E
n vi ron m en t T OBAGO (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 en viron men tal activit ies 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
Environment TOBAGO
Sustainable Communities Initiative for North East Tobago-ET Green Fund Initiative Presentation Education Coordinator (ET) A meeting was held to discuss the above mentioned project with the THA. 21st February, 2013 at 11:15am at the Office of the Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly at the Calder Hall Administrative Building, Scarborough. Present at this meeting were: Honourable Chief Secretary of the THA, Orville London Chief Administrator of the THA, Mr Ellis Burris His Excellency, High Commissioner Arthur Snell of the British High Commission, Trinidad & Tobago Mr Ashley Parasram-Project Coordinator Juliana Antoine, Environment TOBAGO Mr. Snell gave an overview of the Sustainable Communities Initiative for North East Tobago. This project is largely based on the findings and recommendations from the “Greening Tobago – How and Why?” workshop conducted in Tobago in November 2011 and a subsequent stakeholder analysis and meetings undertaken between December 2011 to March 2012. The key findings from the workshop and stakeholder analysis, including 108 completed surveys from organisations and individuals throughout Trinidad and Tobago were broadly similar. There is widespread support for developing Tobago as a low carbon destination (92%). A significant majority of respondents believe that a low carbon future was feasible (77%). There was also support for Carbon Neutrality, but more uncertainty about the feasibility of achieving it. A majority of respondents agreed that North-East Tobago should be used as a demonstration site. In conclusion, His Excellency noted that he would appreciate Green Fund Tobago & THA endorsement on the project and welcomed future collaborations with the aim of securing funding. In his presentation, Mr Parasram spoke of the need to build on existing data that is available for NE Tobago. He made specific reference to the NE Tobago Management Plan which was done in 2002 by Kairi Consultants. He alluded to the fact that there is information that is already available that will make this Sustainable Communities Initiative Project more effective as it is within the mandate of Central Government as well as the THA to develop NE Tobago. BHC-Arthur Snell and ET GF project coordinator Ashley Parasram
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March 2013 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 Matt Kelly Environment TOBAGO Photographs: Environment TOBAGO
Board of Directors 2012-2014 President:: Patricia Turpin Vice-President: Bertrand Bhikkary Secretary: Wendy Austin Treasurer: Shirley McKenna Other Directors: William Trim Kai Trim Rupert McKenna Fitzherbert Phillips Renee Gift Geoffrey Lewis Darren Daly Allan Sandy
Environment TOBAGO newsletter
Juliana Antoine -ET, I gave a summary of ET’S role in the project as project administrator/managers. I spoke to the need of having consultations on all levels involving the community as well as the experts so that everyone is on board before the project starts. I then outlined the major goals of the project which were: To improve the livelihoods of the local community of NE Tobago through job creation and improved living conditions from the creation of a low carbon destination. To build on the existing public and government support in Trinidad and Tobago for moving towards a “Green Economy” by increasing the level of awareness of the challenges and benefits of low-carbon technologies and of the concept sustainable agriculture. To develop a long-term Strategic Plan (“roadmap”) for how North-East Tobago (“NE Tobago”) could be developed into a Carbon Neutral or Low Carbon Destination and a globally-recognized model of “Sustainable Communities” where its world famous marine and terrestrial biodiversity is protected and managed for the benefit present and future generations. To identify and assist in sourcing funding for community led projects, and provide the resources to support the implementation of the Strategic Plan. ET firmly takes the position that this project is feasible and thoroughly supports it. We will be working with credible project partners and ultimately hold the position that the people of Tobago are the ones that will derive maximum benefit from this project. In response, Chief Secretary Orville London spoke of the need to collaborate and to involve the THA at all levels. He expressed his interest in the project and the potential that it can have on the residents of NE Tobago. He also spoke of his mandate as the leader of the THA to develop all villages and communities with the aim of improving the standard of living for everyone. Additionally, he suggested that ET as the project lead, put together a group of people to form a committee that also includes experts from the THA to discuss the project in more detail and to come up with a terms of reference. In conclusion, he suggested that we give a suitable project timeline, so that contingencies can be put in place to allow the proper debate of the project.
