Environment TO BAGO new slett er
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n vi r on m e n t 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 and 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
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hat’s inside
ET’s achievements
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Ecology Notes
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Articles
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Book Review
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What’s Happening @ ET
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Notes to contributors
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Volume 6 Issue 3
September 2011
President’s Report Patricia Turpin Environment Tobago President Looking back at my words to the membership in 2010, I wish I could voice the same optimism shown at that time. Despite having submitted to the Minister of the Environment at his request, lists of areas and environmental issues that needed immediate attention- we have found that the mismanagement of our natural resources is continuing to have disastrous effects on our ecosystems and the health of the residents of and visitors to Tobago. This situation is requiring the doubling of efforts in education for conservation by members of this organisation. The enforcement of our laws is barely existent with interference in the due process becoming the norm. ET has increased it’s presence via Facebook, articles in the newspaper, television, radio programs and our website, for the purpose of raising awareness of the issues affecting the environment. Through these avenues, we are beginning to see an enlightened movement towards questioning old habits in our youth. This is promising for our future in conservation. ET’s Facebook page has 439 members and the website has between 25-60 visitors at any given time. Internally, at ET, the administrative and project grants we had negotiated have finally arrived- one year later than expected. This, due to new global reporting requirements, for corporate and philanthropic donations. A one year contract with the Rockefeller Foundation and a three year contract with Bhp Billiton. This will take care of financing our programs for the immediate future. Financial report and discussions I will leave in the able hands of our Treasurer. Since January 2011, the day to day administration of the organisation has been overseen by the executive of the board of Directors and supported by the Administrative Officer-currently Ms. Juliana Antoine. Activities in the environmental education and research area were supported by volunteers- Cory Le Qui and Dr. Adana Mahase, after the deparNarine of Bhp Billiton presents ture of Zoe Mason-Alkins Education Co- Sheldon cheque and contract to ET President ordinator in January. The new funding will al- Pat Turpin low the hiring of an Education/ Project Officer and other necessary staff, as deemed necessary for running ET programs. Future Green Fund projects will also necessitate further staffing and perhaps more space.
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September 2011 Editor: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Assistant Editor: Christopher K. Starr Design & Layout: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Technical Support: Jerome Ramsoondar Enid Nobbee Contributors: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Christopher K. Starr Bertrand Bhikkary Steven Solomon John C. Murphy Environment TOBAGO Photographs: Environment TOBAGO
Board of Directors 2010-2012 President:: Patricia Turpin Vice-President: Bertrand Bhikkary Secretary: Wendy Austin Treasurer: Shirley Mc Kenna Committee members: Kamau Akili William Trim Fitzherbert Phillips Geoffrey Lewis Rupert McKenna Claudette Allard David Antoine Gervais Alkins Darren Henry Zoë Charlotte Mason
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The Membership and Volunteer Programs are currently overseen by our Administrative Officer. Our active membership stands at 299 with 130 inactive (current contacts unknown). Members regularly receive updates and newsletters on a quarterly basis. Weekly, articles are submitted to our column in the Tobago news by membersJo-Anne Sewlal, Darren Henry and Bertrand Bhikarry. Our membership, make varied requests for participation at exhibitions, beach and wetland cleanups and any project that they can help with. Under this program – the complaints Log is overseen and appropriate actions taken. The volunteer/ intern program will be reactivated in December with the arrival of two professionals from the US, joining us for marine turtle conservation and research. The Education program since January, has consisted of “in school” lectures on request regarding rain forests, wetlands and biodiversity. The MIMC (My Island My Community) conservation television program for communities of which ET is a partner- begins soon in Tobago- already showing in other small islands presently. Environmental clubs for primary schools. Exhibitions participated in by ET staff and members – World Tourism, Food, Wetlands, Water, Health and Environment days- the theme this year-“Water and Forests for life”. Presentations were made to the President and staff of the IADB on the effects of Climate changes on the marine environment. Within the research and monitoring program area- In partnership with the Coral Cay Conservation –UK NGO- The (GPS) mapping of coral reefs of most of the coast of Tobago was completed. A large database is now available, of the fishes, corals, coral reef biodiversity, diseases affecting corals, areas experiencing the effects of runoff and anthropogenic pollution. This is a very valuable resource and we are presently evaluating the contents and deciding what applications it can be used for. For the coming year- the education program will likely focus on: a) “ in school” lectures b) Water related Easter and summer eco camps c) A program for early childhood environmental education d) Keep a clean, green school program and e) the production of a photo book on the wetlands of Tobago. Other ET projects not connected to the education program are as follows: a)Garifuna- Hydroflo alternative energy project for the Green Fund b) Project Pacemaker – aerator for cleaning the polluted Bon Accord Lagoon- Green Fund/ other funders c)Tobago wetlands assessment-research-Green Fund d) Climate change adaptation and mitigation education program in partnership with Caribsave- for communities. Environment Tobago is represented and is a member of COPE- The Council of Presidents of the Environment CCA- Caribbean Conservation Association GWP- The Global Water Partnership The GEF (Global Environmental Facility) NGO Network Environment Tobago members serve on the following cabinet appointed committees: Reforestation Committee Civil Society for SIDS- small island developing states Forests and Protected Areas Technical Advisory committee for MEA’s- Multilateral environmental agreements-
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Kyoto, Ramsar etc. IWRC- Watershed Committee In closing, I would like to thank all of our members and volunteers, as well as the Board of Directors of ET for their dedication to conservation and spreading the word throughout the island. In this environment, where issues affecting the natural assets of our island are always the last issues to be dealt with and require stamina in the face of opposition, I thank you all. May we move forward with understanding and resilience.
