10 minute read
From Casual Indifference to Careful Consideration
bpTT & the IMA are changing attitudes to sustainability
Why is there so much flooding even though there is a reduction in rainfall?
Despite being surrounded by the sea, why is fish so expensive?
What is causing the slow killing of Buccoo Reef, the main source of income for so many families in Tobago?
bpTT’s Marine Resilience Initiative (MARIN), Tobago partnership project with the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) is expected to find answers to these questions and to how human behaviour contributes to environmental impact. It requires a holistic view of the interdependence of the marine ecosystems and the stakeholders that rely on them for their living and leisure.
MARIN Tobago is tackling climate change and natural resource management in Tobago and in doing so are boosting marine resilience in the coastal nearshore habitats of mangroves, sea grass beds and coral reefs. BP’s initial investment in the 5-year initiative, was for 1 year initially, and was focussed on the feasibility of restoring damaged coral reefs and replanting of seagrass beds in Tobago.
We are in some hot water
Trinidad and Tobago, like other islands, is experiencing the impacts of rising sea levels, increasingly warmer ocean temperatures, ocean acidification and more aggressive and frequent storms and hurricanes. In Tobago, warming oceans have caused severe coral bleaching and increased nutrient input has caused the sargassum invasion along coastlines and triggered disease outbreaks in corals.
And if that’s not enough, climate threats to coastal marine biodiversity are worsened by human impacts such as overfishing, coastal land conversion for building, indiscriminate disposal of wastewater, land-based contaminants into the ocean, and unregulated recreational activities.
Giselle Thompson, Vice President, Corporate Operations, bpTT is fully committed. She explains that when bpTT decided to fund 10 biodiversity project across its global locations, the MARIN project was the first to be selected. “There are two major components of the project” she explains. The scientific approach examines different restoration methodologies; and the social approach is an outreach to educate and build awareness at the community level with an ultimate aim of creating a network of NGOs, tour operators, fishermen, and people who make their life from these resources – who will act as marine stewards and protectors.
Dr Rahana Juman, Deputy Director Research/ Wetland Ecologist and MARIN Project Supervisor says, “For anything to work, you really need meaningful public engagement. That is critical for MARIN - establishing the network, building that ocean stewardship.” Part of the IMA mandate is public education through shared research findings with relevant communities and to promote understanding of human action upon the environment.
Experience to engage is something that the MARIN Tobago project will use to promote participation by Millennials and Gen-Xers who are vocal about planet health. By using the platforms of social media, hosting talks with the universities, and forming partnerships with the Environment Research Institute of Charlotteville (ERIC), training and volunteer opportunities will get folks in the water for an immersive “come and experience a restoration exercise”.
A coral community
Dr Rahanna Juman, who leads a young, enthusiastic team of nature lovers, grew up in Diego Martin and recalls her father’s stories about going to the slipway, located where Movie Towne is now, to “catch crab”. With a gift for science and a natural inclination to botany, she “fell in love with mangroves”, enjoying the serenity and peace of being alone with nature. She points out that communities that live along the rivers and coastal areas are organically informed and socialized. But for others in the communities, education is critical to making the connection between overfishing, pollution, coral die off and fish scarcity.
Dr Anjani Ganase is a coral reef ecologist with the IMA and the project lead for MARIN. “You have to think of the ocean as a resource when you live on an island whether for inspiration, food or medicine…”, she says. Her love for the ocean was nurtured by her grandfather, a fisherman. Her studies and training in marine biology took her to Florida, the Netherlands and Australia. She spent four years on survey expeditions to the Great Barrier Reef, in Hawaii and to some Caribbean reefs, studying coral reef health patterns to understand the drivers of change, and opportunities for sustainable practices. “We want to consult with the communities that live adjacent to coral reefs - to learn from them how they utilize the reefs and then work with them to come up with a stewardship programme of their own.” For areas with a strong tourism orientation... "we can learn from them on how best to package their tourism product and work towards reef conservation.”
No parrotfish please
One aspect of community education is focused on maintaining the beneficial elements on the reefs i.e. parrotfish. There is an increase in parrotfish consumption which is detrimental to coral reef conservation as the parrotfish feed on the algae that if left uncontrolled will overtake and kill coral recruits. Awareness among fishermen can make a difference to coral life.
Hannah Lochan is a research officer on the MARIN team at the Institute of Marine Affairs. A graduate of UWI, she discovered her passion for coral restoration on a one-year internship at the Cape Eleuthera Insititute in the Bahamas. It was there she learnt "all the different strategies you can use to grow corals." She shared that Tobago has been placed under a coral bleaching alerts whenever the sea temperatures heat up. This places the corals under stress, potentially resulting in high mortality. Fortunately for Tobago, the stony coral tissue-loss disease that is rampant in other parts of the Caribbean, has not yet reached its shores. To keep it this way for as long as possible, seaport management and proper diving practices should be encouraged.