Consultations-Wildlife Policy-Tobago February 27th, 2013 -Comments by ET Members 1. BERTRAND BHIKARRY Name of policy needs to be changed from “Wildlife Policy” to “Fish and Wildlife Policy”. 2. PAT TURPIN Law enforcement is critical- it is the biggest problem in the country. More game wardens and HGW needed. Research on biodiversity numbers is essential for management of natural resources and the funding to do this. Co-management of the ecosystems and resources is essential for stakeholder buy in. The Act Schedule 3 must be rewritten. Animals that are referred to as vermin are not necessarily vermin. Bats are essential to pollination and insect control. The hunters lobby cannot continually be allowed to determine the future of our wildlife. A moratorium on hunting is required for certain species to reproduce or reduce the open seasons to one month per year. Bag limits enforced.
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Marine resources need CITES laws enforced. Sizes of lobster, crab and fish (and females with eggs) need to be legislated and enforced. The fisheries are declining from overharvesting. 3. IAN LAMBIE The decline in the populations of our forest mammals, especially that of our game animals, caused by the unrelenting hunting, both legal and illegal, throughout the year. There are numerous issues to be addressed, decisions taken and Legislation enacted in the interest of the sustainability of this valuable renewable natural resource, our country's wildlife. It has long been recognised that the continuing sale of "wildmeat" is hastening the demise of our game. Unfortunately the continuous growing demand for "wildmeat" encourages illegal hunting and the "setting of trap-guns" in forested areas, both during the open and during the closed season. Our concerns for wildlife should also include concerns for our ocelots, monkeys, anteaters and other forest mammals and reptiles (including Iguanas, land turtles and terrapins) (1) Is our annual hunting season of six months (183 days) too long? Should there be a longer closed season during which our wildlife will be permitted to reproduce and to raise their offspring without being relentlessly chased by dogs and killed by hunters? (2) The present open season of six months is much too long for the survival of our various game animal populations. Should there be an annual open season of one month or should hunting be permitted for one month in every second year? Should hunting be banned? (3) Should dogs be used in hunting? The use of dogs in hunting is banned in many enlightened countries of the world. (4) And what about the "exercising of dogs" by pursuing wildlife during the closed season? (5) Should hunting at night be banned? (6) Should there be a daily or seasonal "bag limits" for our forest mammals and for our swamp birds? (7) At present Trinidad and Tobago is benefitting from a niche market in "Ecotourism", Birdwatching. Many visitors come to locate, to observe and to appreciate our many species of Birds. Trinidad and Tobago is reputed to be the best place for an introduction to the South American species of birds. Eco-tourism and hunting are incompatible (8) Should the trapping of our song birds for keeping in cages be banned? The sale of our song birds and macaws in pet shops and for export has resulted in the extirpation of many if not all of our Song-bird species, and a significant decline in our population of Macaws. These are just a few of the important decisions which have to be taken and appropriate Legislation enacted if we are to have meaningful wildlife conservation legislation with the emphasis being placed on the "sustainability of the resource" and not on hunting and killing of our wildlife in the name of "sport". Many persons are of the opinion that there should be a five-year moratorium on hunting during which an inventory of the populations of our various forest mammals will be conducted by first degree graduates of UWI in pursuance of their respective MSc Degrees. It is imperative that we know what we are protecting? A moratorium on hunting was declared at the beginning of the limited state of emergency on 21st August, 2011. The hunting season was scheduled to begin on October 1st. Many NGO's including, the Council of Presidents of the Environment, COPE,
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Trini Eco-Warriors (TEW) and several concerned citizens had written to the then Minister of Housing and the Environment, The Honourable Roodal Moonilal, urging him to extend the moratorium on hunting beyond the end of the state of emergency, and until the beginning of the regular closed season on 1st March, 2012, in order to give the forest mammals and swamp birds an opportunity to reproduce and to rare their offspring in peace and without being pursued by dogs and being shot by hunters. In declaring the hunting season open after the state of emergency had been lifted on 5th December, 2011, Dr. Moonilal acknowledged the receipt of letters from the NGOs and from other concerned citizens, urging that the Moratorium on Hunting be extended beyond the end of the State of Emergency. However he stated, that he had been advised that the closing of the hunting season would have an adverse effect on the health of the dogs used by hunters since these dogs required regular exercise. Since it was the first occasion on which I had heard that hunting dogs required regular exercise by pursuing wild animals in the forest, I searched the Internet for a report of any study having been conducted, in order to confirm this hypothesis. Having not found any such report, I then sought information from the US Fish and Wildlife Service as to whether the health of hunting dogs would be negatively affected if they were deprived of the opportunity to hunt and to pursue Wild Animals. In Trinidad and Tobago (two small Islands with a total area of 1,980 square miles) hunters using dogs enjoy "a killing season" of 152 days annually. This is followed by another period of " hunting but without guns" popularly known as "exercising of dogs" by pursuing wild animals with hunting dogs during the closed season. Unfortunately, being cognisant of the numerous unfulfilled promises relative to Environmental and other Matters made by Ministers of successive Governments over many year , I will not be satisfied until a new Wildlife Conservation Bill is not merely enacted but made