Summary of Audited Financial Statements for the year 2010 Presented by Shirley McKenna Treasurer, Environment TOBAGO There have been a number of administrative changes over the last year. The most significant however was the resignation of both the Education Coordinator and the Administrative Assistant. During this hiatus the secretariat was manned and supported by our directors Mr. Bertrand Bhikarry, Mrs. Shirley McKenna, Mrs. Patricia Turpin and Mrs. Wendy Austin. I cannot emphasize enough the need for volunteers in order to enable us to continue our work as “Guardian of the Environment” in Tobago. The Administrative office is now staffed by a new recruit through the “On the Job Training” (OJT) programme in the person of Ms. Julianna Antoine This year our organization suffered tremendously from severe financial constraints brought about by the lack of funding both grant and special projects. The impact has been so harsh that we had no alternative but to try to access temporary funding from our Bankers with whom we have had a relationship for more than ten years. Sad to say they declined our request for a letter of comfort/overdraft protection for six months. I was mortified and penned a letter to Ms. Piggott informing her of this. It is my recommendation to the Board of Directors (BOD) that they move with despatch to change the financial Institution. As Treasurer I discussed the funding situation with the Republic Bank who is more sympathetic to organizations such as ours. The lack of financial resources resulted in our inability to deliver 100% on our development and
Directors Bertrand Bhikarry and Geoffrey Lewis receiving Kudos for services rendered to ET from Treasurer Shirley McKenna
ET directors Geoffrey Lewis and Bertrand Bhikkary
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recurrent strategic objectives. These challenges coupled with the turbulent situation of operating in a global marketplace have highlighted the need to increase the institutional capacity of the secretariat. This capacity building is fourfold • the use of volunteers and • The sourcing, selection and recruitment of competent CEO. • Seek funding from other sources other than our usual benefactors • Aggressively push project proposals (b above having the competence to do so) The annual audit report/Funding Last year (2010) has been our worse year yet. There has been virtually zero project funding as such income from ordinary activities for the year 2010 amounted to $48,002 as compared to the same period in 2009 which shows inflows of $609,000, $430,00 being inflows from projects. Our actual expenditure with respect to the secretariat remained virtually the same at $181,660. Project expenditure for 2010 as compared with 2009 was virtually nonexistent. Our sincere thanks go out to directors Geoffrey Lewis and Bertrand Bhikarry who heeded the organization call for assistance. Grant Funding The financial requirement for 2010 was pegged at $213,788 however our actual expenses for the period amounted to $181,660 a decrease of some 20%. Our organization recorded a sizeable shortfall in recurrent funding $132,806 for the year meaning that ET was unable to meet its current liabilities. To weather the storm investment funds held at the UTC in the sum of $65,000 had to be drawn down including funds advanced from Directors Lewis and Bhikarry. Administrative income is based on 20% levy on all project funds, without project funds there could be no administrative income. No special projects or grant funds for recurrent expenses were received 2010. It is quite clear that in order for ET to move forward in achieving its goals heightened emphasis must be placed on areas that will realise income for recurrent purposes. This can be achieved for example by: • Strategic alliance partnerships • Employment of Full Time CEO with the right mix • Massive fund raising drives • Charging for services such CEC’s etc • Sponsorship • Advertise/promote our assets Summary of Income expenditure and shortfall experienced for 2010 • Total Income $48,854 • Total Expenditure $181,660 • Advances $29,000 (liability) • Cancelled Investments UTC $65,000 • Operating shortfall $38,806 • Shortfall in revenue $132,806 New and Continued Funding It is anticipated that our alliance with our strategic partner Garifuna will bear fruit. We have been assured that the Green Fund, funders of environmentally
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friendly projects are very interested in this proposal. Total cost of this project is approximately 9.7 million. Anticipated revenue 10% Rockefeller Foundation $20,000US for 1 year. Funds to arrive in 2011 BHp Billiton $20,000US per year for 3 years funds to arrive in 2011 The Early Childhood Project (ECCE) Pacemaker project (B. Bhikarry)
Relationship between expenses and income from all sources
ET EVENTS 1. ET participates in the National Capacity Self-Assessment (NCSA) Project ET participated in a consultation on the Rio Conventions-MEA (Multilateral Environmental Agreement) that we have signed onto. Environment TOBAGO is a member on the NCSA Committee dealing with The GOTTS obligations under these conventions helped to host. The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Housing and the Environment (MHE), which is the national focal point for the three multilateral environment agreements with which the NCSA Project is concerned (UNFCCC, CBD and UNCCD). The project’s specific goals include: Review and confirmation of priority issues for action within the thematic areas of biodiversity, climate change and desertification/land degradation. • Clarify and prioritize related capacity needs within and across the three thematic areas above. • Catalyse targeted and coordinated action and requests for future external funding and assistance Link country action to the broader national environmental management and sustainable development frameworks.
