Photos By: L. Gape, D. Cant and S. Cant

Final Report Nassau, Bahamas

Harrold and Wilson Ponds National Park and the Bahama Pintail duck (Anas bahamensis bahamensis) Photos by: L. Gape, D. Cant and S. Cant.

Prepared by Shelley Cant Bahamas National Trust May 2009

49 Contents Page

Executive Summary

Chapter 1: Executive summary Introduction to the Bahamas Description of New Providence Socio-economic structure of New Providence Terrestrial biodiversity of New Providence Biodiversity of wetlands on New Providence Legislation concerning the environment of the Bahamas Protected wetlands of New Providence Harrold and Wilson Ponds National Park Bonefish Pond National Park Conservation issues regarding wetlands in New Providence

Chapter 2: Summary of Stakeholders Meetings Summary of Questionnaire Survey Method Final Concept Model Concept Model Narrative

Chapter 3: The Flagship Species Pride Campaign Activities:

Chapter 4: The Results

Chapter 5: Critical Review of the Pride Campaign

Chapter 6: Recommendations

References

Appendices

Acknowledgements

50 Chapter 1.

Project site summary

I. Executive summary

Due to the nature of the islands of the Bahamas, wetlands are one of the most important terrestrial ecosystems but are also the most vulnerable. As the island of New Providence becomes increasingly inhabited and therefore developed, it is becoming ever more important that these valuable ecosystems are preserved for future generations.

The Bahamas National Trust will be conducting a campaign to try and change the attitudes of the Bahamian public towards wetlands and enabling them to become stewards of these ecosystems that contribute so much to Bahamian culture.

II. Introduction to the Bahamas

The Bahamas is an archipelago of approximately 700 islands, cays and rocks spread over an area of about 600 miles, ranging from 50 miles east of Southern Florida to 50 miles northeast of Cuba in the Atlantic Ocean (bah hand book).

51 Figure 1. Map of the Bahamas (Wildcat 2008).

The islands are very low-lying, limestone rocks, surrounded by coral reefs and extensive sand flats. They vary in climatic condition, oceanic influences as well as their biodiversity.

The general climate is described as sub-tropical with temperatures that seldom go above 31ºC (90ºF) or drop below 17ºC (77ºF). The Bahamas is considered quite arid with a definite rainy and dry season. The Winter and Spring months are considered the dry season where rainfall falls to nearly 1 inch per month on average and rises to nearly 10 inches on average during the rainy season months in Summer and Autumn, see Fig 2.

52 Figure 2. Average annual temperature (ºC) and rainfall (in), (The Bahamas Guide 2007).

However, there is a general distinction in climatic condition from the North to the South as the islands in the north are sub-tropical and wet and the islands in the south are tropical, windy and much drier. Therefore, the plants in the North resemble those found in Southern Florida and the plants in the South resemble more closely to Cuba.

The entire population of the Bahamas is about 303,611. The capital city of Nassau resides on the island of New Providence, located in the North central region. Although the island is only about 80 square miles (207 sq km), it holds about 70% of the country’s population with approximately 210, 832 people, see fig.3.

53 New Providence Grand Baham a Abaco Acklins Andros Berry Ilsands Bim inis Cat Island Crooked Island Eleuthera Exum a Cays Harbour Is land Inagua Long Is land Mayaguana Ragged Island San Salvador Rum Cay Spanis h Wells

Figure 3. Population distribution in the Bahamas (The Bahamas Guide, 2007).

III. Description of New Providence

The island of New Providence lies in the North central region of the Bahamas chain and is a typical island of that region. The closest major islands include Andros, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eleuthera and the Exumas. The island itself varies between 0-12 meters in height with the highest points being fossilized sand dunes running East-West in the North of the island forming a “ridge”. The rest of the island is very flat and contains many inland lakes and shallow wetlands, coastal wetlands and blues holes (fig 4).

54 Figure 4. The ridges, lakes and blue holes of New Providence (Sealey, 2006).

IV. Socio-economic structure of New Providence

The island of New Providence is very developed. Although the majority of the island lives on the coastal parameter, the majority of the population are also found living in the South East. However, all land in New Providence is accessible by road and has basic utilities such as water and electricity.

The Bahamas has a literate population where 95.6% of the total population over the age of 15 can read. The progression from Primary level education into the secondary level is at 97.98% (Nation Master, 2007). New Providence has a total of 41 Government schools (26 of them are primary and 15 are secondary) and 24 Private schools.

The economy of the Bahamas is largely based on the tourism industry. Other important industries include banking, cement, oil refining and transhipment, salt production, rum production, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, and spiral- welded steel pipe. Major agricultural products include citrus, vegetables, and poultry, see fig. 5.

Figure 5. Types of businesses found in the Bahamas (Bahamas guide 2007).

55 The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that the Bahamas' gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was estimated to be $16,800.00 in 2001, with an annual growth rate of about 3.5% (Nations Encyclopaedia, 2007).

V. Terrestrial biodiversity of New Providence

The island of New Providence is dominated by two different dry terrestrial habitats.

A. Pine forest - These forests are dominated by the Caribbean pine (Pinus caribea var. bahamensis). The Caribbean pine is protected under Bahamian law due to its historical use for building material. There is a wide variety of plants and animals that are associated with these habitats, including Silver top palms, Wild guava and endemic birds such as the Bahama swallow tail. These forests are only associated with the more wet islands in the North namely Grand Bahama, Abaco, Andros and New Providence. B. Coppice forest - This is the broad leaf forests of the Bahamas. There are two main types, Black land coppice and White land coppice. These forests are very diverse with many valuable hard woods such as Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni), Lignum vitae (Guaiacum sanctum) listed as Endangered IUNC 2007, Red cedar (Juniperus barbadensis) listed as Vulnerable IUCN 2007, Cascarilla (Croton eluteria), Brasiletto (Caesalpinia vesicaria) as well as many others. The particular mentioned species are also protected under Bahamian law due to their historical use. The Black land forests are usually older forests but also grow on more humus type soils and therefore found further inland. The White land coppice are less dense and are often associated with being of a close proximity to the shore line and therefore with the sandier soils.

VI. Biodiversity of wetlands on New Providence

Wetlands can be broken down into different categories in the Bahamas, either inland, or coastal; permanent or seasonal.

The inland wetlands are considered “fresh water wetlands”, however, due to the nature of limestone and the limited size of the islands of the Bahamas; most of these wetlands are not truly fresh but rather brackish. These inland wetlands are particularly important for their function of collecting flood waters, filtering it and recharging the ground water table. These wetlands are particularly important for a large variety of avifauna particularly for the migratory species (see table 1).

56 IUCN redlist Scientific name Common name status Chen caerulescens Snow Goose Least concern Anas americana American Wigeon Least concern Anas platyrhynchos Mallard Least concern Anas discors Blue-winged Teal Least concern Anas clypeata Northern Shoveler Least concern Anas bahamensis White-cheeked Pintail Least concern Anas acuta Northern Pintail Least concern Anas crecca Common Teal Least concern Oxyura jamaicensis Ruddy Duck Least concern Tachybaptus dominicus Least Grebe Least concern Podilymbus podiceps Pied-billed Grebe Least concern Eudocimus albus White Ibis Least concern Plegadis falcinellus Glossy Ibis Least concern Ixobrychus exilis Least Bittern Least concern Nycticorax nycticorax Black-crowned Night-heron Least concern Yellow-crowned Night- Nyctanassa violacea heron Least concern Butorides virescens Green Heron Least concern Bubulcus ibis Cattle Egret Least concern Ardea herodias Great Blue Heron Least concern Casmerodius albus Great Egret Least concern Egretta tricolor Tricoloured Heron Least concern Egretta caerulea Little Blue Heron Least concern Egretta thula Snowy Egret Least concern Phalacrocorax brasilianus Neotropic Cormorant Least concern Falco sparverius American Kestrel Least concern Falco columbarius Merlin Least concern Falco peregrinus Peregrine Falcon Least concern Pandion haliaetus Osprey Least concern Circus cyaneus Northern Harrier Least concern Rallus longirostris Clapper Rail Least concern Porzana carolina Sora Least concern Porphyrio martinica Purple Gallinule Least concern Gallinula chloropus Common Moorhen Least concern Fulica americana American Coot Least concern Aramus guarauna Limpkin Least concern Himantopus mexicanus Black-necked Stilt Least concern Recurvirostra americana American Avocet Least concern Pluvialis dominica American Golden Plover Least concern Pluvialis squatarola Grey Plover Least concern Charadrius semipalmatus Semipalmated Plover Least concern Charadrius wilsonia Wilson's Plover Least concern Charadrius vociferus Killdeer Least concern Gallinago gallinago Common Snipe Least concern Limnodromus griseus Short-billed Dowitcher Least concern Tringa melanoleuca Greater Yellowlegs Least concern Tringa flavipes Lesser Yellowlegs Least concern Tringa solitaria Solitary Sandpiper Least concern

57 Actitis macularius Spotted Sandpiper Least concern Catoptrophorus semipalmatus Willet Least concern Arenaria interpres Ruddy Turnstone Least concern Calidris pusilla Semipalmated Sandpiper Least concern Calidris minutilla Least Sandpiper Least concern Calidris melanotos Pectoral Sandpiper Least concern Steganopus tricolor Wilson's Phalarope Least concern Larus delawarensis Ring-billed Gull Least concern Larus argentatus Herring Gull Least concern Larus atricilla Laughing Gull Least concern Sterna nilotica Gull-billed Tern Least concern Sterna caspia Caspian Tern Least concern Sterna maxima Royal Tern Least concern Sterna sandvicensis Sandwich Tern Least concern Patagioenas leucocephala White-crowned Pigeon Near threatened Streptopelia decaocto Eurasian Collared-dove Least concern Zenaida macroura Mourning Dove Least concern Zenaida aurita Zenaida Dove Least concern Columbina passerina Common Ground-dove Least concern Coccyzus americanus Yellow-billed Cuckoo Least concern Coccyzus minor Mangrove Cuckoo Least concern Crotophaga ani Smooth-billed Ani Least concern Chordeiles gundlachii Antillean Nighthawk Least concern Calliphlox evelynae Bahama Woodstar Least concern Ceryle alcyon Belted Kingfisher Least concern Sphyrapicus varius Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Least concern Tyrannus dominicensis Grey Kingbird Least concern Tyrannus caudifasciatus Loggerhead Kingbird Least concern Myiarchus sagrae La Sagra's Flycatcher Least concern Vireo crassirostris Thick-billed Vireo Least concern Vireo altiloquus Black-whiskered Vireo Least concern Tachycineta cyaneoviridis Bahama Swallow Vulnerable Progne subis Purple Martin Least concern Stelgidopteryx Northern Rough-winged serripennis Swallow Least concern Hirundo rustica Barn Swallow Least concern Dumetella carolinensis Grey Catbird Least concern Mimus polyglottos Northern Mockingbird Least concern Sturnus vulgaris Common Starling Least concern Vermivora ruficapilla Nashville Warbler Least concern Parula americana Northern Parula Least concern Dendroica petechia Yellow Warbler Least concern Dendroica magnolia Magnolia Warbler Least concern Dendroica tigrina Cape May Warbler Least concern Dendroica caerulescens Black-throated Blue Warbler Least concern Dendroica coronata Yellow-rumped Warbler Least concern Dendroica dominica Yellow-throated Warbler Least concern Dendroica discolor Prairie Warbler Least concern