Law by Proclamation. Hereunder are just a few or the many promises made by successive Governments: "Water for all by 2000", "The Dangerous Dogs Act of 2000" , "The Noise Pollution Act" , and "The Planning and Development of Land Bill " which was supposed to replace the obsolete Town and Country Planning Act. Not to be forgotten are the statements made by the Planning Minister, The Honourable Dr Tewari, after the extensive flooding and loss of property in 2011 and in 2012, that there will be no further construction above the 300 foot contour in the Northern Range, and that he will also bring to an end illegal quarrying. In this "country of old talk� one may conclude that conservation means "the preservation of the addiction to hunt and to kill wild animals" and also "to ensure that quarry operators continue to ravage our environment, destroying our forests and wildlife habitat and our precious watersheds OPEN SEASON for HUNTING:**** Game Animals and Cage Birds: 1st October to 28th (29th) February (5 Months) Ducks and other Waterfowl: 1st November to 28th (29th) February (4 Months) For the Current Hunting Season 2012/2013: More than 10,800 Hunting Permits were issued (purchased). **** Originally the Open Season was from 1st October to 31st March (6 Months) for all Game Animals and Swamp Birds. These periods were reduced by Legal Notice No. 116 of 2002
Environment TOBAGO newsletter
Environment TOBAGO Welcomes our newest staff member Mr. Barry Lovelace ET Education Coordinator
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Wetlands, Mangroves and Coral Reefs Education Campaign Education Coordinator (ET) PCI Media Impact in Collaboration with Environment TOBAGO will be embarking on a six-week Wetlands, Mangrove & Coral Reefs Education program in Secondary Schools across Tobago starting from April 2013. Objectives Granted the foregoing, the objects of the MIMC Tobago Wetland Education Campaign are:
to deliver at least 1.5 hours of curriculum-relevant content on the value of wetlands and coral reefs to, at least, 300 students from all nine (9) secondary schools in Tobago. to engage at least 50% of these students in a Learning Journey (guided trek and boat tour of mangrove and reef systems) of the Bon Accord/Buccoo wetland Complex to promote Calalloo Radio Drama Series to students and teachers to empower teachers responsible for imparting wetland and coral reef aspects of the senior school syllabi with methods, information and resource options.
Project Details Planning and Scheduling Given limited resources, this project will narrow its attention to students within (but not limited to) 3rd to 4th form. It is important to get buy-in from teachers from the onset. The project team will establish liaison with teachers who are responsible for delivering areas of the school curriculum dealing with wetlands and coral reefs (Geography, Biology, and Environmental Science) in each of the nine (9) high schools on the island and collaborate with him/her to organize session(s) at the school. An experienced facilitator, assisted by ET appointees, will engage the students in interesting presentations covering a wide range of topics related to coral reef/wetlands. Delivery of Content Emphasis will be placed on information required by the syllabus of the target audience, however, included in these presentations will be messages about: Why are coral reefs and wetlands important (goods and services) Coral reef and mangrove ecology/biology Climate change as a threat to these coastal ecosystems What we can do to conserve and protect these ecosystems Callaloo Radio Drama and how to access it PowerPoint presentations will be aided by live performances of the “Wetland Work for Us” and “Save Tobago’s Reefs” ‘enviro-lypsos’. These entertaining pieces will no doubt help in breaking the ice for discussion in addition to help encode the information presented. Brochures and handouts on coral reefs and wetlands will also be produced for distributed to students and teachers. As well as referenced will be made to online and other recourse that are available for further learning. Learning Journeys/Field Trips In addition to the indoor presentations, ET will facilitate teachers in organizing at least one Learning Journey (field trip) for each school. This very engaging activity
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will entail a guided trek of the mangrove ecosystem of the Bon Accord Wetlands and then a guided tour of the Buccoo Reef on glass bottom boat. By this, students will experience firsthand, the beauty and satisfaction of interacting with these gems of nature. They will better appreciate the many adaptations that the mangrove species have evolved to enable them to survive in harsh conditions as they deliver many goods and services in the process. They will also better understand the important role that coral reefs play in sustaining the economy of Tobago, and how the same humans, by their activities, are threatening the survival of the very coastal systems that sustain quality of their lives. Much will depend on the teachers’ motivation to organize the students for this trip (permissions, fees and transport). The project team will facilitate the tour by negotiating and coordinating with the reef boat operators and delivering the actual content of the tours. The cost of the boat trips will be subsidized by the project. Monitoring, Reporting and Sharing In addition to presentations and learning journeys supplemental material and information will be distributed. Resources will include: Brochures and handouts on coastal ecosystems Guidelines on where/how to access relevant local information (for example, Coral Reef map of Tobago) Access to follow-up online information such as PowerPoint presentations, brochures and videos
Photos will be taken at every session so that a highly visual report could be available at the end of the project. It is also an objective to produce a short 10 – 15 minute video report for upload to YouTube. This video along with other digital outputs of this project will be available to PCI clearing house. A report will be due at the end of the project. This report will show how well objectives were achieved and will summarize the analysis of the outcomes. Environment TOBAGO eagerly looks forward to the outcome of this project and thanks all who were involved in the planning process for their hard work and dedication.