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2. The massive appearance of Sargasso (kelp seaweed) on our coasts. Since February 2011 we have been having massive amounts of the sargassum washing ashore. What is the cause? Have the currents in the Sargasso Sea changed direction? Large islands of sargassum have been breaking off and moving south into the Caribbean. Our concerns include:The boat engines and nets of fishermen become fouled with the sargassum No use being made of it , can be used to produce methane, used in agriculture as fertilizer( would need to be fermented first) Biodiversity loss and transport of alien species- Sargassum the home of juvenile marine turtles-what happens to them. Other biodiversity that lives there may be transported here - alien species 3. ET and Coral Cay Conservation The Partnership between Coral Cay Conservation and Environment TOBAGO has come to an end in July 2011. The handing over for archiving of the DatabaseTCEMP (Tobago Coastal Ecosystem Mapping Project) has been done. This database contains more than 1000 mapped sites on the Caribbean side of Tobago from Pigeon Point to Charlotteville and Speyside around Little Tobago. In the Database are GPS sites that show the ecosystems, fish, corals. Also diseases affecting reefs, bleaching events 2009-2011. This database is a resource housed at ET the will aid researchers, students, fisheries personnel and other parties interested in reef mapping and the marine environment. 4. Complaints on toxic fire sites in Tobago - a serious health and illegal issue in the Bethel area At Bottom Road, Bethel in Tobago, close to the home of Louise Kimme. Downhill from the St. Peters Moravian Church and the area known as Egypt, in the location of the bridge at a spot known as the "hole", a group of villagers have for the last 3 months been burning stolen electrical cables (large black cables) and extracting the copper. To cool it they have been washing these coils in the adjacent ravine. At this time of year there is a lot of water in the ravine. This water ends up in the Mt. Irvine golf course. Since May we have been receiving complaints that the water in the ravine close to Ms. Kimmes house has had a strange and strong odour. The crayfish and fish have been dying in the ravine; hummingbirds have been dying due to the toxic smoke coming from the fires. The water going down into Mt Irvine golf course area is now highly polluted and a dangerous situation. Reports have been made repeatedly to the DNRE and Division of Health with no response what so ever. ET would like to welcome two new members of staff New Education Coordinator- Juliana Antoine New Administrative Assistant- Candine Frank
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Environment TOBAGO newsletter
ECOLOGY NOTES What is Biosemiotics? Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies One goal of my articles is to highlight new ways in which scientists are looking at our environment and the organisms in it. One such approach is called biosemiotics. If literally translated from its Greek roots, “bios” means life while “semeion” means sign. Therefore biosemiotics basically look at the production, action and interpretation of signs in our environment. An alternative definition would be to look at behaviour and actions of organisms in our environment and their interpretation. The term “biosemiotics” was first used in 1962 by F.S. Rothchild. The early pioneers in this field include Jakob von Uexküll who developed a theory whereby he considered animals as interpreters of their environment, specifically living organisms. This ability to interpret signs in their environment enabled them to perform their functions. The area of biosemiotics encompasses the phenomena of recognition, mimicry, learning, communication and categorization. It also means that one has to determine the type of signs sent as well as their meaning, the translation and interpretation of these signs. One such question is, “how does the organism perceive its environment?” for example, an organism living in roadside vegetation. To such an organism the road may look like a large barren desert without any structures to offer protection from the elements or predators. So how do organisms cope with this? However, one must note that biosemiotics is not a specific area of disciplinary research. It is more of a general perspective where the use of signs can be interpreted by humans to better understand our environment and the organisms that live in it. “ To many people t hes e t all pe aks mak e for a challe ngi ng but sce nic hike. B ut t hey are not j ust anot her t all mount ai n to clim b. ”
ARTICLES Water, precious water Steven Solomon Only the tiniest fraction of all the earth's water is available to us as fresh liquid water, and control of rivers, more than oceans or lakes, has been the key to the advance of civilization. Despite Earth's superabundance of total water, nature endowed to mankind a surprisingly minuscule amount of accessible fresh liquid water that is indispensable to planetary life and human civilization. Only 2.5 percent of Earth's water is fresh. But two-thirds of that is locked away from man's use in ice caps and glaciers. All but a few drops of the remaining onethird is also inaccessible, or prohibitively expensive to extract, because it lies in rocky, underground aquifers - in effect, isolated underground lakes - many a half mile or more deep inside Earth's bowels. Such aquifers hold up to an estimated 100 times more liquid freshwater than exists on the surface. In all, less than three-tenths of 1 percent of total freshwater is in liquid form on the surface. The remainder is in permafrost and soil moisture, in the body of plants and animals, and in the air as vapour. One of the most striking facts about the world's freshwater is that the most
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widely accessed source by societies throughout history-rivers and streams-hold just six-thousandths of 1 percent of the total. Some societies have been built around the edges of lakes, which cumulatively hold some 40 times more than rivers. Yet lake water has been a far less useful direct resource to large civilizations because its accessible perimeters are so much smaller than riversides. Moreover, many are located in inhospitable frozen regions or mountain highlands, and three-fourths are concentrated in just three lake systems: Siberia's remote, deep Lake Baikal, North America's Great Lakes, and East Africa's mountainous rift lakes, chiefly Tanganyika and Nyasa. The minuscule, less than 1 percent total stock of accessible freshwater, however, is not the actual amount available to mankind since rivers, lakes, and shallow groundwater are constantly being replenished through Earth's desalinating water cycle of evaporation and precipitation - at any given moment in time, four-hundredths of 1 percent of Earth's water is in the process of being recycled through the atmosphere. Most of the evaporated water comes from the oceans and falls back into them as rain or snow. But a small, net positive amount of desalted, cleansed ocean water precipitates over land to renew its freshwater ecosystems before running off to the sea. Of that amount, civilizations since the dawn of history have had practical access only to a fraction, since twothirds was rapidly lost in floods, evaporation, Water - a precious resource and directly in soil absorption, while a lot of the rest ran off in regions like the tropics or frozen lands too remote from large populations to be captured and utilized. Indeed, the dispersion of available freshwater on Earth is strikingly uneven. Globally, one-third of all streamflow occurs in Brazil, Russia, Canada, and the United States, with a combined one-tenth of the world's population. Semiarid lands with onethird of world population, by contrast, get just 8 percent of renewable supply. Due to the extreme difficulty of managing such a heavy liquid -weighing 8.34 pounds per gallon, or over 20 percent more than oil - societies' fates throughout history have rested heavily on their capacity to increase supply and command over their local water resources. Almost everywhere civilization has taken root, man-made deforestation, water diversion, and irrigation schemes have produced greater desiccation, soil erosion, and the ruination of Earth's natural fertility to sustain plant life. "How societies respond to the challenges presented by the changing hydraulic conditions of its environment using the technological and organizational tools of its times is, quite simply, one of the central motive forces of history. Throughout history, wherever water resources have been increased and made most manageable, navigable, and potable, societies have generally been robust and long enduring. In every age, whoever gained control of the world's main sea-lanes or the watersheds of great rivers commanded the gateways of imperial power.
