Wild Tobago

Faraaz Abdool, birder and author of Casual Birding in Trinidad and Tobago, looks at the plight of seedeaters and caged songbirds. (All photos courtesy Faraaz Abdool)  Bullfinch, chat, and chicki-chong; robin, picoplat, and twa-twa – these were household names only a generation ago. Today, “bird-men” struggle to keep their tradition of caged songbirds alive in the face of dwindling supply and changing attitudes. Proper examination of this tradition and its consequent trade necessitates a journey back in time to the very beginning of our short history on these bountiful islands.  European colonists arrived here before ornithologists did and in the void of knowledge regarding the Neotropical ecosystem, ascribed colloquial names to many of the native species of birds. Typically, only species of “interest” would attract a name. For example, the Pale-vented Pigeon is locally known as “ramier”, which is French for wood-pigeon, a European bird also extensively hunted. In addition to b...

Regenerative agriculture is taking root in Barbados, and Trinis are part of the revolution. Pat Ganase takes a tour with Rheanna Chen who will soon return to Trinidad. (Photos courtesy Pat Ganase) Rheanna Chen left Trinidad in 2018 for Italy. She was headed to the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo to pursue her Masters in Gastronomy, World Food Cultures and Mobility, in her continuing mission to heal the world through food. It was the path she charted with her first degree, BS International Agriculture Development at the University of California at Davis; and continued at the Green Market Santa Cruz. Rheanna chooses cassava pancakes at the Farm House Cafe By the time she was ready to return from Italy in 2020, Trinidad’s borders were closed against Covid-19. The route became circuitous – through France to Martinique. She applied for an opening in Barbados and took that job. Program Coordinator, Slow Food Barbados, provided yet another window of o...

 There is a finite quantity of fresh water on earth, and a quantifiable amount available for use by humans. Dr Anjani Ganase looks at the challenge of maintaining water supplies at satisfactory quality levels in all habitats. Waterfall in Hawai`i. Photo courtesy Anjani Ganase Heavy rainfall over the last few weeks, and more recently last Friday in Tobago, Saturday on Trinidad, filled our rainwater tanks - all 1800 gallons - in less than ten minutes, the same time it took to flood the rivers, cascade onto streets, and cause a three-hour traffic jam on major highways. The future projection for water distribution with the changing climate sees some places getting wetter (tropical zones), while other places will get drier (temperate zones). It also predicts more intense rainfall and periods of drought. On a daily basis, we are flooded with reports of both wildfires and devastating floods. Areas that are wetter and more prone to flooding include the Amazon and the Orinoco basins. It is ...

The generation in school now and coming of age in the next few years are enduring a global pandemic and will surely have to deal with more adverse global climate events. Dr Anjani Ganase advocates that it’s time they had a say in the issues around climate change.   In one month’s time, the COP 26 (Conference of Parties) will be held in Glasgow where once again global leaders meet to renegotiate climate targets.   Since the Paris Agreement in 2015, the world has officially gotten one degree (Celsius) warmer and by the end of the century is projected to be 3 degrees above pre-industrial conditions. The Paris Agreement committed the world to curbing temperature rise to 2 degrees by 2100. The current trajectories reflect the failure of major nations to achieve their climate targets to date.   One group that is very concerned about these failures are the younger generations -those born since 2000 - who were born in an already changing world and have always been exposed...

Countless marvelous marine critters live in seagrass meadows which are easily seen in places like the Buccoo Reef marine protected area in Tobago. Dr Anjani Ganase encourages us to learn about their connections to reef and mangrove, and to allow the children to explore them.   Seagrasses are the only flowering plants that grow in the marine environment. Let that sink in for a second: a flowering plant adapted to living underwater in the ocean! They are commonly found in shallow sheltered waters along coastal areas. Though widely distributed along shallow coastal areas that are connected to about one billion people from the tropics to the poles, the actual acreage of seagrass is less than one percent of the ocean (the size of The Philippines). Yet in the narrow shallow zones between the land and the open ocean, the seagrass habitats provide special ecological functions to the ocean and to us. Unfortunately, seagrass communities around the world are declining a...