Speyside wetland
“many adaptations that the mangrove species have evolved to enable them to survive in harsh conditions as they d e l i v er m any goods and services in the process. “
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ECOLOGY NOTES Metacommunity Ecology Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies Metacommunity ecology is a relatively recent field of study having developed greatly in the past 20 years. This field of study concentrates on patterns of abundance, distribution of species and their interactions. It also holds great importance for the well -being of our environment as it explores how problems like pollution and habitat fragmentation affects biodiversity and its conservation. A metacommunity is actually a collection of communities. These communities are believed to be linked together by the species they contain which can potentially disperse among them. There are four main concepts that are important in metacommunity ecology as they drive the diversity found in patches. The first is referred to as patch dynamics, which has two main assumptions; the first being that the extinction of species in a local population in inevitable and takes place periodically. The second is that the ability of populations of species is limited. Bearing in mind, diversity patterns present in a community is a result of the rate of species dispersal. The rate of dispersal depends on the ability of the species to colonise and compete with others for space in the community. The second concept is referred to as species sorting where patches of habitat are recognised as having different environments therefore being populated with species best suited to the conditions found there. Based on this, it is believed that in communities, the better adapted species out-compete those that are less well adapted. Therefore, the species composition will change in response to a change in environment in a patch with different habitat types as there are many species present to fill in the gap and colonise it. The third concept is called mass effects where populations of species remain present in a patch without their numbers being supplemented by individuals immigrating from other patches. Finally there is neutral dynamics which assumes that the species in a community possess equivalent competitive and dispersal abilities so that their abundance and composition is determined by limitations on their dispersal and random processes that affect the populations. As I mentioned earlier this field of study is important in determining how current environmental problems like habitat fragmentation due to urbanization affects the biodiversity in the area. Two main things to keep in mind are that this study focuses on the dispersal abilities of organisms in an area. Also a community is a collection of species that depend on each other to survive and exist in an area. Therefore problems like habitat fragmentation may affect one species more than the others. For instance a species which is not very mobile will not be able to disperse to other suitable habitats and the communities found there. So after habitat fragmentation occurs the biodiversity of the resulting communities is less than those in the original communities.