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Frog Diversity on Tobago - An Anomaly John C. Murphy Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA On a recent visit to northeast Tobago, I spent a few evenings looking for frogs to photograph. Driving along the Northside Road, I was rarely out of range of what has to be the most common frog on the island, the Whistling Frog. Often heard, but less often seen, Whistling Frogs call from burrows making it difficult for predators and herpetologists to find them. The Marine Toads, or Crapauds, perhaps the second most common amphibian, were also active, guarding the roadside ditches looking for food and occasionally calling for mates from flooded land. It was the start of the rainy season and it reminded me of the largest gatherings of frogs I had seen about 20 years before. I was on the same road, just after a heavy rainfall and hundreds (if not thousands) of Whistling Frog, Leptodactylus fuscus frogs were moving out of the forest, across the road, into a flooded pasture. The chorusing frogs were deafening. Tobago is a special place for amphibians, and it is a bit of a scientific puzzle. Fifteen species of frogs are known from the island, three species (Tobago Stream Frog, Charlotteville’s Prophet Frog, and Turpin’s Prophet Frog) are found only on Tobago and nowhere else in the world. Another two species are shared with Trinidad (Urich’s Prophet Frog and the Dwarf Marsupial Frog). Another, most interesting species, the Oriental Glass Frog occurs on Tobago and in Venezuela, but is apparently absent from Trinidad. The distribution is of interest, but the frog’s natural history is spectacular for other reasons. The remaining nine species are usually considered widespread species with distributions that may extend into the Amazon Basin and Central America. What makes Tobago so unusual when it comes to frogs is that the island supports 15 species while it is only 300 square kilometers. The number of species found on islands is related Oriental Glass Frog, Hyalinobatrachium to the size of the island, smaller islands have orientale fewer species, while larger islands have more species. This may seem obvious, but there are often exceptions to man-made rules that are applied to nature, and Tobago amphibians are one of them. All of this makes Tobago of special interest to biogeographers, herpetologists, ecologists, and of course frog enthusiast. Figure 1 shows 24 Caribbean islands arranged by size from smallest to largest with the number of species of frogs found on each island plotted on the graph. Note the number of frogs on Tobago peaks with 15, while the next smallest island (St. Kitts) has only 2 species, and the next largest island (Grenada) has only 4. The pattern suggests Tobago should have 2, 3, or 4 frog species – but it has 15 – about five times more species than the island-area pattern would predict. The reasons for this are not at all clear. But, the geological history of the island, the fact that its flora and fauna are
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Figure 1. Shows the number of frogs found on 24 Caribbean Islands organized from smallest on the left to largest on the right.
derived from mainland South America and not the West Indies is a partial explanation for Tobago’s wealth of frogs. Seven different families of frogs are represented in Tobago, while only 8 frog families are known from all Caribbean islands combined (excluding Trinidad and Tobago) which have a total land area of about 240,000km2 (about 800 times the land surface of Tobago). The graph also suggests that Trinidad has more frog species than might be expected, while Jamaica and Cuba have less than expected. Both, Jamaica and Cuba may have undescribed species that result in the lower than expected numbers. Species tend to accumulate at a given location over a long period of time, so the species found on Tobago today are the result of millions of years of frogs colonizing the island, the evolution of the frogs present on the island, and the subsequent extinction of some them. Most of the natural habitat on Tobago was disturbed by humans several hundred years ago, this makes me suspect that Tobago, had many more species of frogs than are now present, and that numerous species may have become extinct long before science was aware of their existence. Evidence of this can come from several places. Felix Ober reported a large, sub-fossil frog femur from a cave in 1898, and J. D. Hardy suggested it may be evidence for the presence of a member of the Leptodactylus pentadactylus Group being present on Tobago in the past. Leptodactylus pentadactylus are very large, terrestrial frogs of mainland South America and it would be difficult to overlook their presence on an island the size of Tobago – but not impossible. Julian Kenny discovered two quite large Leptodactylus living on Trinidad in 1969 and 1977. While I was working on my 1997 book, a Trinidad specimen of Leptodactylus knudensi (a member of the pentadactylus Group) was found in Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, it had been collected in 1919 and apparently it has not been seen since. During my recent trip to Tobago, I found an exceptionally large foam nest, the kind made by leptodactylid frogs – it was constructed in a hole, under a rock and much too large to belong to the Whistling Frog. So why are frogs important? Besides the fact that frogs play an important role in natural ecosystems, acting as scavengers, predators, and prey at different
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points in their life cycle, a diverse frog assemblage is a sign that the environment is healthy. Most frogs spend part of their life in aquatic ecosystems and part of their lives in terrestrial ecosystems and as such are exposed to hazards in both environments. If frogs are abundant and diverse it is likely that the environment is healthy and functioning, not only for frogs but for all other life forms, including humans. Of course frogs are important for another reason, some of us just like to see and hear them. References Hardy, J. D. 1982. Biogeography of Tobago, West Indies, with special reference to amphibians and reptiles, a review. Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society 18 (2):37–142. Kenny, J. S. 1969. Amphibia of Trinidad. Studies on the Fauna of Curacao and Other Caribbean Islands 29(54):1–78. Kenny, J. S. 1977. The Amphibia of Trinidad–an addendum. Studies on the Fauna of Curacao and Other Caribbean Islands 51:91–95. Murphy, J. C. 1997. Amphibians and Reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing. 245.
