physically healthy population precludes a healthy environment. Parliament should therefore stop haggling and introduce laws to isolate all contagious patients, execute the letter of the law on death row, immediately legalize marijuana, institute red light districts and accept prostitution as a reality to help protect all concerned in spite of themselves. Let us be honest and admit openly that all aspects of criminal behaviour are getting worse and that existing attempts to solve them are totally ineffective and that all aspects of criminal behaviour persist. The time has come to declare a state of benign partial emergency on all related environmental matters for twenty (20) years to assess the damage already done. This can be achieved with the help on International Bodies and Governments. The only way the environment can object is when the destruction is almost irreversible. Erosion, floods, acid rain, global, white coral, oil spills, soil erosion, diseases, famine, result in food shortage and higher costs of living
and moral and social environmental degradation. This must prompt the immediate introduction of night courts, an effective bureau of standards, nation wide parking meters, small claims courts and a separate ministry of accountability where the assets of all public employers are declared. We mimic metropolitan countries with these penal laws without our moral and social delinquents maturing to the stage where these laws have been introduced to help them rehabilitate. They have been convinced that society does not owe them a good living and have to earn it. Therefore, our punishments must match the only solution the criminals think will curtail their actions. A state of partial emergency on criminal matters with no avenue for appeal, trial by a military court and if convicted immediate execution. It is obvious and long overdue that all government department departments should have their own psychological branches for annual psychotic personal evaluation. The public service, police, health, education primary and secondary, and a generative branch of the health services to address its increasing problem at present the inherent hagglers and egomaniacs among us, who out number the few educated, cannot even agree among themselves, not to continue to disagree and to admit that physical chemical, nutritional and moral degradation continues to increase and is resulting in escalating mental and physical birth defects, high infant mortality, shorter life expectancy, over crowded hospitals, increased poverty, unemployment and untold physiological and chronic psychotic problems that preclude the introduction of school departmental and industrial psychologists. Is it not time to bite the bullet and circumvent existing incompetent directors and contact foreign experts to do the jobs? We can pay the locals to sit and look on, to satisfy the unions so that at least the job will be done professionally, in less time and cost less in the long run. The country has become uncivilized people can only be controlled or governed by civilized laws of the most drastic nature. I agree that hanging in this day and age is uncivilized. Condemned criminals should be taken from the courts and shot. A separate environment ministry with a separate Environment Protective Corps Regiment, a special Environment Magistracy and courts supported by a separate environment TV station with conservation education on the school curriculum and the help and support from qualified foreign government officials for the first five to ten (5-10) years with help to curtail the indifference.
MISSION STATEMENT
E
nvironment TOBAGO
conserves Tobago’s natural and living resources and advances the knowledge and understanding of such resources, their wise and sustainable use and their essential relationship to human health and the quality of life
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Environment TOBAGO newsletter It is no surprise therefore, that the illusion or delusion exists that the environment does not appear to belong to anyone in particular and no one authority visibly assumes its responsibility. Very few step forward to identify themselves with its protection and thus everyone assumes the environment is fair game to be used and/or abused at will, knowing that those concerned will be swamped by the lethargy and the self destructive suicidal inheritance of our inherently immature protective services, legal bottlenecks inherent penchant for paperwork and rewards for unaccountability.
The Tobago Environment and Services Map (2007-08) Bertrand Bhikarry, Environment TOABGO
“Some even like to know a bit of its history, biodiversity and current societal structure.”