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ARTICLES Tobago Plantations- Pollution Report for Birders Matt Kelly Environment TOBAGO On Monday, January 28, 2013, I visited the three sewage ponds at the Magdelena Resort (formerly Hilton) on Tobago. I have frequented these ponds over the years as a birder. I have had the opportunity to study the condition of the ponds for many years. I was concerned to hear reports of oil being dumped into the third pond, and wanted to see first-hand, what the situation is. I arrived at the ponds at around 6:30 AM. As you walk through the gate, from Pond #1 to Pond #3, you are travelling from North to South. I saw that the first and second ponds were the same as always, although the vegetation is higher and denser than the past few years. I will confine the remainder of my description to Pond #3. Pond #3 is the only pond of the three which has a cement wall dividing it. The wall runs in a North/South direction. Looking South, the left side of the pond is about 1/2 land (North side) and 1/2 water (South side). The right hand side of the pond is mostly all water, and seems to have some kind of discharge pipe emptying into in. Most birders know this area has become important habitat for many rare waterfowl to Tobago. On that day, I saw nine Blue-winged Teals there, along with ten Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Common Moorhen, Tricoloured Heron, Solitary Sandpiper and others. There have been many reports of rarities in the three ponds, Many First Records for Tobago. East side of wall: The left (East) side has a large slick of oil on the land side of the pond [photos #1 & 8]. The oil is thick and viscous, and is unfortunately being soaked up by the vegetation [photos # 10, 11 & 19]. Fortunately, most of the oil on the East half of Pond #3 is on the land, and not in the water area. Maybe it would be possible to have a piece of heavy equipment scoop out much of the contaminated soils? Should this contamination linger for any length of time, it will surely seep into the water. There is some evidence of oil in the water now, which is most alarming. If any bird were to come into contact with this raw oil, its feathers would certainly be fouled, which most likely could be fatal. I have already heard reports of oily bird deaths from here. West side of wall: The right (West) side of the cement wall is mostly all water. There is a pipe covered in deep grass, which was belching some kind of discharge into this side (I believe this is a normal part of the system here). This (West) side has evidence of a thick oily scum along the shore [photo #22]. I did not find it to be inviting nor suitable to the rare birds which come here. As I said, some of the oily soil could possibly be removed. It should not be dumped where it will just seep back in to the ground! It should be remediated in a responsible manner (at least burned, which I don't recommend). As far as the floating oil and scum; there are floating remediation sponges, which can be placed in the water, along the shores, which will absorb oil, and then can be disposed of. I would highly recommend this method be used immediately.
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These ponds, although not public property, have become a mecca on Tobago for birders, and especially tourist birders. The creation of these ponds has inadvertently created a very special haven for rare birds on Tobago. I believe the area should be maintained so as to embrace and enhance the presence of the rare birds there, and to capitalize on this fact, while simultaneously achieving the objective of the pond's creation; to clean the septic water of the resort. Therefore immediate steps should be taken to clean up the pollution.
Pond 1
Pond 8
Pond 19
Pond 11
Pond 22
Grim is the outlook for Tobago wetlands Bertrand Bhikarry The outlook isn’t brilliant for Tobago wetlands. These days, THA thinks with the bulldozer, engineers think on the pay. So it’ll be Kilgywn that dies first, but Buccoo will soon do the same. Hear! The deadly silence upon the island. Hushed are the birds, gone are the fishes, going too is the game. A straggling few may quarrel, the rest simply say “God is good. He’ll do what’s best”. But hold that thought. What if we all go back and revise the chat? Let’s arrange the better deal. Let nature wear its hat.” Events to do with World Wetlands Day, got the heaviest ever coverage this year. It is probably the first full-scale attack ever made by the Tobago House of Assembly against this island’s ‘doh care attitude’ about wetland roles and functions. Good for them. Good on Angela R of the Department of Natural Resources. The national water and sewerage authority also chose to get in on the act. Again, this is especially nice, given the responsibility WASA carries to provide the public with its most fundamental need. But what’s next? According to the Integrated Water Resource Management Stakeholder Group – a body which advises WASA, in order to
Environment TOBAGO newsletter
protect the wetlands, a wide programme is required. They’d like to see: Greater watershed protection Standards developed for wastewater re-use On-farm and in-industry water management systems A national information database Better understanding within state bodies, ideally operating under Memoranda of Agreement Public Education and Awareness Last on the list, Education and awareness re: wetland importance is actually the most important step. It’s also the most difficult to achieve. Yet if it is not, nothing else can happen. Education is the sole mechanism which can motivate responsible behaviour, but in a purely abstract form, knowledge alone will not always guarantee that people will play well with nature, which in turn affects its ability to produce fresh water. Ecological short-sightedness, probably has to do with the perception that nature is a barrier to progress rather than a friend of sustainable livelihoods. To impress on Tobagonians (Trinidadians too), of the vital importance for leaving the ecosystem to work its magic means the value of water on tap has to be equated with something priceless. Uninterrupted enjoyment of daily living is such an item. But perhaps with the demands of modern society, the simpler aspects of getting by can be easily overlooked; Access to clean water for personal hygiene is one item that comes to mind. Water has importance for daily life - for any economy’s future and sustainable growth. Everyone must absolutely get in tune with the linkages which ensures the fresh water supply. The wetland as a provider ranks high on that list. Anyone who lives near a wetland could learn much by visiting it. They should try to make sense out of the relationships that nature uses to propagate the web of life. More importantly, Tobago decision makers should come to terms with the potential for damage that human encroachment carries, and plan accordingly. However, forward planning is not clearly evident. The Tobago record for dealing with its wetlands is not stellar to put it mildly. Around fifty years ago, the wetlands were subject to a massive drainage programme. Mosquitoes and malaria were the threat of the time, and the available knowledge demanded an aggressive eradication drive. The legacy of the malaria initiative still survives in part, with pieces of concrete culverts protruding in places around the coastline. Today the disgust for muddy, uninviting river mouths still endures. To be fair though, the current unpleasant conditions in the Tobago marsh, swamps and estuaries have more to do with improper waste management, rather than any ‘fault’ of nature. Tobago has got to learn to live with its wetlands. It’s the only reasonable chance Tobago’s got for protecting its water tables, safeguarding its shores, or ensuring viable stocks of local fish, birds and wildlife. It’s a warning that bears repeating. Tobago has got to learn to live with its wetlands. Failure to do skews the outlook for everyone.