Pier Pressure in Charlotteville Bertrand Bhikkary Environment Tobago Remember that biblical story of the blind man who fought the Philistines? Rumor had it he was actually offered a trusty blade and a helping hand. But, because he couldn’t see his axe from his elbow he slew them all with…. See? There’s a moral in every story, and when it’s done with, our own tale of the Charlotteville jetty will be just as interesting. So let’s look at the genesis. The jetty in Man O War Bay was built, as jetties are everywhere, to serve man. Jetties aren’t shore protection, rather they protect man’s property, helping to move stuff to and from shore. Jetties aren’t pretty, but since function dictates their form, everyone accepts jetties. And as with all necessary evils, the creation of such a bane on the collective sensibilities in the end can be justified by its utility. According to one definition; “Jetties are a shore perpendicular hard structure, normally placed adjacent to tidal inlets to control inlet migration, and to minimize sediment deposition within the inlet. A jetty is an armored structure that extends out into the water and is intended to protect a navigation channel or marina. On open seacoasts, a jetty is a structure extending into a body of water to direct and confine the stream or tidal flow to a selected channel, or to prevent shoaling. Jetties built at the mouth of a river or entrance to a bay help deepen and stabilize a channel and facilitate navigation. Usually jetties projecting into the sea at river mouths protect a navigational channel, a harbor, or influence water currents. Such jetties are typically comprised of large blocks of concrete or similar suitable material. One aspect of a solid jetty is that it traps sand on one side, but on the other side there is an increase of erosion because it has blocked the littoral drift. The beach grows on one side, but erodes on other side.
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Material choice and design can cause the jetty to be complex and expensive.” So it seems despite our many references to it, there is no jetty at Charlotteville. What is currently protruding into Man O War Bay is a pier. Piers are easily identifiable by pylons, poles or posts upon which a concrete or wooden pathway is placed well above the high water to assist people and goods to and from boats. Piers are popular in places which are subject to large tidal ranges, or where heavy equipment cannot function. The pier’s use in major seafront commerce has decreased mainly because of the move to containerized shipping, but they linger on in places where the tourism trade benefits. Piers sometimes have sheds or covered areas all along their length, devices which improve utility, but discourage use by smaller craft with low freeboard, pier fishermen, and pier walkers. Pier shelters also add to windage and to topside weight – two factors which greatly impact on pylon design. The pier existing at Charlotteville is for the use of the local fishermen, but that’s arguable because after cursory observation it seems primarily accessed by a freeloading yachting community, proves handy for immigration and customs business, or for sport divers and for game fishermen at times. The argument that the villagers them-
Charlotteville jetty as it stands today
selves depend totally on the structure is therefore debatable. But since it is already there, odds are it will not be demolished and the authorities must justify its presence. Recently there has been some interest in the creation of an extension to this village pier, a move initiated by the local government the Division of Agriculture, Marketing Marine Affairs and the Environment (DAMME). In selling the pier’s virtues, The DAMME portrays a bright future for the village, promises better response capability in the aftermath of adverse weather events, espouses greater tourism by virtue of it creating capacity to process more travelers who may transit via Charlotteville. They justify the pier’s build-out, and at the same time indicate the need for modern office facilities for the customs and immigration departments. Implied by other promises too, they extrapolate the addition of a longer pier is an automatic fillip to the quality of life for area residents. These are good arguments, undoubtedly crafted as a sweetener, since it’s the kind of story everyone wants to hear in a recession.
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As fate would have it. Some people in the area, even beyond, do not accept the proposed ‘jetty extension’ as blithely or blindly as others. Some of these naysayers have strong opinions, some only have their voting power, and some actually have scientific support to back up their concerns. By all indications, the proposition of the THA’s DAMME to enlarge the structure at the Charlotteville waterfront, previously and erroneously called the C’VIlle Jetty could turn into an embarrassment for somebody. The thing is, no one in disagreement wants the unnecessary and unpleasant ‘satisfaction’ of being proven correct, since the stakes involved concern delicate and irreplaceable ecosystems. The loudest among those who are against a pier extension fret about the cost to the environment - naturally. Well and fine they say, that the economic projections for Charlotteville and for Tobago seem rosy. What’s not well, nor fine, is that no one has bothered to look into what the real cost is to others who will inherit the Charlotteville environment. Some of those inheritors already stroll the village boardwalk looking very much like ordinary kids, not as the burdened carriers of a debt incurred through rash decision-making by their parents. So, can the developing impasse between the DAMME (State) and the citizens who disagree to the pier’s extension be resolved? It will, by a means in common usage throughout modern society - an EIA. The THA needs to commission an environmental impact assessment or study, as the initial step in proposing modification to the pier. It’s a fair request from the citizenry, but a cursory peek reveals it may produce results showing the DAMME’s ambitions, or reach, exceeds its grasp. A proper EIA would have to take into account existing surface and sub-surface water runoff for the locality - and its quality, the ability of the seafront ecosystem to cope with increased levels of siltation - and even more wastewater, the ability of the village infrastructure to deal with an increase (projected) in vehicular and human traffic when all is built and operational, and the actual gains (or losses) to be accrued to the local population first and foremost, with the resultant socio-economic upheaval. There may be some problems too which might arise even before the pier is complete. Consider: Noise from pneumatic pile drivers can be a strain at any time, in any place, but in the confines of Man O War Bay, sinking piles for a major extension may prove insufferably loud for residents accustomed to low sound levels. Health and safety issues may prove inadequate. The village clinic may not be able to deal with industrial accidents, nor will it serve even when construction of the pier is complete. On-demand fire services may also need addressing, as the port no matter how small it turns out, will need onsite fire and liquid hazard facilities. More so, among