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 7 Issue 1
March 2012
Stakeholder Seminar: The Restructuring of the Central Statistical Office of Trinidad & Tobago: Determining the demands for statistics from a user perspective Juilana Antoine – Education Coordinator (ET)
The Central Statistical Office of Trinidad & Tobago held the leg of the Tobago consultations to determine the user needs for statistics as well as the perspectives. This was held at the Division of Infrastructure & Public Utilities Conference room on March 23, 2012. The panel consisted of the Director of statistics Trinidad & Tobago as well as a panel of specialists in different areas of statistics from Sweden. In his opening remarks, the director of statistics gave a PowerPoint presentation on the user needs and the need for different types of statistics. He explained the statistical production process starting with user needs, the design and planning stage, then creation and testing, followed by check, analysis and the final stage of publishing and communicating. He also elaborated on statistical output which has to comply with quality standards as well as to serve the users’ needs. The Swedish team in their presentation went in depth in each of their specialities in statistics. They all gave detailed presentations in Economic Statistics, Social and Population statistics, Democracy and voting, the judicial system as well as Agricultural statistics in Trinidad and Tobago. Participants were asked to state their organizational needs for statistics which culminated in a group session. All were asked to consider the response burden on the demand for statistics as well as its cost effectiveness, mandate for data collection as well as impartiality and objection. Group leaders all made presentations stating their statistical needs In conclusion the Central Statistical Office of Trinidad and Tobago wrapped up by aiming to establish a minimum set of core products to meet current and emerging demands. Although challenged, the ultimate goal is to have updated and current statistics for all different sectors. It is understood that in T&T, the need for statistics are great, but the resources aren’t in place to meet the demands of users.
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Stakeholder Consultation on the National Integrated Solid Waste Resource Management Policy Juliana Antoine – Education Coordinator (ET) March 2012 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 William Trim Katy Young Environment TOBAGO Photographs: Environment TOBAGO Ali Baba Tours
Board of Directors 2010-2012 President:: Patricia Turpin Vice-President: Bertrand Bhikkary Secretary: Wendy Austin Treasurer: Geoffrey Lewis Other Directors: William Trim Rupert McKenna Darren Henry
The Ministry of Local Government has been holding a series of consultations around the country to involve the populace in the process as it seeks to create a policy to deal with the problem of solid waste and its proper disposal. The Tobago leg of the consultations was held at the PRDI Building, Corner of Main & Burnett Streets, Scarborough on April 16, 2012. In his opening remarks, Mr Stephen Creese, Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, gave an overview of the policy and what has been accomplished to date. He also stressed that the communities should take responsibility for reducing the environmental, health and safety footprint of products and materials across the manufacture-supply-consumption chain and at end of life cycle of a product. He concluded by reiterating the point that the national emphasis continues to be focused on final disposal rather than on comprehensive waste minimization and diversion strategies, a situation that has resulted in the inevitable build- up of commingled waste. Mr V. Partapsingh, County Medical Officer of Health in Tobago was second to give his remarks. He commented as to how the framework and policy was written up and hopes that Tobago will be able adopt and apply this policy as well as put measures in place to deal with the proper disposal of solid and liquid waste. He applauded the initiative taken by Central Government but also noted that a sub policy will have to be created for Tobago as Tobago does not yet have issues with the disposal of industrial waste. Mr Edison Garraway, Principal Consultant of EGARR & Associates, the key note speaker, gave an introduction about the National Solid Waste Resource Management Policy. He stated that this policy sets a clear direction for Trinidad & Tobago for the next ten years. It will and it seeks to integrate a policy and regulatory framework and will build on a valuable existing foundation by providing a nationally agreed direction. He also said that the principles, visions, goals and objectives represent a national thrust; the environmental and economic conditions in Tobago may require a sub policy, as previously alluded to by Mr Partapsingh. The waste types that are generated as a result of the activities of a heavy tourism sector requires a modified approach to solid waste management issues as compared to that of a heavy industrial; and manufacturing sector such as Trinidad. He concluded by saying that the policy seeks to achieve affordable, sustainable ad socially acceptable integrated solid waste management in ways that are protective to human health and the environment. In conclusion, the final speaker was Mrs Nela Khan, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Parliamentary Member for Princes Town. Mrs Khan reiterated the points made by previous speakers, and shared that the policy has been on-going in the consultation process for the past three years. The consultants on this policy are interested in using the” Nova Scotia” module as a template for integrating and implementing the policy in small island states such as Tobago with special consideration for solid waste disposal and reduction of waste from the island’s lone landfill. She noted that there were significant increases in waste generation, costs associated with such as well as legislative and system weaknesses and the dire need for physical system restructuring. Waste diversion efforts primarily by private sector companies and NGO’s have shown little visible impacts on the waste streams being disposed at landfill sites. She also pointed out that by facilitating access by decision makers to meaningful, accurate and current national waste and resource recovery data and information that can be used to inform integrated planning, measure progress as well as to
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educate and inform the national society which in turn can also influence the behaviour and the choices of the community. She concluded by thanking everyone for their time and invaluable contributions towards the cause, and she was hopeful the policy can take effect within 3 years’ time.