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Wildlife Policies and the People Matt Kelly Environment Tobago
“Tobago wishes to be known as an “Eco-Isle.” “
The Native American Iroquois people had a tradition in the making of a decision. The rule was to examine the decision before you, and consider how it would affect the 7 th generation from current days. We need such a policy here and now. Tobago wishes to be known as an “Eco-Isle.” And if that is to be so, there has to be some “eco” left for people to experience. I have been a regular visitor to Tobago for over 20 years. While here, I spend most of my free time in the bush, and in study of Tobago’s natural history. All over Trinidad and Tobago, wildlife populations are going down. Ask any hunter, especially the more senior hunters. I have noticed a decline in the wildlife myself, over the past 20 years. According to David Hardy of the Smithsonian Institution, who has studied the Biodiversity of Tobago for over two generation; Tobago’s forests once had Red -brocket Deer, two kinds of wild hog, a fox, musk rat, manatee, and other animals which roamed freely here. There are also references of capybara and monkey on Tobago. They are now consigned to history. That did not happen on our watch. But this is our watch, now. Will that be the fate of the present land mammals of Tobago? Is there a chance that our grandchildren will only see agouti, tattoo, and manicou in pictures? There is no question that something must be done. The coral reefs are also losing out. In the last twenty years, the coral reef life has plummeted by over 65%. This is my own direct and personal observation. It is the same from Speyside, where the “World’s Largest Brain Coral” is dead, to Englishman’s Bay, where in the once-thriving Elkhorn Coral it is now hard to find anywhere, to the worldrenown Buccoo Reef, where the coral communities barely hang on. Rivers, which once held fish, eels, caiman and turtles, are now barren. Blue Crabs were plentiful everywhere, but now can only be found in fewer and fewer places. Land turtles, or “morocoys” are probably a thing of the past. Songbirds of Tobago have mostly been trapped out to extinction. The Picoplat, Chat, Nunbird, Silverbeak, Twa-twa, and Bullfinch are all most likely extirpated from the Tobago wilds. The wildlife situation is very bleak indeed for Tobago. But I do not wish to curse the darkness. I hope to help light candles. Tobago needs a new start, a fresh start. It all starts here, today. Commercial Hunting needs to be stopped immediately. Sport Hunting needs to be severely curtailed, or even ended. At the very least, a moratorium needs to be implemented, while real scientific studies can be conducted on each individual species, to find out which, if any, is sustainable, and how. Protection of habitats and ecosystem protection also needs to be incorporated in the planning process. Then, there is the over-riding problem of enforcement; How to actually enforce any policy changes. Enforcement of even the present ineffectual regulations seems nearly impossible. But ask yourselves, “How will the seventh generation from now judge us?” We are in a position to make the necessary changes now. The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources is considering major changes in T&T’s laws regulating wildlife. They are taking your comments from now, through March 31st. To read the proposals, and to submit your own comments, (which are highly important), go to http:// www.biodiversity.gov.tt/home/ , click on “Policies and Legislation”, then go to “Draft National Wildlife Policy”. Please consider not only the seventh generation in your deliberations on this most important issue but consider the 70th generation, and how history will judge you. I thank you for your time, and I hope and pray that the right decisions will be made.
