Wild Tobago

  Jonathan Barcant talks about the partnerships needed to restore natural environments. Life changing experiences while working in extractive industries brought him to a quest for green engineering solutions. Now, he is part of a growing army of champions for the restoration of nature. He talks with Anjani Ganase.   How did you get into this field? I am a civil engineer, specialized in soils, water and environment. After leaving university, I took a job with a large engineering company in Canada, where the main projects I worked on were in the mining industry. Within a couple years, I realized that my work was contributing to degradation and loss. I found myself desperately searching for green engineering solutions. This lead me to vetiver grass and the Vetiver System (VS) as a very unique green infrastructure approach.   My company Vetiver TT Ecological Engineering Solutions Ltd specializes in the use of vetiver grass which can create livelihood opportunities ...

Dr Anjani Ganase continues her series on climate change and what we should be doing. It is never too late to act, but only real conscious personal efforts will help us now. The change we need, she says, is in our minds and daily actions. The science on climate change has been clear for the last fifty years. We are seeing many of the effects, extreme weather conditions, islands lost to sea level rise, shifts in ecosystem ranges in birds, animals and plants, and mass die offs of coral reef life because of warming temperatures. They are, the scientists tell us, escalating and happening faster than predicted. How did we get here, and so quickly? 1. Let’s wait and see Policy Despite the warnings from scientists on the need to act for over fifty years, policy makers (and politicians) have opted for the conservative, wait and see approach on the impacts of climate change. Before spending funds on climate, maybe there’s a slight chance that this climate change thing may not be a thi...