58 Dendroica palmarum Palm Warbler Least concern Dendroica striata Blackpoll Warbler Least concern Mniotilta varia Black-and-white Warbler Least concern Setophaga ruticilla American Redstart Least concern Protonotaria citrea Prothonotary Warbler Least concern Helmitheros vermivorum Worm-eating Warbler Least concern Seiurus aurocapilla Ovenbird Least concern Seiurus noveboracensis Northern Waterthrush Least concern Seiurus motacilla Louisiana Waterthrush Least concern Geothlypis trichas Common Yellowthroat Least concern Agelaius phoeniceus Red-winged Blackbird Least concern Dolichonyx oryzivorus Bobolink Least concern Tiaris bicolor Black-faced Grassquit Least concern Table 1. Records of birds spotted in wetland areas around New Providence.

There are also a few species of freshwater fish and turtles that are native to these inland wetlands around New Providence, including the Caribbean Gambusia (Gambusia puncticulata), the endemic Bahamian mosquitofish (Gambusia manni), the Bahama pupfish (Cyprinodon laciniatus) and the vulnerable Cat Island Slider (Trachemys terrapin). However, these are very rare now in New Providence as most have been replaced or hybridized with closely related exotics namely the Guppy (Poecilia reticulata), Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) and the Red- eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans).

The coastal wetlands, also known as creeks, are particularly important as nurseries or feeding grounds for commercially important species such as:

 Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus) – labelled as Endangered by the IUCN.  Queen Conch (Strombus gigas)  Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus)  Snappers (Lutjanus spp.)  Grunts (Haemulon spp.)  Bonefish (Albula vulpes)  Yellowfin Mojara (Gerres cinereus)  Flagfin Mojarra (Eucinostomus melanopterus)  Parrot fish (Scarus spp and Sparisoma spp)  Green turtle (Chelonia Mydas) – labelled as Endangered by the IUCN.  Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus)  Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)  Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) – labelled as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.  Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) – labelled as Endangered by the IUCN.  Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) – labelled as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.  White land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi)

59  Black land crab (Gecarcinus lateralis)

These wetlands are also important in their function as storm surge protection, land reclamation, and preventing sedimentation and pollutants reaching the sea from the land.

There are several permanent wetlands on New Providence and they are well documented. The seasonal wetlands also known as ephemeral wetlands are not so well understood or documented. These seasonal wetlands often only appear during the four rainy months of the year and completely dry up during the other parts of the year.

There are four species of mangrove trees that are typical of the wetland landscapes. Each species prefers a slightly different amount of water submersion and salinity. Below is a description of the different mangrove species in the order that one would encounter them when travelling from the sea into the land.

A. Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) – This is the most water loving of all the mangrove trees and is usually but not exclusively associated with coastal wetlands. These plants have a complex root structure that is effective in dispersing wave energy and therefore protecting the shore line from eroding. The roots are also a favourite hide-out for immature marine species and therefore they are important as a fisheries nursery. These plants in particular are known for their rapid growing and dropping of leaves making these ecosystems some of the most productive ecosystems in the world. B. Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans) – Less water loving than the Red mangrove but is the most salt tolerant of all the mangrove species. The Black mangrove is particularly common in wetlands where the evaporation rate in very high making the pond hypersaline. The roots of this mangrove are particularly good at stabilizing sediment and controlling runoff into the sea. C. White mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) – Even less water loving than the Black mangrove, the White mangrove is found further inland and is the least tolerant of salt compared to the other mangroves. This mangrove is associated mostly with, but not exclusively to, the fresher inland wetlands. Their root system is similar to those of the Black Mangrove, though not as dense. The root system is still very good at stabilizing the soil. D. Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus) – This is the least hydrophilic, or water-loving, of all the mangrove trees as it does have a regular root system. However, the buttonwoods are extremely salt tolerant and are found in a range of different types of wetlands including the hypersaline.

60 This mangrove plant is probably the most common of all the mangroves on the island of New Providence.

Other plants that are associated with wetland areas include:

 Leather fern (Acrostichum aureum)  Saltwort (Batis maritima)  Wild coral (Salicornia virginica)  Seashore rush grass (Sporobolus virginicus)  Sea purslane (Sesuvium portulacastrum)  Tall sea blight (Suaeda linearis)  Saltweed (Caraxeron vermicularis)  Pond apple (Annona glabra)  Cattail (Typha domingensis)

VII. Legislation concerning the environment of the Bahamas.

Statute law Local government act This legislation deals with the development of planning boards in some districts by the local government in order to assume the responsibilities of the Town Planning Committee. This is to empower the local committees to be responsible for local planning matters.

Subsidiary legislation Wild animals (protection) act This legislation is strictly responsible for the removing, trading and the licenses for wild animals and is mostly concerned with CITES. Interestingly, the only animals that are protected include the wild horses of Abaco (an introduced species), the Hutia and all species of iguana in the Bahamas.

Wild bird protection act This legislation protects all species of birds from being shot, removed or eggs removed with a few exceptions that are regulated within seasons. It also briefly outlines the areas of habitat that have been preserved for wild birds and gives the assigned warden enforcement power.

Town planning act This piece of legislation deals with the zoning, licensing and application approvals for development. Here the zoning regulations outlined in the

61 policy can come into force and also ties in the local government act into the decision making progress.

Physical landscape act This legislation deals with the changing of the physical landscape and has regulations on the protected trees and the filling in of water bodies. The trees protected in this act are:  Beefwood (Guapira discolor)  Black Ebony / Bullwood (Pera bumeliifolia)  Brasiletto (Caesalpinia vesicaria)  Candlewood (Gochnatia ilicifolia)  Caribbean Pine (Pinus caribaea var bahamensis) – IUCN conservation status: LOWER RISK  Horseflesh (Lysiloma sabicu)  Lignum vitae (Guaiacum sanctum) – IUCN conservation status: ENDANGERED SPECES  Mahogany / Madiera (Swietenia mahogani) – IUCN conservation status: ENDANGERED SPECES  Rauwolfia (Rauvolfia nitida)  Red Cedar (Juniperus barbadensis var. lucayana) – IUCN conservation status: VULNERABLE  Silk Cotton (Ceiba pentandra)

Environmental Health Services Act This is a legislation that concerns the conservation and maintenance of the environment with regards to human health.

Other legislation National park regulation under the Bahamas National Trust Act This is regulation of all the activities within the designated national parks. This act states that the Bahamas National Trust may acquire land or sea, whether given or bought, for the “promotion of permanent preservation” for future Bahamians. It also states that the Bahamas National Trust is to regularly advise the government on any property that “should or will become” a national park of the country.

International laws that concern the environment of the Bahamas Ramsar convention The Bahamas signed onto the Ramsar convention on the 7th June, 2007. The Bahamas presently has one site that has been designated a Ramsar site, Lake Rosa of Great Inagua. As the Ramsar convention only requests that one

62 site is designated a Ramsar site, the Bahamas is not required to designate any more.

CITES This convention was signed on the 20th March, 1979. This treaty is only concerned with the trading of species across international borders that it deems are at risk of being over exploited and may cause the species to become endangered. In the Bahamas, the CITES convention helps to protect a host of different plants and quite a few species of animals also.

United Nations convention on the Law of the Sea Signed onto on the 16th of January, 1997.

Convention on Biological Diversity This convention was ratified on 2nd Sept, 1993. The CBD is concerned with the preservation of biological diversity and its genetic resources, for the health of the environment but particularly as they pertain to human needs, e.g. food, medicine and other such resources. The CBD also discusses the guidelines for integrating biological diversity into Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and how they should be used in planning. The CBD also discusses the removal or control of alien species.

Convention to combat desertification Signed on the 10th November, 2000. This convention is concerned with areas that have arid-like conditions that could be intensified by human activities.

VIII. Protected wetlands of New Providence

The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) was formed as an act of parliament in 1959 with the mandate to manage the National Park system. Today it is responsible for 25 national parks spread through out the archipelago. It is one of the very few non-governmental organisations to be in charge of a countries National Park system and works very closely with several partners including but not exclusive to Parks flight and Bird Life International.

The island of New Providence has four official National Parks, two of which are wetlands.

A. Harrold and Wilson Ponds National Park (HWPNP)

63 Acquired in 2002, this park encompasses about 250 acres of primarily wetland habitat as well as some pockets of pine forest (Pinus caribaea var bahamensis) as well as some coppice forest (mixed broad leaf forest). HWPNP is an indispensable wetland habitat for bird life, including resident and migratory species, on New Providence. The largest rookeries for herons, egrets, ibises, and cormorants on this island are located at HWPNP with more than 100 species of birds identified in and around the wetlands of the two ponds. It was designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International in 2002.

B. Bonefish pond National Park

Also acquired in 2002, this park encompasses 1,280 acres on the south central coast of New Providence. It is an important marine nursery area, waterfowl habitat as well as providing protection from storm surges.

Figure 6. Maps showing the location and boundaries for the HWPNP and the Bonefish Pond National Park.