the host of troubles an EIA will examine in depth, is the benign effect of say, fisherfolk taking up construction jobs and abandoning their hooks and lines. Are higher prices and lower availability of fresh fish a tenable sacrifice for Charlotteville? Post EIA, the most probable outcome will be no permission to build, no Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) forthcoming to the pier developer from the Environmental Management Agency (EMA). Indeed, environmentally aware persons believe that Charlotteville is already perched on the edge of irreversible decline. How so? Patricia Turpin, one of those who are against a large scale pier extension project has the inside information. Pat Turpin is no stranger to Charlotteville. She married into the family Turpin in the flower of her youth, has raised two children there, and now contemplates the village’s future and the state of her grandchildren’s legacy with some trepidation. In the last decade she has maintained a position as head of the islands leading eco-NGO, and it was under her stewardship the group Environment Tobago undertook a survey of wastewater and sewage disposal along the Collette River, which is part of the residen-
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tial sprawl along the hillsides bordering Man O War Bay. The startling results have cemented her position against further development of this small town. Development which, in her words “is without true consultative process, and seems lacking the specialist oversight of economists, hydrologists, biologists, civil engineers and others as needed”. In support of this stand also are the enterprising residents who provide accommodation to the ecotourism market. In their view they’ve carved out a piece of the green niche for themselves, and they show concern that urbanization of these surroundings will negatively affect their product. The villagers may be on to something, since hot on the heels of the pier extension idea, a further THA brainstorm has manifested in plans for a waterfront pavilion – an apparition which, to judge by the artwork making the rounds, is really grotesquely misnamed. These businesspeople object on grounds of not being part of a meaningful two-way conversation which affects them, and they worry greatly about the loss of rusticity and the threat to the tropical beachfront aesthetic. One reason the situation seems headed for prolonged controversy, indeed already it has shown signs of becoming confrontational, is the force of the personalities who are against unsympathetic interference in their hometown. The small community is ably represented by the stalwart Nicholson sisters Pat and Pam - the latter known for her strident outbursts, and the ability to take her rhetoric places, even to the Senate. Annette Alfred, retired civil servant powerhouse, Arturas Browne, current leader of the village council and of course Patricia Turpin, in a key role as a major landowner and employer, are representative of the still waters the state machinery must tread before pushing ahead with their plans to waken this deceptively sleepy environment. Mrs. Turpin’s position for a pier extension is negotiable. Isn’t everyone’s? She hasn’t said so, but she stands to benefit from a bigger marina in whatever shape or form it comes to Charlotteville. She owns the bulk of the lands around the village, and she owns the water rights under the old title enjoyed by Charlotteville Estates Limited (CEL). In the near future if spontaneous development persists, CEL will probably deliver high quality water to vessels alongside its pier, at great profit – considering the Turpins essentially control the purest fresh water source in the lower Caribbean. The thing is, the Turpin family has decided against tunnel-focussed monetization as they know any short term gain is usually negated over a longer period. However when faced with it, they would accept a pier and beachfront modification that suits the place, the people and the natural environment. In Mrs. Turpins conversations, the topic comes up from time to time. Grudgingly, she concurs with the State’s drive for the “sustainable development” of natural assets, but she worries too the term is just paying lip service to a high level governmental accord, and that human lust for profit will take the day. Arguing lucidly, she’s never seen a pristine bay that has survived commercial vessel traffic. She speaks of prop-wash as if she’s actually been tumbled in the turbulence of large blades wreaking havoc on aquatic lifeforms. She looks over Man O War Bay as if she’s a mother already in mourning. Maybe she’s blinded by her love for Charlotteville – which is a catching thing in that part of Tobago. As with the smelter which was almost inflicted on La Brea, there’s a lesson for the learning in Charlotteville. Let’s hope the new Philistines don’t learn it the hard way.
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“The pier’s use in major seafront commerce has decreased mainly because of the move to containerized shipping, but they linger on in places where the tourism trade benefits. “
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Environment TOBAGO newsletter
ADVOCATE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: IAN LAMBIE’S LIFE AND STRUGGLE—Part 1 Jo-Anne N. Sewlal & Christopher K. Starr Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies (The followed biographical essay is based in large part from Ian Lambie's and interview conducted by e-mail by in May-June 2011.) Ian Lambie was born in the Colonial Hospital (as it was then known) in Port‑of‑Spain on 1 April 1933, the first of six children of Alexander & Alma Lambie of Belmont, Port‑of‑Spain. His first 22 years were spent in Belmont, after which he married and relocated to Roberts Street in Woodbrook. Since 1998, he and his wife are happily ensconced in Tobago, after a decision taken some 15 years earlier. Ian lived a normal life as a child and a teenager, doing all those things that most boys of the 1940s and 1950s did. There was no television, no computers, no internet and no cellphones, to name a few recent introductions into our daily lives. He pitched marbles, spun tops, made and flew kites, ran "jockey" in the street canals and participated in such games as hide-and-seek, cops and robbers, and cowboys and Indians. He also participated in running races around the neighbourhood block. With other neighbourhood boys, he occasionally visited the St Ann's River to catch fish, mainly guppies (popularly called millions), rivulus, and coscorobs, which were maintained in "sweetie bottles". A regular week‑end activity during the mango season was to "go for mango" up the Belmont Valley Road. After primary school in Belmont, he attended Tranquillity Boys' Intermediate School where he sat the Secondary School Examination, then known as the "the Exhibition". In 1944 only 24 free places were being offered at secondary schools, and Ian was not among the fortunate ones selected for a free secondary education. At that time the fee at Secondary School was $16 per term, and his father, who was employed as a clerk at the City Council, with a growing family, was unable to afford the fee. Ian entered Queens Royal College in 1947, by which time his classmates at Tranquillity who had entered secondary school immediately after