Environment TOBAGO has embarked upon a publication program to raise funds for its administration expenses, as our projects attending to core environmental issues escalate in this island. One of our first major efforts hit the streets at the end of May this year. It was the first locally produced Sites and Services Tobago map, funded mainly by advertisers and friends of the environmental movement. It was thought that the map would cater mainly to the tourism sector in Tobago, as the travel industry caters to approximately 3000 people every 14 days. Each of those individuals usually seeks information in some way, part which a detailed map can showcase. However the map was eventually embraced as a medium by corporate bodies from the industrial sister isle, who felt the need to show their solidarity with sustainable development practices. Historically it is shown that visitors to a locale needs the directions to places of interest, places to rent a car, dine, play, sleep, and to do business. Some even like to know a bit of its history, biodiversity and current societal structure. Publications which offer this type of information are seen worldwide. It is not a new idea. Indeed, it is a staple product, a society showcasing what is available in terms of bona fide services. It can also function as a guide what the region has to offer visually. Circulation would be effected by three means: • The First method allows the advertiser to personally deliver copies to whomever they can access - As each advertiser gets a number of maps immediately after closing the finance package. This means car rentals; hotels, restaurants and tourism sport services (like horseback riding stables) can distribute maps. • The Second Method allows for distribution nationally in selected venues, such as Tourism Information booths, libraries, Internet cafes, ports, airports, groceries and any places perceived having heavy human traffic. • The Third Method of circulating maps would be targeting main distribution points at the International Level, where the various Tourism Trade delegations attending the varied Road shows will hand out the maps as part of the marketing media. The map itself is being produced as a totally local enterprise. The design and layout are the efforts of graphic artists and designers with several years outputting to various media. The printing is being handled by one of the largest printer companies in Trinidad. Here is an overview of the proposed publication: The Overall Dimension: 25”H X 38”W Paper Type: Recycled 90 Gram Non_Gloss Double Sided Print with detailed road maps on one side and a full color graphic map on the other side showing ‘where to go, what to do’, and integrating as many aspects of our islands unique biodiversity, geography, and history as can be useful. The Graphic Map will be an image approximately W32” X H19” surrounded by aesthetically positioned advertisements which expands the layout to the Overall Dimension (25”x38”) The publication will feature a scale legend, compass rose, listings of advertisers in a grid reference, essential service numbers, flagged reference to key locations e.g. ATM’s, Police stations, Health Centers, historical sites, cultural and sport centers. The Road map was scaled 1:45,000. Several aspects of the existing map have been reworked to show updates in major roads and developments.
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The Road Map is printed in two parts in an effort to facilitate the user through greater magnification and included content. The first part truncates the island from Scarborough to reveal all points south. The other shows all points north to Charlotteville including the islets. The front of the map carries the logo of our NGO Environment Tobago superimposed on the Rainbow waterfall at the Lure estate. Maps are available for free at any of the advertiser/sponsor locations, and may be bought for just $6 at the newspaper kiosks both in Crown Point and at the Piarco airport. The Tobago Nature Sites and Services Map will be updated and repeated every 2 year under similar themes. Contact Information for the Principal Publisher: Essentially Tobago Limited The Stables, Orange Hill Tobago Tel: 639 4008 Email: tobago@pobox.com
Mailing Address Essentially Tobago Limited PO Box 1091 Canaan. Bon Accord Tobago
A New Island Experience Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies During January and February of this year I was allowed the opportunity to further expand the knowledge of arachnids in the Lesser Antilles by conducting a spider survey of the island of St. Kitts. St Kitts is actually the shortened version of St. Christopher the former patron saint of travel. St. Kitts and its sister isle Nevis are located in the northern Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean (17o20’N 62o45’W), separated by a 3 km wide channel called The Narrows. St. Kitts has an area of 168 km2. The island can be described as being shaped as a baseball bat. It is 37 km long and is 8 km across at its widest part. St. Kitts is quite unique in that it was the first ever British colony in 1624, and then French when both nations decided to partition the island a year later. Very early during my trip I visited a dry river bed at Bloody Point. Here I saw Amerindian rock carvings called petroglyphs located approximately 1 m from the floor of the river bed. This distance would be the depth when the river fills up during the wet season. Bats are regarded by the Amerindians as their reincarnated ancestors. Since bats frequent the river as one of the sources of freshwater on the island it was deemed sacred. This is the supposed reason that explains the presence of the petroglyphs. Another first on this trip was my first hash soon after my arrival on the island. A hash is an