The BNT is continually trying to acquire more wetlands to have fully protected and this also applies to the island of New Providence where land is becoming scarce. However, this is completely dependent on land that is donated or leased to them via the general public or, more typically by the Government Of the Bahamas (GOB).

64 IX. Conservation issues regarding wetlands in New Providence

The rate at which the population in New Providence is growing, and the lack of available land left to build on, makes development one of the key issues concerning the environment as a whole in New Providence. Wetlands are also very inexpensive land to purchase and so they are rapidly being bought up, filled in and built upon. Without appropriate action, all wetlands on the island of New Providence may be affected by development within the following 10 years.

Pollution through dumping and littering also affects the wetlands of the Bahamas. Since these areas were always the lowest points in the land, they were historically used as dump sites.

As people continue to develop, they also bring with them many exotic animals and plants. Several plants in particular have had a major impact on wetlands in the Bahamas, namely the Casuarina (Casuarina equisetifolia), Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), Melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia) and the Hawaiian Scaevola (Scaevola taccada). The only exotic animal that can impact the ecology of wetlands is the Red lionfish (Pterois volitans).

65 Chapter 2.

Stakeholder’s matrix

Sector: Participant/ (Private, NGO, Stakeholder Government, Key Issues of Organisation/A Individual, organization/ Stakeholder’s No ffiliation Education etc.) Name person Stakeholder’s Contribution Interest/Motive (what the stakeholder may (what the meeting can give bring to the meeting) to stakeholder) Bahamas Reef Educational potential for collaboration, Opportunity to meet with Environment Casuarina projects, activities 1 knowledge in marine and other stakeholders and Education NGO McKinney within the creeks, wetland ecosystems learn of their issues Foundation cleanup initiatives. Activities involving potential for buy NGO all wetlands, in/endorsement, Opportunity to meet with The Nature 2 Eleanor Phillips educational knowledge in government other stakeholders and Conservancy projects and structural issues, budget learn of their issues cleanup initiatives. for development project

Education CH Reeves Jr. Educational Can state needs and Can make educator aware 3 Philip Johnson High activities in area challenges of educators of up coming activities

Lives near a Can meet and learn of Wetlands Individual Can give issues about 4 Anders Wiberg wetland and on other people who are also committee wetlands in his local area committee concerned about wetlands

Educational Can state needs and Can make educator aware 5 AF Adderly Dorinda Walker Education activities in area challenges of educators of up coming activities

Education Jacqueline Educational Can state needs and Can make educator aware 6 AF Adderly McKenzie activities in area challenges of educators of up coming activities

Understands the issues Dept with illegal dumping in the Government Can get community support 7 Environmental Anthony Ryan Public health issues Bahamas. Also knows the for clean up initiatives Health problems of garbage removal and related issues.

66 Yellow Elder Education Educational Can state needs and Can make educator aware 8 Barbara Moss Primary activities in area challenges of educators of up coming activities

Bahamas Activities involving Can give insight to the Environment, all wetlands, Opportunity to meet with Government problems faced by 9 Science and Deon Stuart educational other stakeholders and government to deal with Technology projects and learn of their issues environmental problems commission cleanup initiatives.

Church Can learn about concerns Can give advise and ideas Seventh Day Pastor Paul Community of other stakeholders and 10 on how to reach the Adventist Scavella development general issues about majority of the population wetlands

Haitian Can learn about concerns Speaks Creole, contacts Seventh Day Churches Pastor Fritz Gerald Community of other stakeholders and 11 within the Haitian Adventist Francois development general issues about community wetlands

Water and Government Represent the Wetland Sewage committee. Have contacts Any activities to do Wants to make HWPNP a 12 (& head of John Bowleg with people who are also with wetlands RAMSAR site. wetlands interested in wetland committee) conservation.

Bahamas Education Educational Can state needs and Can make educator aware 13 Wisdom Robert Wildgoose activities in area challenges of educators of up coming activities Academy

Church Can learn about concerns Can give advise and ideas Seventh Day Community of other stakeholders and 14 Eric D. Clarke on how to reach the Adventist development general issues about majority of the population wetlands

Table 2. Table showing participants of the first stakeholder's meeting

Stakeholder’s meeting narrative

The initial stakeholder’s meeting was held at the Garvin Tynes Primary School at 7pm on Thursday, 17th of January 2008. It was attended by 15 members of the community which was a modest turnout considering that about 50 people had been invited.

However, the small size of the group meant that the meeting went ahead as originally planned and the group was well focused. Unfortunately, the meeting was lacking in some representatives, particularly from the government and individuals that live in the actual Harrold and Wilson Ponds area despite efforts made to ensure they would attend.

67 The meeting was introduced by the Director of the Bahamas National Trust, Mr. Eric Carey and was then lead into prayer by Pastor Paul Scavella. The stakeholders were then introduced to Pride campaigns and the concept model was then explained.

The direct effects posed upon wetlands were quickly identified however it was very difficult to get the indirect effects and the contributing factors from the group.

Methods: Pre-post survey

(Actual questionnaire in Appendix 1 and all results in Appendix 2)

The Bahamas National Trust conducted two consecutive surveys on the island of New Providence, Bahamas in April 2008 and April 2009 consecutively. The first batch of surveys were done to collect base line data and the second batch was done after a year of implementing some campaign activities.

It is known that using a control group to compare your results to, is an important way to better determine if there are any unforeseen influences between the pre and post surveys. Unfortunately this was not done for this campaign as no island is comparable to New Providence with the possible exception of Grand Bahama. However, Grand Bahama was an island that was also selected to have some activities and that would have effected my results. Independent of this, the mass media travel easily between each island and therefore the campaign on New Providence could have effected the results on any given island.

Threat analysis and revised concept model

68 Final concept model

69 70 Chapter 3.

Fact sheet on Flagship species

White-cheeked pintail duck (Anas bahamensis bahamensis)

CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Aves Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Sub-family: Anatinae Genus: Anas Species: A. bahamensis Sub species: A. bahamensis bahamensis

COMMON NAMES Bahama Pintail, Bahama Duck, Bahama Teal, White Jaws, White Cheeked Pintail, White Faced Duck.

DESCRIPTION The White cheeked Pintail is often described as being a very pretty duck. The crown and back of the head are a dark mottled brown with cheeks, chin and upper fore neck a pure white. The bill is a dark bluish gray with a brilliant red spot at the base. The body plumage is medium brown with black spotting and pointed fawn-colored tail. The eyes are red to red brown and the legs and feet are dark grey. The females are similar to the males, but are slightly smaller, have slightly paler plumage, and a slightly less colorful bill spot (orange-red).

DIET White-Cheeked Pintails eat both animals and plants. Much of the animal life they eat are invertebrates. Some of the animals Pintails eat are Shorefly larvae, brine shrimp, water boatmen, scuds, aquatic nematodes and midge larvae. Foods are sieved from the pond or lake bottom by "dabbling" "tipping up" or feeding with the head-under posture in shallow water. Pintails also eat seeds of Wigeon grass, foxtail grass, panic grass, and wild millet.

REPRODUCTION Social courtship may occur year round, but is most frequent and intense during winter and early spring. Typically, 2-10 males surround 1-4 females on the water and perform

71 Burps and Down-ups the major courtship displays. Pair courtship displays include Head Pumping, Belly Preening, Preening Behind the Wing and Mutual Drinking. Most Bahama Pintails are monogamous (choosing one partner for the breeding season) and some pairs stay together year-round and for more than one year. Male White-Cheeked Pintails become extremely aggressive during the breeding season, establishing territories and evicting intruders with chases, "swim-offs" and fights. The males escort and defend their mates and territories during the early part of the nesting season, but usually abandon them in late incubation and move to a safe area for the wing molt (shedding of feathers). Males may occasionally escort their mate and brood, but females provide parental care for the young. Nesting on off shore cays is common in the West Indies. On New Providence, males defend territories on the Paradise Island ponds while females nest on Salt Cay, returning to their mates territory to feed and preen during incubation recesses. Nests are located on the ground and concealed underneath low vegetation. The nest bowl is scraped out of leaf litter or sand covering the limestone rock and is well lined with dead leaves and down. Ducks nesting in mangrove areas placed grass among the mangrove roots. The female lays a clutch of 6-10 smooth, buff colored eggs and incubates the eggs for 25-26 days. Females nesting on the offshore cays lead their day old ducklings across the ocean back to the island with pond habitat. Young birds fly when they are 45-60 days old. An extended breeding season occurs in the winter and spring in the northern Bahama Islands, but nesting is more irregular and may occur year round (depending on rainfall) in more southerly parts of the species range.

HABITAT AND RANGE The White-Cheeked Pintail occupies shallow, fresh, brackish and salt water ponds and lagoons, mangrove swamps and marshes, tidal creeks and estuaries. In Great Abaco, Bahamas they are found in the "Marls" an expansive shallow tidewater region dotted with mangrove-covered clayey flats and small ponds surrounded by tall dense mangrove vegetation. In Cuba they make extensive use of Rice Plantations. The White-Cheeked Pintail can be found on most of the islands in the West Indies (including the Bahama Islands, Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola & Puerto Rico) Lesser Antilles and Netherland Antilles) and northern South America (Colombia, Venezuela, Guianas and northern Brazil).

STATUS The A.b.bahamensis subspecies were formerly abundant throughout the West Indies archipelago but is now rare or uncommon on most of the islands with the exception of Cuba, where numbers have now increased due to the advent of rice farming in the 1960's. The Bahama Pintail is fully protected from hunting in the Bahamas by the Wild Birds Protection Act. THREATS Population declines of the Bahama Pintail have been caused by excessive hunting and poaching and nest predation by introduced rats, mongoose, raccoons, feral cats, feral pigs and land crabs. Birds are common locally only on certain islands that have extensive

72 areas of inaccessible duck habitat (Abaco, Andros, & Great Inagua) or that have wild bird reserves (e.g. Paradise Island). Loss of habitat is also a concern as coastal areas, ponds and large expanses of mangrove swamp are destroyed for use by expanding human populations.