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IN A PLACE OF MANY WORLDS Alfred Russel Wallace 1869. The Malay Archipelago. Vol. 1-2. London: Macmillan 638 pp. Tenth edition reprinted 1962 by Dover, New York. Available online from Project Gutenberg or at http://wallace-online.org/. [Thirty-first in a series on "naturalist-in" books.] Christopher K. Starr Dept of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies ckstarr@gmail.com Recall that Henry Walter Bates, whose The Naturalist on the River Amazons was treated in the last issue, went to the Amazon with his friend Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913). Wallace returned after four years, while Bates stayed on. Wallace's notes were lost in a shipboard fire, so that his own book about Brazil (1853) the book had to be composed from memory and not on the same level as Bates's. Wallace soon left on a new expedition, this time to what are now Malaysia and Indonesia, where he wandered extensively, visiting some islands several times. As in the Amazon, his aim was to make natural-history observations while collecting specimens. He returned to England in 1862 and worked until 1868 on curating his collections, including about 110,000 insects. The Malay Archipelago is a long book, the 40 chapters arranged into sections by island group. The 51 illustrations include 10 maps. An appendix gives the counterparts of 117 English words in 33 languages. Reading such a book then and now are quite different experiences. Wallace was writing mainly for Europeans who would never visit such far-off places. Since then, the places that have become much more accessible are much altered from their original character. In his wanderings, Wallace often set off for a destination with little advance information about its condition or biota. Unlike Bates, he was not out of "civilization" for long periods. He spent much more time around towns and on the whole worked in more comfortable conditions than in the Amazon. Although Wallace did not suffer hardships on the scale that finally drove Bates from the Amazon, there were difficult times. Remarking on a trip to Ternate, "My first crew ran away; two men were lost for a month on a desert island; we were ten times aground on coral reefs; we lost four anchors; the sails were devoured by rats; the small boat was lost astern; we were thirty-eight days on the voyage home, which should have taken twelve; we were many times short of food and water; and to crown all, during the whole of our voyages from Goran by Ceram to Waigiou, and from Waigious to Ternate, occupying in all seventy-eight days ... we had not one single day of fair wind." Natural-history writing can be lyrical, even voluptuous. On Aru Wallace found Ornithoptera poseidon, one of the celebrated birdwing butterflies and among the world's most magnificent insects. "I trembled with excitement as I saw it coming toward me, and could hardly believe I had really succeeded in my stroke till I had taken it out of the net and was gazing, lost in admiration, at the velvet black and brilliant green of its wings, seven inches across, its golden body, and crimson breast." There is also dry humour. As he prepared specimens of an evening in Lombok, one of
“In Borneo, a couple was to be executed for adultery by being tied back to back and tossed into the sea to the crocodiles. “
Environment TOBAGO newsletter
the watching local men remarked on the scarcity of ghosts thereabouts. In Borneo, he noted, one did not dare walk in the night past where a murder had occurred, on account of the terrible noises from the victim's ghost. Wallace's Malay assistant agreed that nothing of the sort happened locally. "And so it was settled that ghosts were very scarce, if not altogether unknown in Lombok. I would observe, however, that as the evidence was purely negative we should be wanting in scientific caution if we accepted this fact as sufficiently well established." In Borneo, a couple was to be executed for adultery by being tied back to back and tossed into the sea to the crocodiles. Wallace took a long walk to avoid the scene, "thus missing the opportunity of having a horrible narrative to enliven my somewhat tedious story." Aside from insects, Wallace had two special foci: the orang-utan in Borneo and birds-of-paradise in New Guinea. He spent much time observing the former, remarking that "It is a singular and very interesting sight to watch [an orang-utan] making its way leisurely through the forest. He walks deliberately along some of the larger branches in the semi-erect attitude which the great length of his arms and the shortness of his legs cause him naturally to assume .... He seems always to choose those branches which intermingle with an adjoining tree, on approaching which he stretches out his long arms and, seizing both the opposing boughs, grasps them together with both hands, seems to try his strength, and then deliberately swings himself across to the next branch, on Six-shafted bird of paradise which he walks along as before." Wallace's success in New Guinea fell far short of expectations. He bought birds-of-paradise from hunters, but a foot injury kept him housebound for weeks, while the islands' magnificent biotic riches lay out of reach all around him. Wallace is regarded as the founder of biogeography, and the distribution of plants and animals is a major theme. Perhaps his most striking result had to do with Bali and Lombok, just east of Java. Looking at a map, it seems out of the question that the Lesser Sunda Islands, the close chain of physically similar islands stretching from Java to Timor, should show any biotic differences. However, Wallace found a relatively abrupt change in passing between Bali and Lombok. Sulawesi (Celebes) is at the center of the