the Exhibition class in 1945, were already in the Third Form. His entrance into secondary school had been delayed by two years. However, he was fortunate to be placed in an "A' form and passed the Cambridge School Certificate Examination in 1950. He unfortunately left QRC in 1951 and did not take the Higher Cambridge School Certificate Examination. Ian was very active in sport and while at QRC was the boxing champion, although his bouts were against much older past students. He had developed his boxing skills at the Belmont Orphanage under the guidance of J.M. Douglas and Louis Barradas. He represented various Belmont clubs at football and cricket. Ian began lifting weights in 1946 at the age of 13 years and in 1955 was the Junior Weightlifting Champion in the 181-lb class. In 1961, at the age of 28 and already the father of three, he was introduced to rugby football. He represented Trinidad & Tobago in rugby from 1962 to 1966, retiring at the end of the 1966 season on account of the demands of his workplace, the Customs & Excise Department. In 1951 he was employed in collecting various species of local freshwater fish for a fish exporter. After a brief period of employment at the Inland Revenue Department, then with only 36 employees, and at Shell and Regent Petroleum Marketing Company, on the urging of his father, he entered the civil service and was appointed to the Customs & Excise Department in January 1954. Ian's nearly 50 years as a tropical fish hobbyist had begun in 1941, when he was eight years of age. His uncle, George Borde, who owned a large collection of tropical fish, gave him a gift of a variety of moons, hilaries and mollies. Because he had no previous
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experience with such exotic species, they soon died. After giving Ian some instructions in the care and management of such species, Uncle George gave him another collection of fish, with which he was relative successful. For the next 48 years Ian developed into an enthusiastic tropical fish hobbyist and from 1960 became an importer of tropical fish, Mississippi red‑eared turtles, fish food, books and aquarium equipment, which he sold to a growing number of fellow hobbyists. At that time there were no specialist tropical fish shops in T&T, but it soon became apparent that, as a Customs & Excise Officer, Ian may have had a conflict of interests. He ceased importing items for sale. Around that time, he expanded his modest collection into a tropical fish nursery and bred many species for sale, especially angels and fancy guppies, for sale to the pet shops that were being established. In 1955 he married the former Jocelyn Armstrong, and in 1956 he gained admission to both the University of British Columbia and to Howard University but eventually chose to remain at home with his wife, a decision that he has not regretted. In October 2011 the Lambies will be celebrating 56 years of togetherness. The marriage has yielded five children, four girls and one boy. After completing their secondary education in T&T, four of them obtained their first degrees in various disciplines at the University of Maryland. Two of them did graduate work. One obtained an MBA from Loyola University and another an MD from Tufts Medical School in Boston. In 1958 Ian was introduced to the Trinidad Field Naturalists' Club (now the Trinidad & Tobago Field Naturalists' Club) by Will Payne and Frank Ambard, two senior Customs officers who were members. In 1961 he was elected Honorary Secretary, a post to which he was re‑elected for the next 20 years, after which he served as President for the next two years. During his many years as secretary and during the following years he met several persons who contributed in fostering his interest and knowledge in natural history and in the relationship between man and his environment. These included Andrew Carr, Richard ffrench, G.E.L. Laforest, Hollis Murray, Dr Victor Quesnel, Prof Julian Kenny, Prof Julian Duncan, Don Eckleberry and Dr Joseph Copeland, the two latter being founding members of the Asa Wright Nature Centre (AWNC). It was Dr Copeland who in 1975, nominated Ian for membership on the AWNC Board of Management, and it was also Dr Copeland who nominated Ian to succeed him as President of the Board in 1977. In 1975 the AWNC was still a struggling organisation, having balanced its book for the first time in 1974, after being in operation for seven years. Having being briefed by Don Eckelberry and Joe Copeland about the objectives of the founders to create a conservation and education Area, Ian relegated all his other activities, except his family and his job, to a back seat and made the growth of the AWNC his number one priority. The Board at that time was composed, as it is today, of highly qualified professionals in various spheres, but there was no one present who had the aptitude, initiative and most importantly the time to efficiently carry out the decisions of the Board. Dr Copeland identified Ian Lambie as his choice to implement Board decisions and to pursue its goals. That this was a correct choice is seen in the achievements of the AWNC, which had emerged from relative obscurity in the 1970s to become one of the top eco‑tourism lodges in the world. In addition, through Ian's efforts as a member of the Tourist Board and promoting the natural attributes of T&T in the international marketplaces, the country was soon recognised as "the best introduction to the South American species of birds". Since 1972, at a meeting convened by the Tourist Board, to which all interest persons in
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the local tourism industry were invited, Ian had been attempting to convince the decision makers that T&T had much to offer to naturalists and bird‑watchers, but little attention was paid to the contents of his presentation "Nature in Tourism". The word "eco‑tourism" had not yet been made popular. From 1982 to 1986 Ian, sponsored by the T&T Tourist Board, was given the opportunity to participate in promotional tours, in eco-tourism workshops, during which he delivered illustrated lectures on T&T's natural assets, its forests, its wildlife with special emphasis on birds, marine turtles and coral reefs, to audiences in Europe and North America. He is grateful to Mr Fitz Belle, Chairman of the Board, and to Mr Winston Borell, Director of Tourism, for the support given to him in this mission. (to be continued)
Little Rockley Bay Wetland Environment TOBAGO (Environment Tobago) NGO group is extending their reach to several marshy outfields. We will describe these adventures, beginning closest to home with the Little Rockley Bay Marsh. Surrounded by the built up area of Pascal Village and Lambeau this little marshland was surprisingly wet for a dry season. The Little Rockley bay Wetland at Lambeau has some stands of mangrove still, although as the area is being systematically drained as a result of nearby land development that happy circumstance may change. Signs of crab habitat were readily apparent, as were the bamboo traps the village youth use to catch this crustacean. We picked up an interesting anecdote where it was revealed the land owners of the estate had approved of leaving lands for public use to aid in the development of a crab nursery. The plan never materialised, even though the largest hurdle would appear to have been (hurdled)? The prevalence of domestic garbage in the mangrove suggests a wetland cleanup maybe necessary in the near future for Little Rockley Bay