INTERESTING FACTS  Bahama Pintails undergo wing molt from May-August and remain out of sight much of the time. This secretive behavior may account for its reported "disappearance" or decline in numbers during some seasons.  Male Bahama Pintails will often submerge themselves and swim "submarine style" into the territory of neighboring pair in order to surprise and copulate with the unreceptive females on this territory. The female's mate will defend her from such "exta pair" copulation attempts and try to chase away the intruding male. A few male White-Cheeked Pintails are able to pair with two females for the breeding season instead of the usual one. The polygamous males are "super males"; very aggressive individuals that are capable of guarding two mates.

73 Campaign activities Most of these materials can be found on the campaign website: http://www.pintailpride.com.

1. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Rational behind activity One of my SMART objectives included increasing the knowledge of wetlands and National Parks. Creating strong educational programs is very important for ensuring that the next generation leaves the schooling system with a comprehensive understanding of environmental issues and an appreciation for nature. We wanted to provide programs that were quite different from the usual classroom setting but complimented the curriculum. They were intended to be fun, multi-disciplinary and interactive.

Target audience/s School children, teachers, communities.

Activity description There were many different educational programs that were a part of the campaign. A total of 6,377 people have taken part one of these programs.

I. School and community visits – here we visited the schools and in some cases communities with Pinny the mascot. A power point presentation was given and a wetlands jeopardy game was played. One of these community visits was done on Grand Bahama island.

Photos: School visit (left) and community presentation in Grand Bahama (right).

II. Presentations at the Retreat – schools came to the Retreat gardens, met Pinny, had a power point presentation, and toured the Retreat Gardens.

74 III. Field trips to HWPNP – schools, teachers and some businesses had tours at the HWPNP. The schools had a structured program that included bird watching activities, a pond dipping exercise and a migration headache game. This is a typical inland wetland where you can see that the surrounding area relies on it for flood control.

Photos: Groups at HWPNP.

IV. Field trips to Bonefish Pond National Park – schools and teachers had snorkeling and/or walking tours of the Bonefish pond National Park. This park has all four mangrove species, birds and young marine life to learn about. It also has all three main threats: development, pollution and invasive species.

Photos: Student snorkeling (left) and students holding a baby Spiny lobster (right).

V. Puppet shows – puppet shows were held for primary school students in New Providence and Grand Bahama Island. These shows included meeting Pinny, a power point presentation, the show and then a tour of the park.

75 Photos: A class after a puppet show in New Providence left and one in Grand Bahama right. See the puppet show scrip in appendix 3.

VI. Summer camps – week long summer camps were help in both New Providence and Grand Bahamas Island. This included presentations, field trips, games and crafts to do with wetlands.

Photos: Snorkeling activity in New Providence (left) and a bird watching activity in Grand Bahama (right).

VII. Teacher training workshop – teachers were flown to San Salvador Island for an intensive workshop hosted by the Bahamas Reef Environment Education Foundation. The BNT lead the wetlands and National Parks section of the workshop with presentations, tours, activities and crafts. The teachers created a music video which can be seen on: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=SZxLq-Qcbhs

76 Photo: Teachers about to start a mangrove identification activity in Pigeon Creek, San Salvador.

Educational venue Grand Other Year Month Retreat HWPNP Bonefish School/community visits Bahama island 2008 Jan 0 30 0 48 0 213 Feb 699 0 0 0 0 0 Mar 37 74 0 1230 0 0 Apr 12 12 0 61 0 0 May 17 236 0 0 0 0 Jun 45 76 42 0 0 0 Jul 40 40 40 0 5 30 Aug 28 150 50 0 0 0 Sep 0 17 0 0 0 0 Oct 0 93 0 0 0 0 Nov 6 124 0 33 0 0 Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0 2009 Jan 26 60 180 60 0 0 Feb 270 358 0 56 150 0 Mar 12 582 88 800 0 0 Apr 0 165 0 30 0 52 Totals 1192 2017 400 2318 155 295

2. PUBLIC EVENTS

Rational behind activity Events were done to get educational information about wetlands and National Parks to the general public in a fun and exciting way. The public events help at wetlands were intended to show that wetlands can be fun for the whole family.

Target audience/s School children, teachers, households, businesses as well as males 16-45 (potential dumpers).

Activity description Several different types of public events were put together to attempt to get the messages out there. The BNT also took advantage of other public events to display wetland and National Park information and interact with the public.

77 I. Earth day display in the mall (21st – 25th April 2008)

This display was every easy and inexpensive to make. The display was up for the entire week and on the Friday I spent about 2 hours (3pm-5pm) to play some educational games with the children where they one educational prizes. Contender for Miss Bahamas, Chrystal Bethel also helped me and therefore the press came along and it was aired on ZNS as a result.

II. Independence day celebrations (12th July 2008)

This celebration was help at the Harrold and Wilson Ponds National Park and had the same games being played. It also had an interactive wetland mural being painted

78 by the children attending the event and this mural will be hoisted up outside of the entrance to the park.

III. Bonefish pond clean up (18th October 2008)

This was a major cleanup event at the Bonefish pond national park. The whole community came together to help out and it was a great success. There will be more at this same pond but through the Adopt-a-wetland program we hope there will be many more just like it. There was also a snorkeling tour that was conducted for the children who participated in the cleanup.

IV. Pride Estates Family Funday (1st Nov 2008)

This event was to try and get the community that lives on the Northern boarder of Harrold Pond (part of the Harrold and Wilson Ponds National Park) actively involved in their backyard wetland. This housing estate seems to lack a real community atmosphere and garbage and the like are a common sighting in this region of the park. The aim here is to have regular events at this location to make the community feel like the park is “theirs” and they should feel proud of it. The event had the usual educational games, an interactive wetland mural which will be hoisted up at the Pride Estates side of the park, free food and drinks and a new bird game.

79 V. Jollification (22nd Nov 2009)

Jollification is an arts and crafts fair held at the BNT every year and attracts a very large audience. As part of the childrens crafts section in the back we had the Pintail Pride banner, some wetland animal crafts, Pinny walking around and the giving out of bumper stickers.

VI. World wetlands day celebrations New Providence (31st Jan 2009)

World Wetlands Day is Feb 2nd as designated by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The BNT celebrated this important day at the Harrold and Wilson Pond National Park on Sat 31st of Jan with a puppet show, guided tours, face painting, music, bouncing castle and educational games. Around 100 people showed up to the event and much fun was had by all.

80 VII. World wetlands day celebrations Grand Bahama (14th Feb 2009)

A similar event was hosted at the Lucayan National Park in Grand Bahama on Feb 14th. Building up to the LNP event was a week of puppet shows at the Rand Nature Center and the opening of the Lucayan National Park boardwalk.

There was in interactive mural, games and guided tours.

VIII. Green bag drive Agricultural Fair (26th Feb, 2009)

We took the opportunity to exhibit at an agricultural fair with the slogan “Ensure you have resources in the future” Here we exhibited the wetlands and National Parks display and gave out posters, field guides, fact sheets, hunting guides etc.

IX. Green bag drive (2009)

81 As an attempt to prevent more plastic going into the dump or ending up in wetlands, the Bahamas National Trust created some green bags that also had the Pintail Pride logo on it. We did approximately 20 green bags drives in stores around New Providence explaining to people what they were for, and why.

X. ADOPT A WETLAND PROGRAM

Rational behind activity This activity was to enable the communities themselves to be able to cleanup and restore wetlands with the hope that this would provide a sense of pride and ownership.

Target audience/s People living around wetlands, school children and businesses.

Activity description This program is divided into three sections, for schools, businesses and the general public. A school can adopt a wetland and would orchestrate the clean up, tree planting activities and could paint a mural for their wetland. The businesses could adopt the same wetland to help pay for certain items such as refreshments, garbage bags, paints and the native plants. The businesses could also opt to pay for larger items in the future if they wanted such as donate a park bench and board walk. The business employees could also take part in any of the activities done by the schools. The general public could also sign on to take part in any of the activities if they wanted.

82 Photos: The clean up crew at the Foxhill community wetland (left) and the planting of a native plant (right).

To date a total of 7 wetlands are adopted by 5 schools, 3 churches, 3 businesses and an entire community. XI. BILLBOARDS

Rational behind activity Accurately identifying the “illegal dumpers” was a major problem in the campaign and so this activity was intended to reach this elusive group of people. Also the entire island would get all the messages required.

Target audience/s Households, young men.

Activity description There were 6 billboards (2 of which were duplicated) created and strategically placed in relevant spots carrying a specific message. For example the billboard about the importance of wetlands for fisheries was placed by a major fish food vending area.

83 XII. T-SHIRT DAY

Rational behind activity This was to help advertise my campaign and get people involved.

Target audience/s School children, businesses and young men.

Activity description T-shirts were created and letters to all schools and banks were faxed about a taking part in a t-shirt day for Earth Day. In the end 10 banks, 10 businesses, one school, and 31 of what we called “walk ins” all contributed to the selling and wearing of more than 500 t- shirts.

XIII. POSTER

Rational behind activity To advertise the campaign message and display the benefits and threats of wetlands

Target audience/s School children, teachers, businesses, households and young men.

Activity description Posters were distributed to all schools, 5 gas stations and a couple of businesses.

XIV. BUMPER STICKERS AND FLYERS

Rational behind activity To advertise campaign.

84 Target audience/s Households, businesses and young men.

Activity description

These were distributed to 5 gas stations who distributed them to anyone paying $10.00 or more at the pump. They came with a flyer with all campaign messages and a Adopt-a- wetland sign up sheet.

XV. STICKERS

Rational behind activity Advertise campaign.

Target audience/s School children, teachers.

These were given to all children who took part in the educational programs.

XVI. BOTTLE OPENER / KEY RING

Rational behind activity To spread campaign’s anti-dumping message.

85 Target audience/s Young men.

These were distributed by the gas stations to anyone driving a truck. They were bottle opener key rings.

XVII. WETLANDS FIELD GUIDE

Rational behind activity To give teachers the confidence to take their students on wetland field trips on their own. And generally provide information.

Target audience/s School children, teachers.

Activity description These were given out during educational programs.

XVIII. A-Z COLOURING BOOK

Rational behind activity To make learning about wetlands fun…because that is what it is.

86 Target audience/s School children, teachers.

This has been able to carry all messages about wetlands.

XIX. MURALS

Rational behind activity Give kids an opportunity to be creative with learning and to put it up for the public to see.

Target audience/s School children, teachers, households, businesses and young men.