event put on by the Hash House Harriers, which declare themselves to be the world’s most eccentric running club. It first started in 1938 in the United Kingdom and now boasts over 1,700 groups in every major city in the world. Basically you can either run or walk a trail which is set by other runners (called hares). At the end of the hash there are prizes, food and beer. This hash was in honour of Valentine’s Day so the hashers, their children and even the pet dogs wore red. Some of the guys wore dresses and lingerie (tastefully I must say) all in the name of humour. All in all it was good fun and a great experience. Unlike Anguilla which I visited last year, St. Kitts is quite hilly so many of its breathtaking landscapes can be found or viewed at very high altitudes which is a result of its volcanic history. One such sight is Dos Danes Pond which when translated literally means “donkey’s back” in French, which I assume comes from its curved bank. To get there one follows the “Old Military Trail” used by the British to get from one end of the island to the other without trespassing on the French sides. The pond has a maximum diameter of approximately 100 m and almost a metre in depth. It is actually a crater that was filled in with debris after it erupted. The water from the pond is the source of a small waterfall which flows depending on the amount of wind present. The water although from the rain is not safe to drink because of its high iron content, indicative from the large orange patches in the surrounding rock. Another volcanic phenomenon is Brimstone Hill which is actually a volcanic plug, that is, when larva hardens in the vent of an active volcano. Therefore, there is still the chance that it will
View of one of the ruins of the fortress at Brimstone Hill, a World Heritage Site Photo: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal
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Southeast Peninsula - the vegetation is reminiscent of Chacachacare Photo: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal
View of Dos Danes Pond which is 3,200 ft above sea level Photo: Trevor Orchard
Environment TOBAGO newsletter erupt. However, on this plug sits the Brimstone Hill Fortress which was set up after 1690 when the British mounted cannons in an effort to recapture Fort Charles located on the coast below from the French. This fortress could be regarded as a mini city complete with a hospital. In 1852, the fortress was abandoned after the British reassigned its troops. In 1965 the Brimstone Hill Fortress Society was founded to restore and maintain the fortress. I was fortunate during my visit to one of the 17 salt ponds on the island. Some of these ponds are used for salt production and aquaculture. Unfortunately the importance of this ecosystem is not recognised especially its role in collecting and filtering rainwater which could cause severe damage to other ecosystems like coral reefs and seagrass. Another ecosystem on the island are caves on the island however, they do not form extensive networks as in nearby Anguilla or Trinidad. One cave that I did visit is man made and called Lawyer Stevens Cave located at Buckleys Mountain. It is located about 366 m above sea level and approximately 6 km from the capital city – Basseterre. This location proved very convenient for Lawyer Stevens, the brother of a plantation owner. He mainly represented the liberated slaves. To appear unbiased he chose to live the life of a hermit. Therefore, he resided in this cave which is complete with a vent used as a chimney and ride into the capital when he had to appear in court. Sugar cane is very prolific on the island and as a result the island does not possess a wide variety of habitats. However, sugar cane production has ceased on the island for about 1½ years and the old train tracks used to transport sugar cane to the factory was converted to carry tourists on a tour around part of the island. It was found that going around the entire island was too long so the tourists are taken around the remaining part by buses. During my visit I was fortunate to visit the ministry of Agriculture to search for spiders in their fields. I took the opportunity to convey that spiders are farmers’ friends in that they were quite abundant in the greenhouse which was only possible if insects and possible pests were present. Other pests found on the island were much larger and included feral goats and donkeys which regarded in the same manner on the sister isle of Nevis. So it comes as no surprise that “goat water” or goat stew is a national favourite. Some introduced species such as the African Green Monkey or Vervet (Cercopithecus aethiops) and mongooses have caused havoc in that they have caused the extinction of species of parrots, ground birds, iguanas, snakes and Mountain Chicken (Leptodactylus fallax) which is a large edible toad. Endemic species like the St. Kitts Bullfinch (Loxigilla portoricensis) which is actually a race of the Puerto Rican Bullfinch is noticeably larger in the size of its body and bill also became extinct due to the monkeys which would raid their nests and eat the eggs. Hurricanes may also have played a part in the extinction of this bird. Being an oceanic island, it would come as no surprise that endemic species would be present. This included the Bridled Quail Dove (Geotrygon mystacea) is known to be endemic to St. Kitts and unique to the Eastern Caribbean. It prefers the rainforest and woodland habitats. Standing at about 30 cm in height, it has a dusky olive-brown body with an iridescent head and some white or a whitish stripe below the eyes. During my visit I was facilitated in part by the local NGO is the St. Christopher Heritage Society (SCHS). Established in 1989, its duties include protecting and promoting