Photos from the Step Up Academy’s in-school competition “Making Plastics Wild” (March 29, 2012) supported by ET
The NEST (North East Sea Turtles) Hatchling Workshop On Saturday April 14th our affiliates (ET being mentor) North East Sea Turtles (NEST) and Asclepius Green met at the serene location of Blue Waters Inn in Speyside for their ‘Hatchling Workshop’ - Part of the UNDP GEF SGP sponsored project Capacity Development Program 2012: Establishing Sustainable Eco-Tourism for the Charlotteville Community through Sea-Turtle Conservation. The day was designed and facilitated by Dr Adana Mahase-Gibson, Mr Keith Gibson (Asclepius Green) and the renowned Ms Grace Talma (UNDP) to be an all-encompassing and fully interactive event – and this it sure was. The play on words of ‘Hatchling’ was a symbolic one to signify the group and its members developing in their youth. Just as it had been intended, the group were provided the much needed opportunity to talk about NEST as an organisation, to communicate and discuss responsibilities openly, as well as team building for the journey ahead. The participants, some of whom have been involved in turtle-patrolling activities for many years with NEST and some fresh to the picture and eager to help, were all enthused by the fantastic day that was laid out. From disVolunteers hard at work cussions to illustrative games the day proved to be a well-received and appreciated success. On behalf of Environment TOBAGO, we wish NEST every success in their 2012 project. We stand behind you.
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Environment TOBAGO newsletter Photos from our ongoing solid waste (reuse ,reduce and recycle) "Kleen Green School program
ECOLOGY NOTES “ 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. ”
What is the founder effect? Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies At the mention of the word “genetics” and images of test tubes and complicated equations come to mind, but not all genetic concepts and theories are complicated. But genetics does not have to be intimidating. By studying the genetics of populations can provide much information on the history of the population, its health and if it will continue to exist. One such genetic effect is the Founder Effect. Basically the founder effect occurs when a few members of a large population break off and establish new populations. The genetic diversity of these new populations is lower compared to the original larger population and may be so distinctive in some extreme cases that new species evolve. A population may experience the founder effect due to a variety of reasons for instance the original population may be reduced to smaller ones due to disease, changes in habitat or by the hunting activities of humans in the case of animal species. Therefore the genetic diversity of the new populations is dependent on the genetic variety of the founding members from the original population. So if the founding members did not carry a specific gene, for example for long fur then their offspring and subsequent generations would not have long fur unless they mated with an individual outside of their small population that carried the gene for that trait. Therefore, unfortunately one detrimental result of this
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effect is the lack of genetic diversity due to inbreeding meaning that the population is more susceptible to extinction. In human populations the founder effect has resulted in the prevalence of genetic diseases which occur in these smaller populations in a much higher frequency compared to the general population. One example of this is the prevalence of Ellis-van Creveld syndrome in the Armish population of Eastern Pennsylvania, USA. It is a form of dwarfism but those that are have this syndrome may also have a hole between the upper and lower chambers of their heart, as well as extra fingers and toes (polydactyly) and abnormalities of the nails and teeth. This population was founded by only 200 German immigrants and due to the closed nature of this society members marry within their communities. However the founder effect is an extreme example of what is known as genetic drift. Simply put, genetic drift occurs when genes in a smaller subset of a population occur with a greater or lesser frequency than the original population. It is because of this if the founding members of the subset population carried genetic diseases or mutations, their offspring would also carry them, thus resulting in a population with a much higher prevalence of certain genetic diseases. There is also the serial founder effect which happens to populations that undergo long migrations. During the migration there are periods where the members would settle down and then resume the migration. However, after each leg of the migration the population would lose genetic diversity due to members that may stay back and decide to settle in the area or have died during the period of settlement.