Little Rockley Bay Marsh
Environment TOBAGO newsletter
What are Biodiversity Hotspots? Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies A simple definition of biodiversity is “the variation of taxonomic life forms for a given biome or ecosystem”. However, some areas are fortunate in that they are classified as “biodiversity hotspots”. This means that the region supports at least 1,500 plant species found nowhere else in the world and has lost at least 70% of its original habitat. The concept of biodiversity hotspots is quite recent, coming about in 1988 by the British ecologist Norman Myers. The purpose of coining this term was to highlight areas that required preservation when it came to the species found there. Currently, biodiversity hotspots are found on six continents, excluding Antarctica. However, in general biodiversity hotspots are found in areas close to the Equator and along shorelines. However, the status of these areas as biodiversity hotspots is not permanent. Many factors influence the existences of these hotspots, such as, logging and agriculture which has the effect of destroying the habitat and microhabitats that house numerous species. Hunting is another reason for the end of a biodiversity hotspot as it actively decreases the number of members of a species found there. Overhunting will remove individuals that are of reproductive age or those that are too young to produce offspring to continue the species. Sometimes the cause is not localised but more general like climate change, which will not only affect the habitat as a whole but all the microhabitats. Organisms in microhabitats are more at risk for extinction as they can tolerate narrow ranges of conditions like humidity and temperature. Therefore, the organisms found in these microhabitats account for a large amount of the biodiversity in these “hotspots” will be affected. Finally, besides localised and generalised factors, some factors like government decision which take place great distances away have a great influence on the existence of biodiversity hotspots. This is because they produce the legislature that protects these areas from development, regulate the actions like hunting or the amount of resources set aside to patrol these areas to protect them against activities like arson.
BEAUTY IN A WOUNDED PLACE Gary Paul Nabhan 1993. Songbirds, Truffles, and Wolves. New York: Penguin 227 pp. ISBN 0-14-023972-3 [Twenty-fifth in a series on "naturalist-in" books.] Christopher K. Starr Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies ckstarr@gmail.com I think I can safely say that your average catholic saint is not someone you would care to know in real life. Many of them are downright creepy. The outstanding exception is Francesco di Bernardone (1182-1226). He is the one saint that everyone professes to love and admire, as seen in the many popular books (e.g. Kazantzakis 1962) and
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“ If you cannot find terrain magnificent enough to take your breath away, gravitate to places that can at least increase your heartbeat."“
Environment TOBAGO newsletter
movies about his life. Songbirds, Truffles, and Wolves is an account of the author's nine-day walking pilgrimage through central Italy with veteran backpacker Ginger Harmon. Beginning at Francis's monastic retreat in Monte la Verna, Tuscany, they ended at the small city of Assisi, Umbria, where he was born and died. This is a landscape that calls for some explanation. The Mediterranean region has been densely populated for millennia, and this has of course brought about a major transformation of the environment. The original forest cover persists only in wisps and fragments, mostly of a very secondary nature, and the soil has been impoverished and rendered drier from its original condition. It is probably not a great stretch to say that what has happened to Haiti and parts of Central America over 300 years happened in the Mediterranean in antiquity or earlier. It is, then, a badly wounded landscape. At the same time, Tuscany and Umbria are associated in our minds with lovely scenery, a region where it is a pleasure to wander at will over the hills. On a train ride through this region a few years ago, a telecommunications specialist native to the area remarked to me and the compartment as a whole that he thought they lived in the most beautiful country in the world. This evoked a general murmuring of "Amen" and "Aint it the truth?" It was, indeed, most agreeable to sit and look out the window as the pictures slipped past. As Nabhan remarks toward the end of the book, "If you cannot find terrain magnificent enough to take your breath away, gravitate to places that can at least increase your heartbeat." What the people of central Italy have done, then, is to transform their environment into something that is at once beautiful to behold and virtually devoid of wildness. Francis of Assisi was the outstanding counterforce of his time to the tendency to tame and destroy Mediterranean nature. He was prepared to meet animals on their own terms, and his legend contains a famous story about making peace with a wolf that was terrorizing a village. (An estimated 300 wild wolves live in Italy today, although none along the pilgrimage route; one chapter is titled "Where the Wild Things Aren't".) Much of Nabhan's focus is a search for signs of the Franciscan attitude among the country people of central Italy today, while casting a naturalist's eye over the countryside and villages. The core theme of Nabhan's voluminous writings -- his best-known book is probably The Desert Smells Like Rain (1982) -- is food as a major aspect of culture. There is plenty about food in Songbirds, Truffles, and Wolves, with special attention to naturalized vegetables of New World origin. There is also a great deal of introspection and soul-searching, most of which I skipped. The book has a superb structure, and Nabhan shows a fine sense of narrative. Each of the seven chapters treats a stage in the pilgrimage, most of them wrapped around discussion of particular food plants of the region. Among other things, then, the book is an essay on landscape and agricultural practice in central Italy today. The final chapter treats the over-hunting of songbirds around Assisi. This is unsubtly ironic, given Francis's famous affinity for birds. While Nabhan is a very knowledgeable guy, he is no know-it-all and is quite ready to be humorous about his own occasional lapses. He opens one chapter with an anecdote of stopping to pull out his guidebook to trees, explaining to Harmon that this tree in front of them seems familiar, but he can't place it. To this, Harmon asks if he means the tree "with all the chestnuts underneath?" References Kazantzakis, N. 1962. Saint Francis. New York: Simon & Schuster 379 pp. Nabhan, G.P. 1982. The Desert Smells Like Rain. Tucson: Univ. Arizona Press 148 pp.
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Volume 6 Issue 3
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READERS’ FORUM Dear ET Newsletter Readers, Office:
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