Wild Tobago

Dr Anjani Ganase surveys what the world is losing through human activities, and makes an appeal for living within our means in the natural world.   On May 22, we observe the International Day for Biological Diversity. Biodiversity denotes the variety of living organisms that make up the natural world around us. The world as we know it is the culmination of evolution over billions of years, the result of the slowly ever-changing global environment. Organisms evolve and co-evolve with each other and the environment. The biodiversity of ecosystems is the result of balance between competition for resources and external disturbance events that create opportunities for new life. The diversity of habitats and organisms not only sustain biodiversity but is essential to our survival. Plant stocks don’t just supply the fruits and vegetables we eat today but provide the genetic stock for future supplies in a changing climate. The terrestrial and marine habitats provide ...

Last week, this column looked at what individuals might do to protect their piece of paradise, their backyards in Tobago. This week, we review some special sites around Tobago that have been identified for national protected status, to be ratified by the Government. Pat Ganase reports. The National Protected Areas (NPA) Systems Plan for Trinidad and Tobago is complete, and now requires commitment through legislation and resources to be effected. Recommendations for Tobago include 13 terrestrial/ freshwater sites; 22 coastal/ marine areas; and extensive Open-Ocean Waters and Deep-Sea (OOWDS) areas amounting to some 15,600 km2 of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Prior to 1970, there was a utilitarian focus on the natural resources in the marine environment around Trinidad and Tobago. By 1975, the marine area under jurisdiction extended 12 nautical miles beyond the shores; this was pushed to 200 nautical miles in 1984. Today, the Plan seeks to bring some 22% of the EEZ under pr...

Amy Deacon, Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine and Secretary of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club continues her series on the biodiversity of the Main Ridge Reserve (MRR). She teams up with herpetologist Renoir Auguste once again; this time to introduce us to the lizards of the MRR.   The beautifully patterned Ocellated Gecko is endemic to Tobago. Photo by Renoir Auguste There are at least 17 different species of lizard on Tobago. The majority of this diversity lies within the Main Ridge Reserve. Here, we will meet three of the species most associated with the Main Ridge: the stunningly beautiful ocellated gecko which is found nowhere else in the world; the elusive hex-scaled bachia, a species you probably never knew existed until now; and finally the prehistoric-looking green iguana. We’ll start by introducing the endemic ocellated gecko. Geckos are a type of lizard, known for their cl...