ARTICLES Tobago’s Infinity Pool Bertrand Bhikarry Environment TOBAGO The manmade pool in the photo is the 'official' dump site for anyone ridding themselves of old oil (note the strewn barrels- its the garages, maybe even PTSC) . Located at the Studley Park landfill (I asked, so its not hearsay; they said I can bring whatever oil I have and dump it there. Horror stories also abound about the tyre fill, and about the constant burning. I was there on April 29th 2012. Tobago’s infinity pool Maybe we should create a department to monitor the emissions? Turn off a few light bulbs in the schools to offset some of this? There is more, the composition of the municipal waste at the Park consists of (noticeably so) green garbage bags (THA, URP, CEPEP issue). Maybe they ought to switch to organically disposable bags? In Bermuda they burn the island's waste in an incinerator, then create slag pellets with the burn-off, which are mixed with concrete and used for road fill and revetments for coastal erosion mitigation. Maybe we should fly out a team to observe? Spend a few months there taking notes? (Binoculars from the hotel patio would work for me). Oh the dust! So much for clean, green and serene. With assets like these you wonder, “oh, that's oil, maybe I ought to announce a new find?”
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Tobago’s Avatar- “The Tree of life” Katy Young Environment TOBAGO
“ 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. ”
Rising some 40 metres above the Northside Road is a vital part of Tobago's heritage. This magnificent specimen has witnessed 250 years of the island's history, including emancipation and independence, and has become a major part of folklore here, connecting Tobago to its African roots. It's been photographed hundreds of times by tourists, survived the full force of Mother Nature when Hurricane Flora hit in 1963, but now, is under threat by the very people who should be protecting it as part of this island’s wide natural and cultural diversity. We are of course referring to the famous Silk Cotton tree at Runnemede, one of the largest specimens on the island. Due to heavy rains, a section of Northside Road close to the tree is subsiding again. An article by Adamson Charles in the Tobago News of Friday 13th January 2012 reported the Secretary of Works as saying that his Division has been conducting intense investigations with a view to solving the road problem. He was apparently of the considered opinion that the root network of the silk cotton tree could be the reason for the depression in the road. He was quoted as adding : “We are in the process of conducting certain tests and if it is found culpable, then we may have to take down the silk cotton tree in order to save the road.” Removing the tree would be a disastrous mistake. In the first place, everyone knows that trees play a big part in protecting the land from erosion thanks to their enormous tracery of roots that hold the earth in place. Like bamboo growing alongside the river and holding the bank firm. A spokesman for a well-known road contractor on the island confirmed that trees pay a vital part in stabilising soil, and it is very unlikely that the silk cotton tree is responsible for the slippage of earth at that point in the Northside Road. Furthermore, the Runnemede silk cotton is a major tourist attraction, featured in guide books such as Tobago naturally, nature lovers flock to the tree which is a mandatory stop on every island tour. Returning islanders go there to reconnect with their past and some tourists have even climbed it. Does it make any sense at all for the THA to spend millions of dollars with one hand, promoting the natural beauty and bio-diversity of the island while with the other hand it destroys the very product it is selling? Obviously not. The people who live on Northside Road have a right to good road access to the capital, but that does not have to come at the expense of our iconic landmarks. The THA will find another way of solving this problem if it looks for it. Silk cotton trees are revered in many cultures. In parts of Silk cotton tree at Africa, it is the home of the spirits, and it is not a coincidence Moriah. that early European settlers actively cut down the silk cotton Photo by: Ali Baba (http:// trees to undermine their strong cultural influence. The large T o u r s w w w . a l ibabanumber of these trees on Tobago reflect our African roots. The tours.com/ ) folk story of Gang Gang Sara, the most well known in Tobago folklore, is the epitome of this. Gang Gang Sara was the resident village obeah (voodoo) woman in the 1700s. She had flown to Tobago straight from Africa and settled in Les Coteaux, but after her husband died, she tried to fly back home. She launched herself from a silk cotton, but sadly she had eaten salt and could no longer fly, so she fell to her death beside the great tree.
