Wild Tobago

While this year’s global climate summit continued to discuss the finances required to support mitigation and adaptation, there is now a growing need to assist those regions that have suffered loss and damage. Dr Anjani Ganase summarises the urgent need for dedicated financial flows.   COP 27, the global climate summit – Conference of Parties - brought together representatives of all countries in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt from 6 to 20 November. This follows last year’s meeting COP 26 in Glasgow. The Glasgow Climate Pact - to stay below 1.5 C global temperature rise – precipitated a two-year plan to accelerate endeavors toward net zero, through the themes of mitigation, adaptation, finance and collaboration. One year after this Pact, here are some highlights of the Sharm-El Sheikh Implementation Plan.   The Latest Science The IPCC sixth assessment report released in the beginning of 2022 describes a code red for climate emergency and the need for dras...

Tobago always attracts special visitors. Faraaz Abdool is looking for those flying in from far. He tells us where to expect the birds that are wintering in Southwest Tobago. All photos by Faraaz Abdool   The populous southwest end of Tobago is not only a hotspot for human activity, but for various other forms of indigenous fauna. This area of tiny yet magnificent Tobago is home to countless small businesses, guest houses, and several larger hotels. Nightclubs, yoga studios, restaurants, and many more all work together within a tight radius from the international airport, ensuring that travellers can have all their needs met in walking distance.   Humans are only the latest arrivals, among many that have been coming for millennia to SW Tobago. Presently, however, this teeters precariously on the edge of becoming another historical record. Amidst all the cries against ecological destruction, that which has occurred in SW Tobago carries more significance than most. ...

  On small islands like ours, natural spaces are shared with wild flora and fauna. Dr Anjani Ganase discusses some human impacts that we all should be mindful of.   Human populations have expanded around the world, not only in cities and towns, but spreading into wilderness areas. It’s time that we learn to share urban spaces as well as to respect all natural spaces whether these are actively protected or not.   In Trinidad and Tobago, there is a surge in outdoor activities as people see the appeal of dancing/ working out/ being under the stars, with a picturesque backdrop of tropical forests, beaches and lagoons. Large group hikes (100+ persons) and outdoor fetes have become popular. On one occasion, I observed Pigeon Point beach in the days after a beach fete. Keep in mind that Pigeon Point occurs in Trinidad and Tobago’s only marine protected area with its unique habitat and biodiversity. Walking along the beach, I collected handfuls of cable ties, pieces of wi...

Shivonne Peters, marine scientist, reports on coral bleaching in Tobago’s iconic Buccoo Reef. Trinidad and Tobago, like other countries in the Caribbean region, is under a coral bleaching watch, the fifth occasion for 2022. As ocean temperatures continue to warm, the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in its October report indicated that the country is currently under a Bleaching Alert Level 2, meaning that widespread bleaching leading to coral mortality is expected. These conditions are expected to extend throughout December with reports indicating coral bleaching is currently occurring in reefs along Tobago’s north-east and south-west coastlines. Bleaching of the Fire Corals ( Millepora ) and Staghorn Corals ( Acropora cervicornis ) was observed in the Buccoo and Charlotteville reefs earlier this month. Sustained warm ocean temperatures will mean continuing decline and disaster for Tobago’s coral reefs. Coral bleaching occurs when the coral - marine invertebrates compr...