Wild Tobago

In this week of the COP30 in Brazil, Dr Anjani Ganase warns of more severe climate disasters as the world races to overtop the 1.5C rise subscribed in The Paris Agreement a decade ago. As a small island nation, Trinidad and Tobago also needs to do its part. Global Tipping points Currently Today, the world has already reached 1.4 C warming over pre-industrial levels (the target is 1.5 C). Over the recent years, 2023 to 2025, we have seen the worst coral bleaching along tropical shores and island nations. The science confirms that for coral reef ecosystems, a tipping point at 1.2 C has paved a certain future where coral reefs are likely to no longer be functional marine ecosystems. Coral reefs house more than 25 % of the ocean’s marine biodiversity, so we can expect rippling consequences to fish stocks, food security and even coastal protection. It confirms what marine scientists knew and feared for the future of many coral reef systems for the foreseeable future....

  Dr Anjani Ganase discusses the latest news in marine science; the High Seas Treaty, the Ocean Census and the impact of large rivers on tropical storms. The High Seas Treaty (known fully as the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, BBNJ) has been ratified by 60 countries with Morocco being the 60 th country to ratify on September 19, 2025. The Treaty will officially enter into force within 120 days. The High Seas Treaty will fill the critical gap in regulation of the ocean beyond countries’ national jurisdictions (BBNJ). This area makes up two-thirds of the ocean that must be managed for marine biodiversity and climate regulation. The treaty has four main focus areas. The first is Area-Based Management Tools, including Marine Protected Areas, which provides a mechanism for establishing and managing MPAs on the high seas. (2) Marine Genetic Resources provides a framework for fa...

Keep an ear open for the latest science, Dr Anjani Ganase encourages us to pay attention to what’s happening in the world. The entire planet is our responsibility, from the forests to the deepest parts of the ocean. Do what you can to reduce plastic pollution, keep your backyard green and the ocean clean. Plant a tree While planting trees is important to offset climate change, researchers at the University of California have found that trees planted in the tropics have the most effective impact on climate mitigation compared to those planted in temperate regions. In the tropics, there are two main aspects to cooling the planet. First, trees sequester carbon dioxide, pulling the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Second, tropical forests effect physical cooling by releasing cool water vapour which results in higher humidity and cloud formation. Forests also emit organic aerosols, and these aerosols and the clouds reduce heat radiation on the...

Dr Anjani Ganase, marine scientist, discusses core elements for Tobago’s tourism product Buccoo beach is a beautiful stretch of coast - unmarred by concrete buildings - on the edge of Tobago’s 50-year designated marine park.   The beach begins west of the Buccoo Fishing Facility and is buttressed by a mangrove forest that protects the shore and provides shelter. The path parallel to the beach offers picturesque views of the wild mangroves on one side and beach and ocean on the other. Moving west along Buccoo Bay, you will arrive in the Marine Park, protected under national legislation. Indeed, all of the mangrove wetland is a Ramsar site, designated for their significant biodiversity, ecology and ecosystem services. Local obligations for Ramsar sites are management, monitoring for wise use.   Competing interests: horses, boats and beach bathers in the same space at Buccoo Bay. Photo by Anjani Ganase Beach Day at Buccoo A family heads to Buccoo Bay for ...

On her journey to monitoring and conserving coral reefs, Dr Anjani Ganase works with a sea turtle study in Tobago, and visits Grande Riviere to see the nesting leatherback turtles. Life for a marine biologist begins on a beach. One big reason I turned to studying the ocean were the bugs. Endless biting insects – sand flies and mosquitoes – enjoyed my sweet blood on every visit to the bush or the beach. Even worse, I would swell up like a jelly bean wherever I got stung. As an adult, I have learned to be prepared as I still seek out nature on hikes and chasing waterfalls. Last weekend I covered up for an extra special visit to Grande Riviere, the most densely populated leatherback turtle nesting beach on the island, and some say, the world.   The first time I was taken to see leatherback turtles, it was with my parents on Matura Beach. I was still in primary school. My parents were reporting for the Guardian at the time, covering a story about the use of satel...

Dr Anjani Ganase continues to advocate different indicators for a thriving economy. In the Wellbeing Economy, human and environmental health are one and the same. We need new political thinking and vision for wellbeing in Trinidad and Tobago. While I mentioned the Doughnut Economy in last week’s article, there are several new economic models that focus on human social wellbeing and environmental health rather than Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.   Another example, the Wellbeing Economy stipulates that human and environmental wellbeing go hand in hand with the foundational values of fairness, participation, nature, purpose and dignity. One example where wellbeing economics should be applied is in agriculture and food security. On island nations, such as Trinidad and Tobago, our land is limited and there must be clear management of its use to sustain our water and natural resources, and healthy agricultural practices for food security. Our land resource mu...

Dr Anjani Ganase, coral reef ecologist, compares coral ecosystems of the Red Sea and the Caribbean. Coral scientists around the world are monitoring their native reefs as well as those that have adapted to higher temperature, looking at coral refuges. In the Old Testament, the passage through the Red Sea is a miracle created by God, to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt, led by Moses. The Red Sea was first explored by the Egyptians and Greeks looking for routes for trade between Africa and Asia. It is not a large body of water, in fact, it is one sixth the size of the Caribbean Sea, but it is long (2,250 km) and narrow (355 km wide – distance between Trinidad and St Lucia) stretching from the Gulf of Suez, where the Suez Canal connects to Mediterranean Sea. To the south, the Red Sea flows into the Indian Ocean. Geologically, the Red Sea is part of an extensive rift system that runs north–south all the way down the African East Coast to Mozambique, and is part of t...

Dr Anjani Ganase, coral reef ecologist, looks at the bleak picture through the lens of the degradation of coral reefs worldwide, and what we must do to reverse the trend towards an unsustainable existence.   El Niño climate conditions aggravated by man-made global heating caused mass bleaching on coral reefs in the northern hemisphere during the summer of 2023, and brought devastation and mortality to reefs throughout the Caribbean. In Tobago, above average temperatures persisted for three months (September to November 2023). Over the past month, these conditions have delivered a deadly blow to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Anomalously high ocean temperatures have been washing over the reefs for at least ten weeks, similar to the heat waves experienced in Caribbean.   Initial reports from the Australian Institute of Marine Science who conducted aerial surveys state that broadscale mass bleaching has occurred along the shallow reefs in the impa...