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The ancient Maya of Central America believed the silk cotton tree was the source of human life and that the tree stood at the centre of the earth, connecting the terrestrial world to the spirit-world above. The long thick vines hanging from its spreading branches provided a connection to the heavens for the souls that ascended them. Even today, these grand trees are mercifully spared when forests are cut. The writers, poets, artists and musicians of Trinidad and Tobago are regularly inspired by the silk cotton tree. Trinidadian poet John Lyons wrote collected works called Voices From a Silk Cotton Tree. At Pan Jazz 2011 in New York, this tree was the focus for the entire show, entitled Tales from the Silk Cotton Tree. Trinidad carnival designer Brian Macfarlane created the magnificent silk cotton tree on stage. Nobel Prize winning poet Derek Walcott, who spent most of his life living in Trinidad, refers to them in his verse. JD Elder in Folk Song and Folk Life in Charlotteville tells how obeah men would “set up court” under silk cotton trees to treat the sick. It is believed to be one of the places where, under the full moon, witches would gather. Obeah men claimed to be able to cast a spell by driving a nail into its massive trunk then calling on an evil spirit to cause someone’s soul to leave his body and live in the tree. They were the home of duppies, the ghosts that roam the earth at night, and The Castle of the Devil is a huge silk cotton growing deep in the forest in which Bazil the demon of death was imprisoned by a carpenter. The carpenter tricked the devil into entering the tree in which he carved seven rooms, one above the other, into the trunk. T&T folklore claims that Bazil still resides in that tree. Every year this island remembers its diverse culture with the Tobago Heritage Festival, celebrating what is rich and unique about the island and its people. The great silk cotton tree is part of our living, breathing culture. It is our responsibility to preserve it for future generations and for the delight of our visitors.
New after Carnival activity.– Pump your fishgun Bertrand Bhikarry Environment TOBAGO Local musical maestro John Arnold might need to script an ostinato, kinda like the music from 'Jaws', so shocking is the news of lionfish arrival in Tobago waters. Over the Carnival weekend, a group of divers exploring Flying Reef - down at the south end, were the first to see a visitor no one wanted here in the first instance. The initial sighting of Pterois volitans in the island’s water is big news indeed. In all probability that exotic denizen of the Indian and Pacific Oceans is here to stay. ‘Not good, not good news folks!’ as the colorful TV6 vigilante so often exclaims. Consider; Although island people from Bonaire to Bermuda have been developing 'management mechanisms' to cull this beautiful predator, the speed it shows in growth and breeding, and the tenacity it has demonstrated in entrenching itself in the west hemisphere's marine world, means it’s here to stay. So what's to be done? Admittedly it's edible, even delicious according to some, but the lionfish is damnably elusive, doesn't lend itself to a commercial fish- Pterois volitans—The Lionery, and yet if left alone, will surely kill off our marine food fish supply.