Attish Kanhai, co-lead on the MARIN project, is a Benthic Ecologist whose primary interest is in things that live on the sea floor - worms, amphipods, crustaceans, shrimp and seagrasses. Driven to share his extensive knowledge in science education, he is the author of several articles on environmental issues, highlighting the value of seagrass meadows and their importance as an ecosystem. Seagrasses are several species of flowering plants that live underwater. The focus is on Turtle Grass, which provides the highest density, the largest root network and the thickest leaves. Like plants on land which absorb carbon dioxide (photosynthesis), seagrass stores carbon, and is a major source of marine carbon also known as blue carbon.
Nature-based solutions
Using biomass, estimates can be made of how much carbon is stored within a plant or an area. Seagrass rehabilitation therefore will help the IMA record the potential storage of that carbon in the long term. It’s a simple carbon equation. “When you burn fossil fuels, you take carbon from the earth and put it into the atmosphere”. The idea is to take the carbon from the atmosphere and put it back into the earth by using nature-based solutions such as planting seagrasses for carbon capture. Seagrasses occur near the shoreline where there are high levels of human activity, so continuous replanting is important. In Tobago the only extensive seagrass bed is in the Bon Accord Lagoon/ Buccoo reef area, which is a marine protected area.
Giselle Thompson speaks of her experience and education in Tobago - seeing what healthy seagrasses look like and what's left of them. “Most people don't understand the importance of seagrass and I think we learned a lot about how they serve the marine ecosystem. We also saw what a healthy reef is, as well as those damaged by bleaching."
Dr Juman says “To change behaviours we need to alter how we view nature and the environment that provides us with so many services. Everything we do is dependent on a healthy environment”. She believes we need a deeper appreciation of our interconnectedness with nature and the correlation between our actions and nature's responses. “We are a part of the environment and play a role, benefitting and impacting at the same time”, She continues “We are a small island and everything we do in our backyard will impact the ocean… If you destroy the fish habitats by erecting buildings that destroy nurseries, where will the fish reproduce? We must make these connections especially for urbanized populations”.
Challenges
The lack of legislation and enforcement is a big challenge, as is the need to prioritize marine conservation and restoration. The fisheries management bill needs updating so that fishing can be regulated. Fish conservation must focus on the fish with higher reproductive rates. Parrotfish is not one. Mahi-Mahi is quite popular as a fish that has a higher reproductive rate and they replenish quickly. Dr Ganase bemoans the fact that change is slow in coming, especially when activism such as the 1980’s “Cry for Buccoo” still echoes. “Maybe not in the five years that we are working on this project but maybe in 10-15 years we will see some change,” she says.
Hope for the future
Dr Juman believes that judging from the increase in requests made to the IMA from corporate citizens, rotary clubs, NGOs and schools to participate in environmental events, connections are being made.
Giselle Thompson says she is encouraged by the levels of awareness and commitment expressed by tour guides, dive operators and NGOs she met with. She is impressed by their resourcefulness and passion for community outreach and how they have incorporated conservation education into their tourism products.
Hannah Lochan also sees real enthusiasm among students at IMA field engagements on topics such as coral restoration. “The excitement and interest are there; they just need to be harnessed and nurtured”.
Attish Kanhai sees Gen-Xers and Millennials as more conscious of their environmental impact – concerned about ethical sourcing, organic and renewable products. If no one else is, they are paying attention to things like Ozone Layer recovery and advocating for change - like the banning of CFCs (aerosols, refrigerants). “We must see ourselves as part of the environment and not separate and apart from it”, he says.
Dr Juman commends bpTT for its stewardship. She believes more public/private sector partnership arrangements will make meaningful change and would inspire youth to continue the good fight, as “government cannot do it alone”.
Giselle Thompson agrees. “The competency exists. We have really well qualified amazing young scientists and researchers who can do so much real work with the right funding and resourcing. The energy and dedication of those who are trying to do a lot with very little has been impressive. And we see the IMA as a really great partner in the collective effort”
Project Success
So what will success look like? For Giselle Thompson- “I think success would be that the science works i.e. the methodology is tried and proved that we can restore and expand the seagrass that exists in Tobago. Those learnings can then be transferred across the region. Another key success factor would be a healthy, functioning marine resilience network - environmental champions that are working together to make sure that the restoration efforts continue to be successful over time. This includes getting more education programmes into schools, so that children understand their “marine backyard” and grow up with that conservation mindset.”
