Wild Tobago

Dr La Daana Kanhai found plastic pollution in every marine environment she’s explored. She talks with Dr Anjani Ganase, and suggests the steps for people on a small island like Tobago to minimise plastics in their ocean We continue the discussion about plastic pollution in Trinidad and Tobago with Dr La Daana Kanhai, marine scientist who has researched the pervasive presence of microplastics in the marine environment, even in the most remote and pristine places on earth. In Trinidad and Tobago, La Daana hopes to be able to continue her research on this issue of plastic pollution; and to use her work and experiences to bring awareness to the growing plastic problem; and to inspire others to make the changes needed. Growing up in the small village of Tortuga in Trinidad’s Central Range – she had a view of the Gulf of Paria - La Daana’s curiosity in nature around her home quickly extended to the marine environment. Vacations took her to the coast and to exp...

Dr Anjani Ganase recaps the finding of Ritchie and Roser’s Report (2018) on Plastic Pollution, and discusses the relevance to Trinidad and Tobago. While errors in previous reports have inflated the amount of plastic pollution attributed to TT, the total amounts for the Caribbean and the world, are still startling. We have to stop using; and to clean up what we have used in the past. Since the advent of plastics in the 1950s, global plastic generation has increased exponentially over the last 65 years. In 2015, the world generated more than twice the amount of plastics (381 million tonnes) that it had in 1995 (156 million tonnes); and cumulatively we’ve produced over 7.8 billion tonnes of plastic, roughly more than a tonne of plastic for every person alive on the planet today.  However, the sources of the plastic waste are not distributed evenly. China produces the most plastic waste in the world, and is responsible for much of the pollution in marine environments. While pl...