“people from Bonaire to Bermuda have been developing 'management mechanisms' to cull this beautiful predator“
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Some marine scientists have concerns for the future of basslet, cardinalfish, grunt, damselfish, wrasse, parrotfish, blenny, grouper, and yellow tail snapper, all of which comprise the menu for this interloper. Why is it such an efficient killer? To understand, one needs to adopt the perspective of a small reef fish or a juvenile of the pelagic species who start life in the reef zones. To the extent that nature allows for such artifice, the lionfish has evolved with same coloration as many reef organisms. Seen from the front, from the perspective of say, the cardinalfish, the lionfish presents a waving facade of tendrils and leaves, until, by virtue of inordinately large finnage and a cavernous maw, propels itself forward to devour anything curious enough to get close. The old camouflage and kill strategy. It's like a scene from Predator being played out daily in our waters, since the lionfish observed at Flying Reef is logically not the only one down there, or in the area for that matter. Leaving it to nature to sort is not an option for THA’s Fisheries Division - the relevant local authority for Tobago waters. Aside from the approaches tried by other fishery and marine park managers of the lower Atlantic Basin, the THA body may want to enlist some freelancers from the sport dive sector, maybe even offer lionfish hunt incentives. Recently spear-fishing has been sanctioned in tournament form, so for example, that community might do a Hawaiian sling event at the next competition. As a preventative initiative, hunting the fish 'one to one' is more than a gimmick, as it allows for pre-tournament education on the species and gets people into the water for a common good. Further, marine biologists aver any pressure that can be put on the deadly fish will allay an equal amount of stress to defenseless species named earlier. The long term prognosis for the lionfish's residency is not in doubt. The US government, deploying far more resources than we in T&T can imagine, and with a political will and/or commitment which we may never achieve, were unsuccessful in expunging the alien's existence in coastal Atlantic waters. The best we can do down here is learn to assist normalised species by providing them with safe habitat, a haven where we can intercede on their behalf against predators and other negatives. Given the limits, that would be shallow reefs. And therein lies the rub. Before the lionfish showed, it was a battle to show the importance of marine ecology in our daily lives. Now, the struggle will be compounded as that ecosystem begins to shift, taking the food from our plates as it goes. Judging from past initiatives though, sanctioned spear-fishing on the reefs could go wrong. Before we all get in the water with the spearguns, think about the predators role and its responsibilities. Not the lionfish mind you, but the beast that exists within us. We already excel at exercising hunting dogs, clearing the trees of iguana, and extirpating hapless agouti. Imagine the potential for convoluted, intricate and profitable forays as we go forth in righteous crusade against Pterois volitans. Look out snapper, look out grouper. There’s a lionfish in front and a Trinbagonian behind. Carnival is alive and well.
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A Foresters dilemma- To Fell or Not? William Trim Environment TOBAGO Along the North side Road, Tobago, close to the Des Vignes Primary School, Runnemede is located a silk cotton or kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra L.). Tropilab Inc. places this species in the Bombacaceae family but it now resides in the Malvaceae family. This silk cotton tree stands out in the eyes of locals and thousands of visitors, including tourists. The tree is noticeable because: 1) it has a very wide crown and a merchantable height of about 20.15 m; 2) large buttresses or winged-roots above which the diameter at breast height (dbh) is 1.05 m; 3) and it disperses myriads of wind-borne seeds annually from April to May (these may have a stifling effect on humans and other creatures close-by. Be mindful that this silk cotton tree is an old tree (a veteran tree as called abroad). Perhaps, it is over one hundred years old (based on informal interviews with some of the senior locals). Now, the question arises: should this silk cotton tree be cut down or not? Especially, since it may (or may not) be disturbing the surface of the North side Road more than 60 m away. To make a more informed decision, consider some of the economic values