Activity description During events interactive mural were created. They were then pu up around HWPNP. Chapter 4. The Results

Sample Population

87 The target audience for my campaign is the entire population of the island of New Providence which consists of 210,832 people (The Bahamas Guide, 2007), spread across the entire island. The sample size for the pre-campaign survey was determined to be 865 (at a 95% CL and 3.33% CI) and for the post-campaign survey 858 (at a 95% CL and 3.34% CI). The surveys were conducted in 20 different areas each across the island. These areas are either the most populated, visited for business purposes or they are areas near to wetlands. Targeted areas were Prince Charles, South Beach, Yamacraw, Carmichael, Firetrail road and Faith Avenue, Cowpen Road, Harbour Bay, Palmdale, Cable beach, Foxhill, Village Road, Mackey Street, Adelaide, Lyford Cay, Nassau center, Paradise Island, West Ridge, Stapleton, Pride Estates & Gladstone Rd. Each area was visited once with the exception of Harbour Bay, Palmdale and Carmichael road which were visited a second time. Each visit yielded on average of about 45 questionnaires with the exception of Cowpen Road, Adelaide, Gladstone Road, Pride Estates and Yamacraw which yielded considerably less (an average of 10).

Out of all the participants surveyed, 95.3% (n=1713) lived on the island of New Providence. When looking at the locations of where the sample population live in New Providence, it shows a good representation of the population on the island. However, we were unable to obtain any data showing the distribution of the actual population found on New Providence to make a comparison.

The survey is made up of what are known as “independent variables” which include specifically Gender, Age and Level of education. We compared these results from the pre and post campaign in order to determine if there was any bias in my data. We left out Main occupation here as it may vary seasonally in the Bahamas, or may have been affected by the down turn in the economy since the surveys in 2008.

Then there are the “dependent variables” which include all of my Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviour (KOB) questions. This is the meat of the survey which tells me if any of the activities that have been done thus far have had any impact. These are accompanied with some behaviour monitoring data.

Unfortunately, there are no campaign material exposure questions as we were never advised to put any into the survey.

Independent variables

Variable Pre-campaign Post-campaign Difference Chi-squared significance Gender Males=42.9% Males=42.6% Males=0.3% X² < 50% Females=57.1% Females=57.4% Females=0.3% Not significant n=865 n=858

88 Age 16-25=33.1% 16-25=34% 16-25=0.9% X² < 50% 26-35=25.4% 26-35=27% 26-35=1.6% Not significant 36-45=17% 36-45=16.9% 36-45=0.1% 46-55=12.9% 46-55=11.7% 46-55=0.8% 56-65=7.8% 56-65=6.7% 56-65=1.1% >66=3.8% >66=3.6% >66=0.2% n=865 n=858 Level of None=1.2% None=0.7% None=0.5% X² < 50% education Primary=9.8% Primary=9.7% Primary=0.1% Not significant Secondary=40% Secondary=40% Secondary=0 > > Secondary=49.6% > Secondary=0.5% Secondary=49.1% n=858 n=865 Table. 1. Showing the difference between the pre and post surveys for gender, age and level of education.

Each independent variable used in the above table show that there is no significant difference between the two survey samples. And therefore we assume that the pre and post surveys are comparable.

Dependent variables

Knowledge Smart objective Question Pre Post Change Chi- SMART (Answer) squared objective significanc attainment e Decrease the number of p Please list at 35.4% 36.2% 0.8% X² < 50% 0 eople who cannot name a least three Not ny benefits of wetlands fr benefits of significant om 35 % to 12% or less by wetlands. n=842 n=858 May 2009. Increase the number of pe Please list at 6.1% 10.1% 4.1% X² < 50% 21.6% ople who name storm sur least three Not ge protection as one of th benefits of significant e benefits of wetlands fro wetlands. m 6% to 25% by May 2009 n=842 n=858 . Increase the number of pe Please list at 7.5% 13.1% 5.6% X² < 50% 28% ople who name fisheries n least three Not ursery as one of the benef benefits of significant

89 its of wetlands from 7% to wetlands. n=842 n=858 27% by May 2009. By May 2009 amongst peo Can you 13.7% 12.1% -1.6% X² < 50% 0 ple who can name a wetla please Not nd bird, increase the name a type significant frequency of ducks (and/o of bird that r pintail ducks) being nam might be ed from 14% to 34%. found in wetlands in the n=831 n=858 Bahamas. Increase the number of pe If yes, can 5% 8.4% 3.4% X² < 50% 17% ople who mention the Nat you please Not ional Park system when as state what significant ked what the BNT does fr it is that you om 5% to 25% by May 200 think they n=749 n=761 9. do? Increase the number of pe If yes, can 43% 44.4% 1.4% X² < 50% 6.3% ople who have heard of th you please Not e HWPNP from 43% to 65 state what significant % by May 2009. it is that you think they n=859 n=847 do? Increase the number of Can you 1% 1.5% 0.5% X² < 50% 0 people who name please Not invasive species as one of name at significant the top three threats to least three wetlands in the Bahamas threats that from 1% to 20% by May wetlands in 2009. the Bahamas n=846 n=858 face? Decrease the % of people Can you 30.5% 31.6% 1.1% X² < 50% 0 aged 16‐25 who could not please Not name any threats to name at significant wetlands in the Bahamas least three from 32% to 12% by May threats that 2009. wetlands in the Bahamas n=846 n=858 face? Increase the number of Please state 2% 1.6% -0.4% 0 people who can what you

90 accurately name the think the current fines for illegal current dumping to be $5,000 fines are for from 2% to 22% by May illegal n=836 n=134 2009. dumping. Table 2. SMART objectives and their results for the pre and post surveys for knowledge questions.

Looking at these results there seems to have been very little if any change in knowledge when comparing the population before and after the campaign as all the results are statistically insignificant from each other.

However, there are some interesting trends in the data. For example, when people were asked to name the benefits of wetlands, the replies with Storm surge protection and Fisheries nursery were not significantly different, however, they do vary more (4.1% and 5.6% point increments respectively) in comparison to the answers that could not name any (0.8% point increase). This may suggest that out of the people that answered the question, people were more inclined to answer in this way after the campaign rather than giving an answer associated with another function, such as biodiversity (see Table 2 & Figure 1) as was typical prior to the campaign.

Frequencies in naming the benefits of Wetlands

30 y c 25 n e Pre campaign u

e Post campaign r F

15 % 10

0 Cannot name any Storm surge protection Fisheries nursery Questions as part of my smart objectives

Graph 1. Variations in certain answers for the benefits of wetlands between the pre and post campaign surveys.

A disappointing result was for the question regarding naming a type of bird found in wetlands. This is probably the closest question in my survey that comes to being an exposure question for my campaign as if the majority said duck or White-cheeked pintail in the post campaign then that may have indicated that the campaign materials were impacting the audience. Instead, there seemed to be a decline in the number of

91 occurrences of naming “duck” or White-cheeked pintail”, though insignificant at 1.6% point decrease (see table 2).

In questions regarding the Bahamas National Trust and National parks, the public seemed to increase its frequency (by a percentage point of 3.4) of mentioning National Parks when asked what they believe the BNT do (Table 2). Again this is statistically insignificant. We had higher hopes in this section of the survey as the BNT have been conducting quite a bit of awareness to do with its role in the National Parks system and through multiple media forms. Graph 2 below shows this result along side the result regarding the number of people who have heard of the Harrold and Wilson Ponds National Park (HWPNP). This is only to demonstrate the differences in percentage point increments between these two questions. As I would have initially expected that roughly the same amount of increase would have occurred for the HWPNP question since both were usually “advertised” together.

Another campaign exposure question would have been the question asking the public if they had heard of HWPNP. Again, this is a poor result, but may change in the near future after the billboards have been up for a while longer.

Questions regarding National Parks

50 45 40 35 y c

e Pre campaign u 25 q

e Post campaign r

% 15 10 5 0 National Parks HWPNP Subjects in question

Graph 2. Percentage of people who mention National Parks as a responsibility of the BNT and the percentage who say they have heard of HWPNP.

Questions with regard to the threats that pose wetlands, the general public’s knowledge about invasives as a threat did increase by a point of 0.5%, but again this is insignificant. This is not as surprising as invasives are only mentioned on the campaign posters which obviously did not reach out to the general public enough or in time for the post campaign survey.

92 Another result that I would have expected a little more impact is in the naming of any threat to wetland to members of the public aged 16-25yrs. One aspect of the campaign that I would have thought to have made the most impact is on the youth as there were many educational programs as part of the campaign. None the less the result, though a percentage point increase of 1.1, is still insignificant.

A really interesting result is the decrease in the number of people who answer $5,000.00 as part of the question on the fines for illegal dumping. This question was to help see whether the campaign being held by the Department of Environmental Health was having any impact. The problem was that the materials used for their campaign never had any descriptions about the fines (with the exception of one television show). But the result here shows a slight decrease of 0.4% points and could indicate that the Government actually changed the fine by the time the post campaign was conducted.

Attitude Smart objective Question Pre Post Change Chi- SMART (Answer) squared objective significanc attainment e Increase the number of What is the 5% 3.5% -1.5% X² < 50% 0 people that mention the first thing Not need for wetland that comes significant conservation when asked to mind what comes to mind when you when they thought of think of wetlands from 5% to 25% wetlands? n=859 n=858 by May 2009. Increase the percentage Would you 73% 73.6% 0.6% X² < 50% 5% of people aged 16‐25 that be willing to Not are willing to separate separated significant their cans for recycling Aluminium from 73% to 85% by May cans from 2009. the rest of your garbage and bag them for n=860 n=847 collection? Table 3. SMART objectives and their results for the pre and post surveys for attitude questions.

93 When the public was asked about what came to their minds when they thought of wetlands, it is apparent that the majority of people first think about wildlife and the biodiversity that it houses (See results in Appendix…). The mentioning of the need for conservation is much less frequent but we wanted to see if we could increase it during the campaign. Unfortunately, it decreased, only by 1.5% which is insignificant but it is a decrease (Table 3). This however, does not indicate a lowering of attitude by any means, even if it were significant, as the majority of the public still on the whole mention positive things when asked this question (Appendix….).