the flora and fauna of the island as well as traditions, customs, folklore, performing arts and historic sites which encompass their heritage and culture. They also allowed me to guest on their segment “**”with the local morning radio show “Breakfast with Toni”. Another great island that I would recommend anybody to visit. Acknowledgements This project was made possible through partial funding from the Vincent Roth Award from the American Arachnological Society. I would like to thank The Orchards for hosting me. Thanks goes out to the Ministry of Environment (St. Kitts) for all of their assistance and the SCHS and Brimstone Hill Fortress Society for the use of their offices during my stay. Thanks also to Christopher Starr for his advice and encouragement. Many thanks to Greg Pereira for transport and assistance for this trip together with Kate Orchard and Percival Hanley for providing information for this article. During my stay here I have made many friends, (and I don’t just mean spiders), who I would like to thank for their hospitality and facilitation and help with spider hunting and transport;, Mr. Maurice Widdowson (Caribelle Batik), Toni Frederick (WINN FM), Amber Greening, Diedre Stubbs-
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Book Review: WORLDS OF THE CARIBBEAN Mary E. Gillham 1966. A Naturalist in New Zealand. London: Museum Press 285 pp. [Eighth in a series on "naturalist-in" books.] Christopher K. Starr Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies The term "desert island", which sounds so romantically remote to our age, has a double meaning. In the primary sense, the island is uninhabited, deserted, devoid of humanity except by occasional accident, and by implication economically valueless. And, because very arid places tend not to support durable settlements, islands with a desert habitat are more likely to be deserted. If you have spent much time in airplanes over the Caribbean, you have certainly seen plenty of desert islands and must have wondered at least in passing what it is like to wander in them. This book is drawn from the author's experience yachting about the West Indies and some mainland areas during six winters. The islands he visited were out of the way, many of them virtually unknown, and some uninhabited or almost so. A few of these islands could have served as the setting of Robinson Crusoe or Cast Away, terribly magical places as long as one has a boat and can leave at any time. About two-thirds of the book is devoted to Swan Island (area about 2.7 km2) and the associated Little Swan Island (about 0.9 km2), coral islands at 17E25N 83E56W, about 160 km off the coast of Honduras. The descriptions of the vegetation and bird life of Swan Island form the book's main original contribution. Others that receive notable attention are the Barbados-shaped Blanquivilla Island (about 38 km2) at 12E52N 64E36W on the route between Trinidad and Cuba, and the Hermanos Islands, seven uninhabited islets set apart from anything else on the edge of the continental shelf not far from Blanquivilla. Much attention is given to the nesting and feeding habits of birds, as well as to vegetation and the fauna of coral reefs, with lesser treatment of such things as hermit crabs, sea turtles and the impact of introduced rodents. I regret that the book is also cluttered with adventitious chapters on fishing. One indication of how far our knowledge has advanced in the last century is Lowe's treatment of sea turtles. At that time, they were well known as game animals -- very popular in soup, and many things were made from their shells -- but hardly at all as wildlife. He remarks that "it is surprising how very ignorant we are still of the ways and habits of these well-known reptiles." In those days one saw the babies scramble down the beach to the sea, and one saw the females come onto shore to lay their eggs, but in between they were all but lost from view except for occasional observations from boats. We are still far from intimate with these turtles during the bulk of their sea-going lives, but at least we now know how long they can live, where they go, how deep they dive, and what they eat. Although it is not explicitly stated, the islands treated here seem to be mostly oceanic, without a prior above-water connection with the continent. This is certainly true to Swan and Little Swan Islands, which are separated from the mainland by very deep waters. It is appropriate, then, that Lowe shows a special interest in which plants and animals are present on various islands and how they may have come to be there, as well as in the question of ecological succession. As he notes, "Very often an island may be almost as interesting for what it does not contain as for what it does." For example, a search of Swan island showed 10 species of birds that appear to breed there, as well as many migrants. Most notably, Swan Island has no hummingbirds, the only known caribbean island that is more than just rock from which these birds are absent (so he says; I have not confirmed it). A notable feature of the book is Lowe's interpretation of his observations in the light of the theory of evolution by natural selection. This is a given in today's natural history, but in the early 20th century it was by no means self-evident that this was the best view. Although virtually all naturalists of the time accepted evolution as a fact of nature, natural selection -- the heart of the Darwin-Wallace theory -- was in wide disrepute. It is important to bear this sort of historical factor in mind when reading some of the older literature, as authors may make statements that seem quite absurd from our present view. Fortunately for the modern reader's ease, A Naturalist on Desert Islands contains no such apparent absurdities.