archipelago, so that one might expect it to be especially species-rich but with little that is distinctive. In fact, exactly the opposite is true. Species richness is low, yet this is the most distinctive of the archipelago's major islands. The reason for this pattern is now well known. Borneo, Sumatra and Java all lie on the Sunda Continental Shelf, while New Guinea is on the Sahul Shelf. During the ice ages, with lower sea levels, these islands were all connected to Asia or Australia, while Sulawesi and the Lesser Sundas from Lombok eastward remained islands throughout. Wallace found himself in a much more stratified class society than in the Amazon, with rajahs and other aristocrats. Malays and Papuans were the two main racial-ethnic groups, and he had a special affinity for the Dayaks -- the Malay people native to Borneo -- whom he deemed especially pleasant, honest and lively in their intelligence. In dealing with Europeans, Wallace spoke English or French, and with natives mostly the lingua franca, Malay. He visited places where foreigners were practically unknown. In one
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Sulawesi village, hardly anyone spoke more than a few words of Malay, and most had evidently never seen a European before, so that his arrival caused a sensation. "Wherever I went, dogs barked, children screamed, women ran away, and men stared as though I were some strange and terrible criminal monster. Even the pack-horses on the roads and paths would start aside when I appeared and rush into the jungle." Wallace saw the Aru Islands off the western end of New Guinea as South Asia's ends of the Earth. All that was needed to explore them was the "courage to trust oneself for a thousand miles' voyage in a Bugis prau, and for six or seven months among lawless traders and ferocious savages". And so he set off, beyond the bounds of civilization, feeling like a schoolboy on a grand adventure. The crew of the ship consisted of about 50 "wild, half-savage-looking fellows, and few of them feeling any of the restraints of morality or education". He got on well with this fine company. One habit of note in the archipelago was "amok". This Malay verb, equivalent to the English "run amok", is quite different from going berserk. The berserks, or berserkers, were Viking warriors whose battle rage made them careless of their own safety and thus especially dangerous. An amok -- the term can also apply to the person -- is dangerous for the same reason, but it is a personal matter, not part of organized warfare. It arises when humiliation and a hopeless social situation drive one to murderous despair. Someone with nothing to lose might as well go out in dramatic fashion. Amokking still occurs in that part of the world, almost exclusively as a male phenomenon. Both Bates and Wallace were immersed for years in native society, but they were not of it. Although liberals, they remained Victorian men who did not question the social superiority of some peoples over others. Of the two main races in the archipelago, "the Malay is undoubtedly the most important ..., as it is the one which is the most civilized, which has come most into contact with Europeans, and which alone has any place in history." Wallace had a generally favourable view of Dutch colonizing efforts and assumed that missionaries had a civilizing, uplifting effect, on the whole. Furthermore, he expected the condition of women to be improved through western contact. Still, he was skeptical of some effects. "Natives of tropical climates have few wants, and when these are supplied, are disinclined to work for superficialities without some strong excitement." He saw liquor and opium, introduced by European traders, as introducing addiction and thus a new strong want. Wallace ends with a disquisition on progress toward individual freedom. "It is very remarkable that among people in a very low state of civilization we find some approach to such a perfect social state." In South America and South Asia among "savages" unconstrained except by public opinion he found equality and respect for the rights of others, concluding that modern humans have progressed intellectually, but not morally, beyond the savage state.
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“Wherever I went, dogs barked, children screamed, women ran away, and men stared as though I were some strange and terrible criminal monster. “
There is a curious omission from Wallace's account. In February 1858 he formulated a theory of evolution identical to that of Charles Darwin. He described this in a letter to Darwin, and the two published a joint paper later that year, so that on his return to England Wallace found himself well known in scientific circles. This turning point of his life is not mentioned in The Malay Archipelago. Reference: Wallace, A.R. 1853. A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro. London: Reeve 541 pp.
Christopher K. Starr is also the host of the new weekly radio show "EcoTones", a half-hour programme devoted to a broad range of environmental questions. Among these are environmental law and policy, ecotourism, the state of the environment, and some of the exceptionally alluring wild plants and animals found in the Eastern Caribbean. EcoTones airs every Wednesday evening just after the 6 o'clock news (starting at about 22:10 GMT) on FM 101.7 (Heritage Radio).
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WHAT’S HAPPENING @ ET Environment TOBAGO Environmental and Services Map of Tobago
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READERS’ FORUM Dear ET Newsletter Readers, Office:
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Deadline for submission of material for the 2nd Quarter 2013 issue of the Bulletin is June 10th, 2013.