An attitude that we also hoped to increase was in the recycling of cans by youths. Again, this was an insignificant point increase of 0.6% (Table 3). This does not come as too much of a surprise for my campaign as we had not focused on the recycling aspect as much in the end as we had originally thought.

Behaviour Smart objective Question Pre Post Change Chi- SMART (Answer) squared objective significanc attainment e Amongst the people who 0 hire a truck to dispose of their large solid waste increase the percentage who say they use the above mentioned list of recommended truckers from 0% (an assumption, as there is currently no recommended list) to 20% by May 2009. (n=866) Have major cleanup 50% events at both the HWPNP and Bone fish pond by May 2009. Decrease the amount of 91 52 39 50% litter collected at Harrold and Wilson Pond by our wardens from 91 gallons

94 of trash to 13 by May 2009. Increase the ratio 0.85% 4.1% 4.82 X² < 50% 52.7% (number of people using Not re‐usable bags vs. number significant using plastic) of people who are using green bags from 0.85% to 10% by n=205 n=201 May 2009. Through the wetland 0 adoption scheme, increase the number of schools that adopt a cans recycling scheme from 0 to 10 by May 2009. Out of the people who 26% 39.8% 8.8% X² < 50% 36.7% have heard of the Not HWPNP, increase the significant percentage of people who n=406 n=410 have visited it from 26% to 50% by May 2009. Have 10,000 (5%) of the 0 population of New Providence to sign a petition to lobby for a change in legislation providing better protection for wetlands in the Bahamas by May 2009. Through the wetland 100% adoption scheme get at least 3 corporations to make a donation towards increasing awareness, improving management of, and/or recreational facilities at wetlands on New Providence. Through the wetland 100% committee orchestrate the completion of the necessary paperwork to

95 apply for a Ramsar designation of HWPNP by May 2009. Table 4. SMART objectives and their results for the pre and post surveys for behaviour questions.

Certain aspects of the campaign in terms of behaviour change were not or have not yet been implemented (table 4). This includes:  the use of a “Green truckers list”. Due to the government’s refusal to participate in giving any particular trucking company any credit due to unpaid charges to the dump site, it was difficult to get this activity implemented.  The “Cans for Kids” recycling scheme also did not get implemented through the Adopt a wetland program simply because schools were refusing to take cans for recycling when they were not be collected efficiently. Therefore, causing a “nasty smell” in the school and attracting flies.  A petition for the further protection of wetlands was also not implemented as laws are already beginning to change in regards of wetlands due to a new Ministry of the Environment being established and the Wetlands Committee becoming increasingly active. Laws regarding wetlands will be changing in the near future even without the petition, however, a petition may still become a useful tool for prompt change in regards to wetlands in the near future.

A major cleanup event was conducted at Bonefish Pond National Park but not for the HWPNP, therefore this SMART is 50% complete (table 4). Small cleanups have been done at the HWPNP but a major cleanup will require the use of special waist high water proof boots. The smaller cleanups at the HWPNP yielded 91 gallons of garbage prior to the campaign. After the campaign a smaller portion of 52 gallons was collected. This looks like a decreasing amount which could indicate that public outreach efforts held at the Pride Estates side of the park have had some impact. However, prior to the campaign the trash was collected by park warden staff who are able to clean garbage from the water in their special long boots. Whereas the cleanup after the campaign was done by school children who did not enter the water and only cleaned garbage found on the land around the wetland. Therefore, these results are not comparable but the amount of trash in the water (if collected) appeared insignificant and may not have been 3 trash bags (13 gallons each) worth.

In the count of green bag use in certain stores there was a definite increase from prior to the campaign compared with post (Graph 3), though again, not statistically significant (Table 4). This may indicate the impact of the “Green bag drive” that has been led by the BNT over the past year. The differences between the two stores could be the result of several more “drives” done at the Harbour Bay store compared to the next. However, it could also be due to the difference in clientele between them as people who use City Market at Harbour Bay may be more inclined to use green bags. There may be a difference in their state towards behaviour change and therefore a small survey could be conducted here to determine this.

96 Use of "Green bags" per plastic bag per hour

0.06 g

a 0.05 b

c i t s

a 0.04 l Pre campaign P

/ Post campaign g 0.03 a b

e 0.02 r G

0 City Market Harbour Bay Super Value Mackey Street Stores

The Adopt a wetland did reach its SMART objective of 3 corporations signing onto helping to restore a wetland. However, all three of these corporations are adopting the same wetland and therefore the effect is not so far reaching. Never the less, the wetland adopted will make a great impact on the community once all the planned activities go on ahead. One of the “Adopters” is a large, popular nightclub which could help me reach a large portion of my target audience of young men.

The Wetland Committee has lived up to its bargain of preparing and submitting the paperwork necessary for having the HWPNP designated as a Ramsar site. However, Ramsar sent it back stating that it had to be officially approved by Parliament. Unfortunately, certain members within parliament have not been as hasty to have the HWPNP designated as a Ramsar site as it was thought to be too small and others should be nominated. The Wetlands committee stands by its decision but will nominated more, larger wetlands areas also to hopefully over turn Parliament’s decision.

All in all, the results are not the most encouraging in terms of showing any behaviour change. However, I do suspect that the population size of New Providence is simply too large to be able to get any noticeable behaviour change with in such a short amount of time. Also, many of the campaign materials were only implemented either just before or even after the post survey was conducted and therefore we would not yet expect to see them in our results.

97 98 Chapter 5.

Critical review of the campaign

The most unfortunate part of this campaign has been about timing. Many of the materials are only just developed now and so the campaign was only just beginning as it had to end (well through the eyes of Rare). Even the writing of this report has not been given the time that it deserves as so much work has to be left out as there is simply not enough time.

Introduction The Bahamas campaign, later called the Pintail Pride Campaign, was conducted in the Bahamas from December 2007 up until April 2009 by the Bahamas National Trust. The Bahamas is made up of a little more than 700 islands and cays, but as 210,832 people live on the island of New Providence, accounting for nearly 70% of the entire population (The Bahamas Guide, 2007), the campaign was to target this island in particular. The aim of the campaign was to help reduce the threats posed on wetlands on the island of New Providence. These included both inland and coastal wetlands. The mascot chosen to help spread the messages of the campaign was chosen to be the White-cheeked Pintail Duck (Anas bahamensis bahamensis).

Understanding your target audience and the market as a whole is a major key to success in social marketing (McKenzie-Mohr, D., 1999. & Weinreich, N. K., 1999). In the beginning of the campaign we had determined that the prevention of littering and illegal dumping as a behaviour change that we wanted to focus on. There were many reasons for this. Firstly, we believed that it was a relatively simple concept for the population to grasp, that the behaviour could be achievable and can also be measured. We had identified our target audience as “truckers”. These were particularly people who were hired by the general population to remove large items and amounts of trash that the Department of Environmental Health would not take. However, during the campaign, it turned out that we were unable to accurately identify and therefore target the right target audience. Therefore the behaviour change that we would want to achieve had to be shifted.

Critical review of the “Good and Bad” activities

The Good

1. Bottle openers

99 Key chain bottle openers were produced with the intention of giving them out to a major target audience, particularly men and hopefully my truckers carrying the action phrase: “Stop trashing our Bahamian Wetlands”. The main reason for developing this resource was to produce a useful item that could be used by the population so that the message would eventually soak in and also help to increase the chances of “Interpersonal communication”. Whereby people who see it would become interested in the object and look closer to read the message and then hopefully discuss the topic at hand.

The bottle openers have been distributed via petrol stations to clientele driving trucks that spend $10.00 or more at the petrol station as well as to anyone entering the city dump. These were also given away as prizes to adults who came to some events held at wetlands and took part in some of the activities at the event.

The bottle openers were considered successful for a number of reasons. They seemed quite popular amongst the general public as anyone who was not given the openers, often asked for them. This material made a good attempt at targeting the population that I wanted to capture. The distribution method was an effective way of getting the material out to the suspected group of men who were most likely to be dumping illegally in the wetland areas. Very importantly also, this material actually carried an action message telling the target audience to “do” the behaviour that I wanted which is quite useful when attempting to change behaviours of that audience.

However, there are two main down falls to this activity. One was the timing of the operation. I only managed to get the bottle openers distributed towards the end of the campaign and therefore they would not have had an impact on behaviour change before my final surveys and hence I have been unable to monitor their success. This activity would have done better if implemented about 3 months into the campaign (Rare, 2007). There was also not enough media work done prior to “set the stage” and help to support the messages that were carried on the openers prior to the distribution (Weinreich, N. K. 1999). Another major downfall I felt was that I had originally planned to have a sleeve that the bottle openers would fit inside which would carry additional messages on it. This would have helped to reinforce “why” the target population should “Stop trashing the Bahamian Wetlands”.

Besides these downfalls, this activity is still a good one in terms of social marketing. It was targeted at a particular population, had a key behaviour message on it and had a “stickability power” due to its resourcefulness.

2. Adopt a wetland program

100 This program was developed to enable the community members themselves to take action and help to clean up a wetland in their own neighbourhood. We wanted communities to be proud living next to wetlands and take pride in them. The way the program was developed was to help increase their knowledge, change their attitude and get them to do an actual behaviour to reduce a major threat, whether pollution, restoration or invasive removal.

The program was developed for schools, corporations and the general public. Once they sign on they would agree to help a wetland of their choice in a way that suits them. Schools adopt a wetland by agreeing to conduct clean up events and help with invasive plant removal as well as native tree planting. Corporations can adopt a wetland to help support the clean and planting activities both financially and with man power. The general public was also able to join in any of the above activities. All partners went through an educational program to excite them about their wetland and help with formulating an action plan. From there the activities were conducted and later a “fun day” was to be planned at the relevant wetland.

This was considered one of the best activities in terms of social marketing as it potentially addressed all of the threats to my target site and enabled me to target several of my target audiences, particularly school children, teachers, corporations and households. This way the entire community is supporting the wetland and therefore in theory, this should help to greatly reduce the threats at that wetland through a sense of some form of ownership (Andreasen, A. R., 1995).

