Wild Tobago

This newspaper started its Thursday (marine) environmental column in July 2016 in the edition of the paper printed and distributed free in Tobago. Dr Anjani Ganase, then a PhD candidate in Australia, wanted to spread awareness and inspire appreciation of their marine environment with residents of Tobago just as she was herself learning more about the ocean in her studies of marine biology and coral reefs around the world. All the weekly columns have been collected in the Wild Tobago blogspot and shared on-line; and are still available at  www.wildtobago.blogspot.com This feature, published January 22, 2026, in the on-line edition of the Newsday, is the 500th column. Over the time, she has shared the space, every Thursday, with other environmental thinkers, scientists and activists. She felt it was fitting that this 500th should go to the other end of the islands to showcase another unique ecosystem existing in Trinidad. One of the principles of this column is t...

Profit is not a bad word but the key to managing a sustainable future. Dr Anjani Ganase presented at the EurochamTT (European Business Chamber in Trinidad and Tobago), Sustainability Workshop in Tobago where feature speaker Mark Thomas shows us why profitability and sustainability go hand in hand. Mark is the Partnerships and Development Finance Officer in the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office for Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten . At the UN, he coordinates partnerships between the United Nations and public, private and civil society sectors, and supports resource mobilization for accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals   Let me start with two questions that bother me. Why is it that every time we talk about sustainability, business somehow ends up being blamed? And why is it that every time business hears that word, what it hears is: more cost, more rules, more headaches? From the outside, business is made to look like the villain—too ...

Dr Anjani Ganase brings the latest discoveries in marine science, revealing the diverse and complex ocean world of past and present. So much more to be learned from the sea and its creatures! (Credit to  Ocean Image Bank for use of photos)   Filter systems from fish Scientists from the University of Bonn, Germany looked to the ocean for inspirational solutions in filtration. Annually, a single household would release about 500g of microplastic fibres from washing machines that enter the sewage or waste systems. For areas such as Trinidad and Tobago, where grey water is allowed to flow into drains and rivers, the 500g per household adds up to a significant amount of plastic waste entering the ocean. Globally, we can estimate the mass of microplastics from washing machines ending up in the ocean to be as big as a large shipping vessel. This often-overlooked source contributes to a major plastic ocean pollution problem. Trap filters of washing machine was...

Dr Anjani Ganase wants our government to be the exemplary marine conservators and managers. Poor marine governance limits national development. But progressive (island) states that take care of their extensive marine territory present limitless possibility for healthy happy populations.   I’ve had enough of the false narrative that conservation and environmental management restrict national development and progress. Over the last fifty years, Trinidad and Tobago has seen significant “development” in the form of endless construction projects, while environmental protection and management falls decades behind. In 1986, T&T acceded to the Cartagena Convention which includes local commitment to SPAW Protocol (Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife) and LBS Protocol (Land-Based Sources of Marine Pollution) in which T&T is a contracting part. Yet, the local legislation for the most part continues to lag in effective marine management and alignment with the ...