of the tree or the species. All values are not taken into consideration. The cotton-like and buoyant material of the mature silk cotton fruits can be used for stuffing pillows, mattresses, upholstery, toys and life jackets. In relation to this information, consider the scenario of harvesting enough silk or kapok from this tree to stuff twenty-five pillows annually for one hundred years with the content of each pillow worth $45 TTD. Then the yield of the silk will be worth at least $112,500 TTD (25 x 100 x 45) for the given period. Of course, this return is premised on some assumptions such as: the tree gives the same yield annually; fluctuations in prices and other market forces are not considered; or if so, there are tradeoffs. But this is only one value for a small portion of the whole tree. In terms of timber, silk cotton tree is a third class timber species. Lumber from this tree can be used as “boxing board” for concrete work. Assume that this kapok tree is on private land and it is valued at $150 TTD per foot along its circumference (girth) at dbh. Then, with a diameter of 1.05 m or the equivalent circumference of 10.8 feet at dbh, the standing tree can be sold for $1,620 TTD (10.8 x 150). If the standing silk cotton tree is on state land, it will fetch a royalty of only $90 TTD. Apparently, the tree is growing on private land. However, if logs from this tree about 20.15 m or 66 ft high (merchantable height) are converted to lumber and sold as boxing board at only $8 TTD per board foot, then the returns may exceed $59,176 TTD (22/7 x 1.05 x 1.05/4 x 20.15 x 423.78 x 8). Again, there are some assumptions. The tree has no hollows; its dbh measurement is the same throughout its trunk and persons are willing to buy and use it in spite of the associated superstitions. Diameter at breast height was measured just above the highest buttress. In some developed countries, potential hazardous veteran trees are evaluated before they are felled. Australia, USA, New Zealand, Spain and UK use different tree evaluation methods. Consider only two tree appraisal methods (they give the least values) – the Helliwell valuation method as used mostly in the UK and the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers (CTLA) method used mainly in USA (Watson, 2002). Basically, the CTLA appraised value = basic value [(trunk area difference x basic price) + replacement cost] x species % x condition % x location % (adopted from Watson 2002). The Helliwell appraised amenity value = the score for tree size x life expectancy x position for public assessment x presence of other trees x relation to settings x
“The ancient Maya of Central America believed the silk cotton tree was the source of human life “
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form x special factors x £28.47 (the current conversion factor). This equation was also adopted from Watson (2002). In a nutshell, the potential hazardous silk cotton tree may be worth more than $38,761 TTD based on Helliwell calculations and more than $48,450 TTD based on CTLA calculations. Some concerns are: the tapering and crown size of a tree; values of other comparable surrounding resources; subjective factors (different appraisers) and some methods may not be appropriate for Tobago. Tropilab Inc. also states that the C. pentandra is highly valued in the Mayan mythology (Maroons of South America also). Here in Tobago, folk lore and superstitions (Soucouyant, jumbie and rotting of the index figure if pointed to the tree) are associated with the silk cotton tree. This species is revered by cults, occults and some other religions. Can one put a cost or value to these cultural idols? Perhaps no, since the tree is invaluable to the worshippers. Never the less, if one omits the royalty value and the value associated with revering the tree, then the average value of the silk cotton tree is $52,101 TTD (48,450 + 38,761 + 59,176 + 112,500 + 1,620) divided by 5. However, the amenity value of the silk cotton tree to tourists, carbon sequestration value, the honey production contribution of the flowers and other environmental services values were not considered. Nor were Burnley of Australia, Standard Tree Evaluation Method (STEM) of New Zealand and Norma Granada of Spain evaluations taken into consideration. It seems that the best use of the silk cotton tree may be to harvest and sell the silk fibres as stuffing. A few other factors were not considered in this article but should the tree be cut, the remaining rotting roots will cause sinks to the road. Perhaps, arborists should value a tree based on the value of its fruits. Should the silk cotton tree be cut down or not? Folks, consider and decide.
