Marine Management for National Development
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 regional convention. T&T passed the Environmentally Sensitive Species (ESS) Rules and the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) Rules in 2001, however none of the designated areas or species are effectively managed. Furthermore, to date no environmentally sensitive areas have been declared in Tobago or in the marine environment. In fact, no invertebrate or plant has made the ESS list.
The management of Trinidad and Tobago’s marine environment is non-existent with an outdated fisheries legislation (1916), and an unregulated Buccoo Reef Marine Park, while draft proposals for other marine protected areas, such as the Speyside Marine Park, have been shelved and ignored. The accelerating threat of climate change does not seem to shift the marine governance inertia. Our surrounding sea that makes these islands is the responsibility of government administrations, who continuously fail to understand the fundamental purpose of marine management and prioritise the need for marine protection as a guiding principle for sustainable development, not to mention essential for creating a safe environment for all.
How can we invest in large-scale mariculture when there is no basic marine spatial planning or regulation of fish populations? How can we support all-inclusive hotels, when the sites of development destroy the very tourism product that draws visitors to the island? There are many proposals for innovative income generating ventures in the name of a “Blue Economy” yet none consider the underlying need for a basic framework of marine management. Defunct oil rigs used as artificial reefs only add to the fisheries crisis and chronic marine pollution without considering water quality, fish stock management, ecological monitoring, and law enforcement. Tourist-oriented watercraft and submersibles only escalate at sea health and safety risks without an active management body to regulate marine activities. Investment in the Sustainable Blue Economy requires foundational management for the conservation of natural systems.
Ghost
fish nets, drape the reef pose a threat to divers and indiscriminately kill
marine life even to protected marine turtles. Photo by Anjani Ganase | XL
Catlin Seaview Survey
Conserving the sea, managing people
Policies for marine conservation management are critically needed for long-term sustainable use and benefit from the marine resources. This is especially important for an island nation with limited resources and high dependency on these ocean resources for current and future generations. While the marine environment is a major food source that sustains livelihoods, its health is closely linked to climate regulations and overall human well-being. Most people would not argue with this, however, not many understand the undertaking needed to implement effective and sustainable marine management. It requires strong legislative framework that is grounded in marine scientific research with monitoring and evaluation, and adaptive mechanism. Marine management ranges from the full protection of critically important and sensitive marine habitats, such as mangrove forests, seagrass beds and corals reefs, to the regulation of all marine spaces and activities be they for fishing, tourism, industrial exploitation. As on land, it requires spatial planning.
Marine management also considers at-sea health and safety as core components to marine conservation, since oil spills, vessel groundings, and boat strikes threaten marine life too. Marine management require a regulatory body specialising in conservation, and understanding the challenges of working in the marine space. A single governing body of the marine space is critical for inter-agency coordination, as well as to ensure stakeholder inclusion and transparency. This agency must have in-house enforcement and surveillance capabilities. Several iterations of the National Parks Bill have failed in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago for this reason and the consequence is an uncoordinated splitting of responsibilities across agencies resulting in overall neglect. Currently, Buccoo Reef Marine Park is under the jurisdiction of the Tobago House of Assembly, while ESS and ESA Rules are under the purview of the Environmental Management Authority. All these areas require standard and coordinated mechanisms for management.
Above all, sustainable finance for the environment should be mandated as duty of care by the government. Too often marine conservation and management development are funded by external grants resulting in projects that fail in the long term. It should be the responsibility of the government and integrated into national budgets with designated experts, marine rangers and other support personnel to coordinate national marine conservation efforts.
Governments shirk their responsibilities to the marine environment when even government organisations are forced to seek international funding to do their jobs. Examples of stalled or failed implementations in marine conservation are numerous for T&T. Projects like the IFPAMTT (Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in Trinidad and Tobago) created a blueprint for conservation (similar to previous iterations of the Draft National Parks Bill) yet, the bill has yet to be implemented with no legal backing and ad-hoc management committees rather than a permanent state authority. Another example is the North-East Tobago UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Reserve declaration, which also lacks legal weight or authority and with an adhoc committee and management on a voluntary basis. Don’t get me started on the endless list of non-functioning management committees that should really be the full-time job of the authority. What about the many projects conducted by NGOs and funded by the private sector, international funding agencies, whose management plans are developed and proposed without any adoption or legitimisation by government? Many of these projects are repeated a decade later with no different outcome.
Marine management is waste management
The examples of marine management potential for Trinidad and Tobago is endless. Let’s start with the obvious coastal and marine litter that plagues our beaches and coastlines. Stroll through Maracas Bay on a Sunday evening and you would see the debris of food and plastic waste drifting into the ocean. The management of solid waste as a source of land-based pollution is the most obvious and unsightly example of marine management that has real ecological and economic consequences. Waste management plans incorporated into marine management is important for both tourism development and fisheries management on many Caribbean islands. It requires not just garbage collection and disposal, but includes policies to reduce waste, such as eliminating single-use plastic, recycling and organic disposal. Waste management governance considers the health and safety for both humans and marine life.
Many Caribbean islands understand the need for a clean marine environment, statistics show that tourists are less likely to visit trashy beaches. Furthermore, tourists are more willing to pay more in the form of park fees and eco-friendly facilities for a well-managed and highly valued marine tourism product. Trinidad may not have a strong natural or marine tourism, yet, effective marine management against land-based garbage can resolve coastal and inland flooding issues, such as around the capital and communities adjacent to the Caroni. Annually, millions of dollars in reactive flood emergency relief are spent when preventative waste management measures might be more effective.
Tobago
has a long history of coral reef destruction. This coral reef south of
Scarborough Harbour has completely shifted from a coral dominance to an algae
overgrown reef. Photo by Anjani Ganase
Responsible
planning for our sea
Planning and management of the marine space highlight a government’s responsible investment into the “Sustainable Blue Economy.” Marine spatial plans serve as a blueprint for the ocean territory, while considering long-term conservation, protection, and climate resilience. The same coordinated assessment of the marine environment for protection and sustainable management also identifies areas of opportunities for sustainable blue economy innovations, such as areas for aquaculture, blue or green energy production and pioneering tourism. Strong marine governance attracts foreign investment for a guarantee of a high-value products.
It is about time that Trinidad and Tobago holistically invest in effective marine management, especially with the strong push towards using our ocean resources for economic development. Currently, our economic exclusive zone is carved up like a steak for oil and gas exploration, but sustainable diversification of our economy requires fundamental advancements in marine scientific research and effective conservation of the marine biodiversity. As the government injects money into building the maritime sector for commerce, infrastructure, and job creation, equal investment in its conservation is crucial through effective and enforced laws.
Here is a vision to inspire us and the next generation. It doesn’t have to take that long to fulfil the dream of a society that benefits from land and sea. Love for the sea, understanding its relationship and benefits, and care for all citizens and creatures in the water or on land. That’s where it begins.