“ Although virtually all naturalists of the time accepted evolution as a fact of nature, natural selection -- the heart of the Darwin-Wallace theory -- was in wide disrepute. �
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Environment TOBAGO newsletter
ACTIVITIES @ ET •
EMA Education and Awareness Programme ET recently took part in the Environmental Management Authority’s education and awareness programme which sought to educate schools and communities about Trinidad & Tobago’s “Vanishing Species”. We provided information with regards to the various species in Tobago which are threatened, endangered or even gone extinct. The exhibition took place at the Tobago Hilton, the Charlotteville Branch library, the Gulf City Lowlands mall and Crown Point International Airport..
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Easter Eco-Camp 2007 (Theme: Vanishing Species) Our annual Easter Eco-Camp which took place from April 02nd-05th 2007 was a tremendous success. Twenty-five school children decided to use their two-week vacation to learn more about the environment and the various species that were either threatened or endangered. Participating schools included:
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Goodwood Methodist Glamorgan SDA Belle Garden AC
Camp activities included:
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Arts and Craft Story telling Role-playing Pottery Films Field trip to the Buccoo Reef
Tobago Science Week ET also took part n Tobago Science Week which was hosted by Niherst from the 14th20th May 2007.
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Tobago Coral Reef Mapping Ecosystems Project Coral Cay, a UK based NGO devoted to coral reef conservation has partnered with the Buccoo Reef Trust and the THA to conduct the Tobago Coral Reef Mapping Ecosystems project. The project will take place over the next 2-3 years. The project relies mainly on international volunteers in order to collect the data. Giancarlo Lalsingh, ET’s Project Coordinator, will undertake the training in an effort to spread the skills locally.
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Participation in the Certificate of Environmental Clearance Process The Council of Prseidents of the Environment (COPE) will be hosting the above programme scheduled to begin in June 2007. Three members of ET (to be delegated) will be participating in the above training programme. The objective of the training course is to develop a greater capability of the participants to make informed inputs into the Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) Process as well as to comment meaningfully on other environmental issues.
Volume I Issue2 • •
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Tobago Waste water Disposal System Improvement Programme Charlotteville has been chosen as the community where the pilot project will take place. This project survey is being carried out by Environment Tobago with the support of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Several studies of coastal areas in Tobago have indicated a growing problem of sewage pollution. Sewage pollution carries negative impacts to human health, tourism and coastal fisheries. The development of sustainable solutions for reducing sewage pollution in coastal communities is necessary and requires that information be collected from households regarding their sewage disposal. This information will be used towards designing suitable sewage disposal systems for the Charlotteville area.
Thanks from ET We would like to acknowledge the following for their sponsorship and contribution to ET and sincerely express our gratitude:
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Ace Printery Fed-Traders Ltd. for their generous sponsorship of stationery items. BP Trinidad and Tobago LLC for their generous contribution to purchase copies of environmental reference books for distribution in schools across Tobago.
Thanks to all our sponsors who contributed to our T-shirt project::
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Blue Waters Inn Tobago Medical Lab Healthfoods Specialists Ltd. BP Trinidad and Tobago LLC BHP Billiton Trinidad and Tobago Hilton Tobago Golf and Spa Resort
WHAT’S HAPPENING @ ET Volunteers needed! Persons who are interested in helping with cataloguing and filing of ET’s educational, research and operational material and archiving.
Environment TOBAGO t-shirts now available!!! Contact office for details of sizes, colours and prices.
New Members
With a membership of 349 worldwide, ET welcomes the following members: Sarah Ashraph Omari Moses Priya Ramsumair Cindy & Fred Schumann
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What’s new @ ET for 2007! New-Clean School Programme Environmental Photo Contest Summer Eco-camp Charity sale of environmental photographs (via internet) – for our 10th anniversary
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Office:
Mailing address:
Environment TOBAGO newsletter
11 Cuyler Street Scarborough, Tobago, W.I. P.O. Box 503, Scarborough, Tobago, W.I.
Phone: 1-868-660-7462 Fax: 1-868-660-7467 E-mail: envirtob@tstt.net.tt
G UI DE LI N E S TO CON TRI B UTORS Articles on the natural history and environment are welcome especially those on Trinidad and Tobago. Articles should not exceed approximately 1200 words (2 pages) and the editors reserve the right to edit the length. Images should be submitted as separate files. Submit material to any of the following: 1) jo_annesewlal@yahoo.com 2) envirtob@tstt.net.tt Deadline for submission of material for the 3rd Quarter 2007 issue of the Bulletin is September 30th , 2007.
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