There were many modes of communication associated with this program which is an important strategy when planning a successful campaign (Andreasen, A. R., 1995 & Weinreich, N. K., 1999). There was some media attention and it was aired on television twice during the campaign. This enabled me to get messages to the wider population via mass media. There was some mini media produced with the posters displaying “adopt a wetland”, bumper stickers and t-shirts. There was also some good inter-personal communication associated with this activity which became evident during one of my adoption programs. Once this adoption program activities came to a close, the person who I had established a partnership with for this particular wetland put me into contact with several other such community leaders and enabled me to reach many communities island wide that would have otherwise been difficult for me to do.

This program took on a life of its own. People signed on to the program very quickly and more programs came on faster than we can keep up. Some of the projects are very ambitious, with major restoration out comes. For example one of the wetlands that has been adopted has been cut off from the sea form

101 several years due to a nearby development. The plans are to re-open this wetland to the sea so it can function once again as a fishery nursery.

This program, though not necessarily regarded as one of the best by my organization, has the potential to make the most change in behaviour within the community. It targets an audience that can have the most impact on the conservation site as it targets the people around the wetlands, it reduces all my threats as opposed to just one and gives the community the power by putting in place an infrastructure to make the change in behaviour needed.

The Bad 1. T-shirt Day T-shirts days had not been done for a while on the island of New Providence and my organization felt that it was just about the right time to do one. This t- shirt day would help to expose my campaign to many different people island wide and therefore hopefully reach those target audiences. We were also hoping to induce some inter-personal communication between people within the community (Rare, 2007).

The activity was planned for Earth Day 2009. The main targeted participants here were school children and corporations but the general public at large could also participate. Banks, schools and some businesses were faxed info about the t-shirt day, it was advertised in the newspaper and on Facebook.

This activity was very well received and was actually considered to be a success. 10 banks, 10 businesses, one school, and 31 of what we called “walk ins” all contributed to the selling of more than 500 t-shirts. However, it was not necessarily the best of social marketing practices. Even with more than 500 participants, the banks that took part were not the banks which local people used but were foreign investment banks. This meant that the general public would not have seen the t-shirts quite as we had originally intended. Additionally, only one school took part in the activity. Therefore the target audiences had not participated quite as we had hoped.

Another aspect that could have made the entire activity that little bit stronger is to have an action message on the shirt, telling the audience what to “do”. Even a message with some of the knowledge messages could have been beneficial here. Instead it served more as an advertising activity.

The Bahamas National Trust in conjunction with the new Ministry of the Environment had another campaign going on at the same time which would have diluted the messages and confused some people as well.

102 The different modes of communication for this activity did involve a little of face-to-face, mini-media and mass media. The Bahamas National Trust, with the help of volunteers, did spend an entire Saturday outside of a busy super market stopping people to talk to them about Earth Day, wetlands and the purpose of the T-shirt. From this, 50 shirts were sold and therefore about 50 people were reached during this one event. As we mentioned earlier 31 people walked into the office asking about the t-shirts some of these said they had heard it from other people and some saw it in the paper. Unfortunately, the event was only represented in newspaper and not on radio which the majority of my target audience uses, according to our survey results. I did feel that with a good plug on certain radio stations would have increased the numbers of participants somewhat. However, Facebook did not yield as many as I had hoped either. Of the 40 “confirmed attendees” that signed on through Facebook only 8 actually came by to collect their shirts.

If the t-shirts carried a stronger and more targeted message, was adopted by the banks and schools that we wanted and was advertised on the more popular radio stations, this activity would have been a much more refined social marketing strategy. However, it was still regarded by all who took part as a great success.

2. Media representation Multi-media is an important mode of communication particularly when dealing with a large population such as mine (Andreasen, A. R., 1995). Using the surveys we determined that radio and television were very important and influential ways to get a message across to the majority of the population and also to my apparent target audience. Newspapers were used by 46.8% (n=863) of the population compared to television and radio (77.9% and 65% respectively), according to my survey results. The interesting thing to note was also what stations my target audiences were using. For television, ZNS dominated with 65% (n=863) of the population using it though mostly just for the news. For radio, 100 Jamz dominated with 42% (n=863) of the population using it. When looking at my results at the radio station choice of young men between the ages of 16-35 there was a strong preference for 100 Jamz at 61.6% (n=863). If this was indeed my main target audience to reduce the illegal dumping, then this is where I would have liked to have focused my messages (Andreasen, A. R., 2006).

However, it went more like this: When ever there were events or major activities the media were used. Mostly newspapers were used, some television was used and some but little radio. Unfortunately, the ZNS news team would not always show up to record the event and therefore these activities were largely missed out for a major audience. The radio stations used were usually

103 Love 97 and Island FM. Both of these stations are used by a slightly older audience and they are more likely to be members of the Bahamas National Trust than 100Jamz and so, are possibly more likely to have an awareness of the importance of wetlands.

Despite choices of media, not enough media was used for campaign activities and materials. The campaign as a whole could have had a greater impact if the media was better utilized. Much of this came down to lack of appropriate funding allocation and lack of time to do so.

Critical review of the student’s own performance There are some things that one learns about them selves when doing such missions as a Pride campaign. I have learnt that I am not the best person to delegate to others and I am not so great at asking for help from others also. One major flaw in my performance has also been the utter inability to refuse other work from co-workers even when it is not my job.

These are in part a character flaw (which is sometimes regarded as an asset) but also in part because I was so new to the organization when I started the campaign and therefore found it hard to disappoint certain colleagues. Another aspect is that I knew that I was hired because of a broad mix of skills that would be useful to the overall running of the Bahamas National Trust and their objectives, so I would feel that I was not living up to my expectations if I refused to take on work outside of the campaign. If I can help someone with something, why would I say no? In the end are we not all striving for the same major goal, to help conservation happen?

Some of my strengths during the campaign however have been my willingness to perform seven days a week. This was indeed necessary for the Adopt a wetland activities. I also have an apparent skill for public speaking as the schools, teachers, sponsors and the general public seems to actually enjoy my baffling away in the front of them. I am regularly requested now as a result. In terms of sponsors, some of my speeches have led to the commitment of additional funding for summer camps and workshops as well as future mini-campaigns on other islands which I intend to fulfill.

Discussion The examples showing the good and bad activities within the campaign are not all good or all bad as discussed above. This is certainly true for most aspects of my campaign as everything had something good or bad about it. The activities that were considered good social marketing activities were not necessarily considered the best activities by my organization and vise versa. This does however, indicate a discontinuity between the

104 objectives of my organization and Rare. Much of this comes from a difficulty I had upon returning to Kent to sit everyone down to talk about social marketing and Rare’s methodology. My colleagues were either off on another island or had a meeting to go to. I tried, however, to sit people down individually but that also failed.

If I were to do something differently, I would definitely ensure that virtually all employees, at least the key decision makers, of the Bahamas National Trust take part in a basic social marketing workshop. However, I do understand that, that is already part of Rare’s new objectives for the future.

Another problem within my organisation was the fact that the Bahamas National Trust was also conducting two other campaigns along with mine. One which involves fundraising which has been deemed as “priority over everything else” and the other was a million tree planting campaign which helped to dilute my message.

Another major factor that steered the course of my campaign into troubled waters was the unfortunate timing of the changing to a new curriculum by Rare during an important planning phase of my campaign and the unexpected resignation of my mentor. During this time I was unable to obtain feed back from Rare in a time when I really needed it and this pushed my time lines much further backwards. During this time, I felt the wind had been taken from under my wings that Rare had worked so hard to put in place during my time in England and I had a hard time returning to that present state once Rare was ready to commence.

More over, upon exchanging notes with other campaign managers, it appears that some campaigns were given much more time, guidance and attention than others. Therefore some campaigns were obviously going to be better at the Rare methodology than others. Out of these, I do feel, my campaign suffered the most and therefore I feel as though I am not on the same playing field as the other campaigns.

If these issues were not enough, I also had to deal with usual island living which involves the lack of commitment and delayed deadlines from others. This meant that any materials or activities that were not directly under my control either did not happen at all or ran extremely late. I would not say that everything that I produced was in perfect time but I certainly had my logo, poster, shirts etc. finished within a reasonable time but things like the songs 1 & 2 never happened and the colouring book took an entire year to complete. This threw off my budget and my timing of materials.

This is why I intend to go back home and continue my work to the best that I can. The campaign has only begun for me. My billboards and colouring book were only just completed before I left to return to Kent. I have many wetland adoption projects to get

105 going and I know that I will have a near completed song when I return. I also believe that I have a better understanding of who my target audience of illegal dumpers are and therefore I have new activities in mind and complex barrier removal strategies to determine .

References

Andreasen, A. R. (1995). Marketing social change: changing behaviour to promote health, social, development and the environment. Jossey Bass, USA.

Andreasen, A. R. (2006). Social marketing in the 21st century. Sage publications, USA, UK and India.

Margoluis, R. & Salafsky, N. (1998). Measures of success: designing, managing, and monitoring conservation and development projects. Island Press, USA.

McKenzie-Mohr, D. & Smith, W. (1999). Fostering sustainable behaviour: An introduction to community based social marketing. New society publishers, Canada.

Rare (2007). Rare pride handbook: A guide for inspiring conservation in your community. Rare, USA.

The Bahamas Guide (2007). http://www.thebahamasguide.com/facts/population.htm. [accessed: 8/5/2009].

Weinreich, N. K. (1999). Hands-on social marketing- a step by step guide. Sage publications, USA, UK and India.

106 Chapter 6.

Recommendations for the future

Well as stated above, the campaign is only beginning in some aspects. So I will continue the work as was planned originally.

Adopt a wetland There are many programs just coming onto stream and some of the businesses will be looking to develop their “wetland” relationship with additional sponsoring. Therefore more plans need to be created and implemented.

Educational Programs Much of this program will now move out more to the other islands. Wetlands are now part of the curriculum and therefore they will need the help.

Wetlands clean ups Even aside from adoption programs, the wetland committee is determined to have the entire coast including all its wetlands cleaned up with major events.

Partnering with Environmental Health The attempts to partner successfully with this important group has been difficult. I plant to work with the Dept. of Env. Health (DOEH) to start some form of recycling at the dump. This will hopefully reduce the amount of burning to extract metal that goes on in wetland areas.

107 Create a “Wetland Discovery Club” This will be a program run by the science club within the schools themselves. This means that instead of the BNT conducting a small summer camp for a max of 30 children, we can reach many more and country wide. The materials needed will be shipped to the schools.

