Wild Tobago

In a country slowly awakening to its need for a sustainable future, Asa Wright has stood for conservation and biodiversity for over 50 years. The National Protected Areas Systems Plan accepted in 2019 still has not been implemented. Asa Wright has held its acreage in conservation as a private holding deeded to a Trust. With the changes wrought by the pandemic, how will the ethos for conservation weather the storm? Faraaz Abdool wonders what the Asa Wright Nature Centre might become in ten years. At the end of the day, its saving grace are the creatures that don't give two hoots about what we think as long as they have a home. Photos by Faraaz Abdool. A Black Hawk-Eagle cruises in the Arima valley, as seen from the verandah at the Asa Wright Nature Centre. It is the largest bird of prey in T&T. The Asa Wright Nature Centre (AWNC) has been a beacon to nature lovers the world over for several decades. Visitors from all corners of the globe flocked to the wo

How some animals and plants are responding to a warming world. Dr Anjani Ganase looks at some creatures’ adaptations to survive the changing climate.   We are in the anthropocene – the current geological era where human activities have significant impacts on the environment and climate. Indeed, humans are currently driving the sixth mass extinction. To date we are losing species to extinction at a rate of about 2000 species every year (WWF est.). While many die off, other animals and plants are undergoing adaptation for survive either the warming conditions directly or adapting to shifts in habitat conditions, food supply and environment. Scientists who have been monitoring and conducting genetic studies over the last 50 years have been able to match changes in animal physiology (body shape and size) or behaviour (migratory timing) to changes in temperature. There are a few creatures that do benefit from the warmer conditions, although the extent of such benefits

Dolphin sightings in waters around our islands are welcomed as happy auspicious signs. Highly intelligent and playful, they inhabit or traverse waters around the world and they need our protection. Dr Anjani Ganase provides some facts about these marine mammals.   Their diversity Did you know that killer whales, false killer whales and melon head whales are dolphins? All are members of the family Delphinidae. There are 42 species of dolphins found all over the world. They roam the open ocean and dolphin species are found in all the oceans and seas with a few exceptions. While most prefer warmer tropical waters, there a few species, such as the orcas, that travel to the polar regions. Orcas have even been encountered along the north coast of Trinidad.   Their sizes The biggest dolphin species are the orcas or killer whales. Killer whales get up to 6 – 8 m in length and up to six tons. Such immense size does not keep them from swimming at speeds up to 56km/h km; among the dea

Not just a conversation piece to distract us, the topic of diversification is real in Dr Anjani Ganase’s mind. Here’s what we should be doing to ensure that we can protect land and marine resources and communities.     The main purpose of diversifying our economic resources is to be able to withstand the shocks of external disturbances. Since the Government of Trinidad and Tobago first started talking about the need to diversify our economy the threat of climate change seemed more like a future retirement plan. Today, climate change is on the doorstep, the world is committed to leaving fossil fuels behind and Covid has thrown us a curve ball.   But diversifying isn’t simply trying to get profit from elsewhere, more holistically it is to build a system of socio-economic resilience, and this doesn’t mean gaining profits for something but making sure we’re also not losing it somewhere else. For small island developing states, the impact of climate change is estimated