The Last Agouti Bertrand Bhikarry Environment TOBAGO The family Agouti is up against hard times here on Orange Hill. When asked last month, Mooma Agouti gave an estimate that less than three dozen of them at most were left in the area. Actually she’d counted eleven backsides herself in passing, but it was all she sees of her cousins, running constantly as they are from the dogs of the Tobago huntsmen. Mooma Agouti mulled gloomily even as she chewed hastily on a morsel found in a half shell of a coconut. Some cokehead had tossed the tiny scrap, during the round of opportunity such itinerants make when looking for product with cash value. Mooma Agouti had learnt it was fruitful to follow the trail of this and other erstwhile providers. She had even taken to exploring Spring Garden Hollow near the Claude Noel Highway itself, where the unfortunate junkie routinely harvested cassava belonging to the slash and burn farmer there. She didn’t know it, but the same angry agriculturist had recently purchased a trap from the Providence Feed Store, with which he intended to catch the damnable rodent that took his crops. Had she the power to reason as humans can, she’d have realized that the sole blame for those uprooted tubers fell to her. Sometimes having huge incisors aren’t always to one’s advantage. Mooma Agouti wasn’t all that old, even if she had defaulted to matriarch status
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by virtue of unnatural succession among the south Tobago agoutis. Her mother had been cornered, suffocated and partially shredded one terrible Sunday afternoon, not too far from the time the government minister had re-opened the hunting season to exercise T&T’s hounds. Mooma’s real name existed only in the consciousness of her two children, but her baby agoutis never spoke it except to call for food. Conversation was not the overriding concerns of any of their days. The hunting dogs were. The dogs were always hungry, always searching, forever seeking that bloody mouthful they’d been promised by their masters. Mooma Agouti had never seen them up close. To seek such privilege was to invoke death itself. One time she’d been chased by the pack over to Courland Ridge, and as she topped the southern divide, what environmentalists call the watershed, she’d had time to look at the view. She saw Plymouth the town, cast an eye over the Great Courland Bay itself. As she’d swung her head to locate the baying dogs coming up the eastern slope, she registered the capital Scarborough. It was a first look for her, confined as she always was to the undergrowth. But Courland Ridge was cleared of trees that day, and had she but known it, no agouti were to pass that way again. You see, the ways of men are predictable to some extent, in that when forest cover is removed, the concrete proliferates. In her juvenile years Mooma Agouti had known only of the trees and the water bearing runnels around Hope Flats, an area where earlier generations had seen forest, sugar cane, tobacco, and even cattle pass in time. The agouti family in particular was remarkably suited for the area. Unlike larger mammals, say goat and sheep, the relatively diminutive rodents lived off the land without damaging plants, soil, nor the livelihoods of other creatures. Actually Mooma Agouti and her kind, if she were to admit it, spent a fair amount of time in the search of food and in the inadvertent propagation of seed over the wider area. Anything from hogplum, fallen bananas, coconut, tamarind and samaan pods, was fair takings for her shopping cart. That she’d taken recently to stripping cassava or even potato where found, meant only to her that someone had placed it Agouti and pup within her reach. True, she had to venture out of her normal range to find those, but habitat encroachment is an increasing problem for all the island’s wild animals. The loss of her traditional forage space makes it another life and death issue, but Mooma Agouti already knows that these are her last days. As mothers do, she worries more about her younglings undeveloped ability to fend for themselves. She knows they are no match for the dogs, and will never be there are just too many of those on any given day. And while the little rodents may outsprint one dog in a dash through undergrowth, it is impossible to outrun a relay of the rapacious predators. Going to burrow, seeking a convenient hole is hardly a solution, since the humans, following slower, but with guns and with fire, make all the difference to the little creature’s chances. Mooma Agouti stopped chewing and nervously cast her senses to wind and to earth. She would have loved to go back to her young down at the burrow. But to do so would be inviting death to their home. Moving on at a running hop, she decided to take her own nourishment on the run, as the milk her body produces affords her babies a fighting chance. She wished, oh she wished the hunting season didn’t exist, but that, or even an animal sanctuary on Orange Hill is something Tobago’s human governors don’t want to see.
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“Her mother had been cornered, suffocated and partially shredded one terrible Sunday afternoon“
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THE RESTRICTED NATURAILST Ken Lamberton 2000. Wilderness and Razor Wire: A Naturalist's Observations from Prison. San Francisco: Mercury House 218 pp. [Twenty-seventh in a series on "naturalist-in" books.] Christopher K. Starr Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies ckstarr@gmail.com
“I've often thought that, if you want to write bestselling horror novels, you should first study the insect world." “
Naturalist-in books are about being a naturalist in a particular place. Almost always it is a place of the author's choosing, but Ken Lamberton was in an Arizona prison. This book makes frequent reference to his thoughts and feelings about how he came to be there. Growing up in the American southwest, Lamberton collected specimens and kept a variety of creatures in home terraria, as do most young naturalists. He did his undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of Arizona and then became a teacher. That was how he got into trouble. On an uncontrollable impulse, he left his wife and children to run off with one of his underage students. Without dwelling on it, Lamberton makes no excuses or claims that his 12-year prison sentence was unjust. He was released in 2000. It was in prison that he began writing, and the book opens by telling us that he is writing from the upper bunk of his cell. Several of the 24 chapters -- which include eight one- or two-page vignettes -- first appeared as magazine articles. An especially attractive feature is such chapter titles as "Sacred Regrets", "The Wisdom of Toads" and "The Importance of Trees". Another is his fine, detailed drawings of plants and animals. One chapter, titled "Queen" has no natural history at all and was presumably included to ensure that the reader cannot ignore the setting of these studies. It is about Mark, a flagrantly bisexual cell-mate, who wore makeup and preferred to be called Marra. A solid biological sense pervades this book. In the opening chapter Lamberton notes that "Nature is not always so aesthetic as those socially conscious, nature-as-art Victorian writers would have us believe -- unless you consider, for example, that death by slow evisceration is a beautiful thing. I've often thought that, if you want to write best-selling horror novels, you should first study the insect world." And then he proceeds, beautifully, to describe a tachinid fly larva eating a caterpillar from the inside. It would have been quite easy to write a lot of romantic nonsense, for example about the harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex sp.) that he observed, but Lamberton does nothing of the sort. Rather, he shows a solid understanding of the basis if their societies. And he knows to express himself dramatically. The mass of winged harvester-ant queens and males emerging for the mating flight, for example, is "a shuddering cloud of sex drive evaporating into the air." Or "I hold the toad and allow myself to listen to wildness, the freedom of its voice." Lamberton knows the literature and occasionally cites or quotes from other authors, always relevantly, never to show off. His reference to our desire to know the names of species as "this vocational inheritance from Adam" is such a by-the-way reference to Genesis 2:19 that I am sure most readers will not even notice. Lamberton could see the desert vegetation outside, hear the coyotes howling, but under his circumstances there is little emphasis on the untouchable landscape and a great
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deal on life cycles and the passing of the seasons. In a region where the summer can last eight months, it makes sense that he recognizes stages within it: foresummer, monsoon summer and aftersummer. The Sonora Desert year includes some distinctly hard times, and its creatures are adapted to survive them, something to which Lamberton can certain relate. "I have become a disciple of wildflowers and brittlebushes. I am tortoise, saguaro. I will survive the seasons of heat and frost and storm, and I will survive the drought." In the chapter on "Swallows and Doing Time", Lamberton tells of looking forward to the yearly return of the barn swallows, which nested on the prison grounds. He kept made observations of reproductive success and failure and wrestled with the question of why this bird nests in colonies. There is no evident shortage of nesting sites, and the gregarious habit would seem to be beset by disadvantages. Lamberton's central wildlife interest was birds, especially birds of prey. He even kept a prison lifelist, regrettably not included as an appendix. It bears emphasis that he actually observed them, unlike the great mass of "bird watchers" who just count species. A key theme of the book is the fascination for wild nature that some inmates shared with Lamberton. To his surprise, others with swallows nesting in their cells took a protective interest in the birds and joined him in missing them when they flew south for the winter. Some fed bread to birds in the yard, a punishable breach of prison rules. And when a hawk captured a raven outside the fence during exercise and perched on a nearby tree to eat it, the men stood transfixed and talked about this amazing spectacle for months afterward. This is entirely consistent with E.O. Wilson's (1984) concept of biophilia, that humans have an innate affinity for wild creature. Reference Wilson, E.O. 1984. Biophilia. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press 157 pp.
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