New billboards The billboards created are unfortunately too small. Therefore new, big ones will be created and put up in their place. The old ones can be placed in school yards and playgrounds.

References BEST Commission (2002) Bahamas Environmental Handbook. Government of the Bahamas. BEST Commission (2007) The layman’s guide to wetlands in the Bahamas. The Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology Commission, Bahamas. Campbell, D. G. (1978). The Ephemeral Islands: A natural history of the Bahamas. Macmillan education LTD., London and Basingstoke. Cutts, W. (2004) Trees of the Bahamas and Florida. Government of the Bahamas (1985) Atlas of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Kingston Publishers LTD, Jamaica. IUCN (2007). http://www.iucnredlist.org/ [accessed: 7/12/07]. Kass, L. B. (2005) An illustrated guide to: Common plants of San Salvador Island, Bahamas. 2nd edition. Gerace Research center, San Salvador Island, Bahamas. Nations Encyclopedia (2007) http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/The‐Bahamas‐ INCOME.html [accessed: 7/12/07] Nation Master (2008) http://www.nationmaster.com/red/country/bf‐bahamas‐the/edu‐ education&all=1 [accessed: 7/12/07] Raffaele, H., Wiley, J., Garrido, O., Keith, A., Raffaele, J. (1998) A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Prince University Press, USA. Roebuck, L. and Pochatila, J. (2004) Water resources assessment of the Bahamas. US army Corps of Engineers, USA. Sealey, N. E. (2006). Bahamian landscapes: An introduction to the geology and physical geography of the Bahamas, Third edition. Media Enterprises LTD., Nassau, Bahamas. The Bahamas Guide (2007) http://www.thebahamasguide.com/facts/population.htm [accessed: 7/12/07]

108 Annexes Annex 1: Bahamas Pre Project Survey Questionnaire (1) Gender (CHECK WITHOUT ASKING) [ ] Male [ ] Female (2) What age group do you belong to? (SHOW OPTION ANSWERS) [ ] 16‐25 [ ] 26‐35 [ ] 36‐45 [ ] 46‐55 [ ] 56‐65 [ ] 66 and over (3) Do you live on New Providence? (IF NO GO STRAIGHT TO QUESTION 6) [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] Other, please specify ______(4) If yes, then which sub‐division of Nassau do you live? ______(5) What is your main occupation? (ANSWER ONE ONLY) ______(6) How much formal education have you completed? [ ] No formal schooling [ ] Primary school completed [ ] High school completed [ ] Some schooling beyond High school completed (7) What church do you most attend, if any? ______(8) What form of media do you use at least once a week? (CAN ANSWER MORE THAN ONE) [ ] News paper [ ] Radio [ ] Television [ ] Internet [ ] None [ ] Other, please specify ______(9) Do you watch any of the local television channels at least once a week, if so which ones? (CAN ANSWER MORE THAN ONE) [ ] None [ ] ZNS [ ] Cable 12 [ ] Channel 40 [ ] JCN [ ] Other, please specify ______(10) What radio stations do you listen to at least once a week? (CAN ANSWER MORE THAN ONE) [ ] None [ ] 100 Jams [ ] Island FM [ ] More 94 FM [ ] Joy FM [ ] 104.5 FM [ ] Love 97 FM [ ] GEMS [ ] Other, please specify ______(11) What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of wetlands? ______(12) Please list at least three benefits of wetlands? ______(13) In your opinion, do you think that more wetlands should be protected in National Parks? [ ] Yes [ ] Uncertain [ ] No (14) In your opinion, do you believe that legislation should be put in place to help protect wetlands? [ ] Yes [ ] Uncertain [ ] No (15) Can you please name a wetland on the island of New Providence that has been recognised as an Important Bird Area? ______(16) Can you please name a type of bird that might be found in wetlands in the Bahamas? ______(17) Can you please name at least three threats that wetlands in the Bahamas face? ______(18) Would you be willing to seperate aluminium cans from the rest of your garbage and bag them for collection? [ ] Yes [ ] Uncertain [ ] No (19) Where do you dispose your old furniture and appliances (eg. mattresses, stoves etc)? [ ] Backyard [ ] Vacant property [ ] Take to landfill myself [ ] Hire someone to take to landfill [ ] Other, please specify ______(20) Please state what you think the current fines are for illegal dumping? ______(21) Have you ever heard of the Bahamas National Trust? [ ] Yes [ ] Uncertain [ ] No (22) If yes, can you please state what it is that you think they do?

109 ______(23) Can you name any National Parks on the island of New Providence, if so which ones? ______(24) Please list at least three benefits of a National Park? ______(25) Have you ever heard of the Harrold and Wilson Ponds National Park? [ ] Yes [ ] Uncertain [ ] No (26) If so, have you ever visited the Harrold and Wilson Ponds National Park? [ ] Yes [ ] No (27) Do you think that you will visit the Harrold and Wilson Ponds National Park in the next 6 months? [ ] Yes [ ] Uncertain [ ] No (28) What activities would you like to see or do at the Harrold and Wilson Ponds National Park? ______(29) Are you currently a member of the Bahamas National Trust? [ ] Yes [ ] No (30) If no, would you consider becoming a member in the next 6 months? [ ] Yes [ ] Uncertain [ ] No

110 Annex 2: Bahamas Pre Project Survey Results

111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 Post campaign survey results.

129 Q1: Gender (CHECK WITHOUT ASKING)

(1) Gender (CHECK WITHOUT ASKING) Percents Counts Percents 0 100

Female 492 57.4% Male 365 42.6% Totals 857 100.0%

Mean --

Q2: What age group do you belong to? (SHOW OPTION ANSWERS)

(2) What age group do you belong to? (SHOW OPTION ANSWERS) Percents Counts Percents 0 100

16-25 290 34.0% 26-35 230 27.0% 36-45 144 16.9% 46-55 100 11.7% 56-65 57 6.7% 66 and over 31 3.6% Totals 852 100.0%

Mean --

Q3: Do you live on New Providence? (IF NO GO STRAIGHT TO QUESTION 6)

(3) Do you live on New Providence? (IF NO GO STRAIGHT TO QUESTION 6) Percents Counts Percents 0 100

Yes 810 95.2% No 20 2.4% Abaco 3 0.4% Andros 3 0.4% Eleuthra 2 0.2% exuma 2 0.2% Freeport 2 0.2%

130 Appendix 3. Puppet show script

Wetlands are wild Primary School puppet show

WHITNEY WILL HARRY EDDIE WHISTLER PINNY BLUE TOMMY DAN

SCENE 1

Will and Whitney are listening to a lecture by Eddie the Environmentalist on the importance of wetlands.

EDDIE: Good morning boys and girls. Today I am going to introduce you to one of my favorite places – a place where I grew up – ______- a mangrove wetland. This area is important for wildlife – birds, fish, turtles and all sorts, but its also very important for humans as well. Be sure and ask me questions as we go along.

WILL: What are those funny looking plants – they look like they are on stilts?

EDDIE: Those plants are mangroves. Those stilts are really arching roots, which capture dirt and sand and help to build the land. There are four different types of mangroves in the Bahamas. First you find the Red mangroves which love sea water and are found furthest from the land. Then behind them you find the Black mangrove. Behind the Black mangrove is the White mangrove and behind that is the Buttonwood which prefers the drier land. As each of these mangroves grow they make the ground more solid and easier for the different types of mangroves to live. This process is known as ecological succession. Can everybody say: Ecological succession?

WHITNEY: What are those sticking up in the mud – that stretch of beach looks like a “bed of nails”?

131 EDDIE: Those are roots that belong to the Black mangrove. They are called “pneumatophores”. Can everyone say nu-mat-o-phores? They act like snorkels for this mangrove as the mud they live in has very little air. So the pneumatophores help them to breathe.

WILL: Mr. Eddie, you said that the mangrove wetlands are important to humans – how can that be? They look like a big swamp to me.

EDDIE: Will, mangrove wetlands are very important to humans. They create new shore line and help stop the shore line from getting destroyed. Do you remember Hurricane Frances?

WILL : Boy, who doesn’t remember that horrible storm?

EDDIE: A great deal of damage was done to homes that lived by the sea, because there were very big waves from the storm.

WHITNEY: My Grammy lives in South Florida, but her area did not get much damage, and they have mangroves in front of her house. Did the mangroves protect her house?

EDDIE: Yes, the mangroves broke up the big waves that swept on the land. Mangroves are also important because they act as a nursery area for the baby crawfish, groupers and conch. The mangrove roots are the best places for these tiny creatures to hide from hungry predators!

WILL: The mangrove must also be important homes for many small birds, and ducks as well as other animals. This place has more birds and animals than I have seen any place!!!

WHITNEY: But some people say, “mangroves are useless”.

AUDIENCE: “ No they are not.” Mangroves are nurseries for crawfish and conch, they give us protection from storms that knock. Homes or birds and ducks that fly, places of beauty that soothe our eyes. Mangroves are useless? That’s the silliest thing we’ve ever heard!!

WILL: Mr. Eddie! Look over there! What are those creatures looking at us?

EDDIE: Boys and girls, have a look. The tall beautiful duck is a West Indian Whistling Duck. They have become very rare in the Bahamas, partly because they were hunted too much, but also their homes were destroyed. The smaller duck is a Bahama pintail. It is one of our prettiest ducks and they are also threatened with their homes being destroyed. The taller wading bird is a little blue heron. He roosts in the mangroves at night and feeds on the fish and crabs that live on the

132 shore and among the mangrove roots. Whistler, Pinny, Blue say Hi to you new friends!

The birds wave and move around in a friendly fashion.

WHITNEY: They sure are beautiful. Why do people want to destroy their homes?

EDDIE: It’s sad, but many people forget that we need to leave wild places for our animal friends. They feel that it is more important to build more homes and hotels. We need both, but all of us can live together if we will only take the time to learn about natural areas and why we need them. Many times the houses can be placed in better places.

WILL: Thankyou, Mr. Eddie for showing us the ______wetland. We hope that it will always be here for birds like Whistler, Pinny and Blue.

EDDIE: Don’t worry Will, as long as I live here nothing is going to happen to this wetland.

SCENE 2

Will and Whitney return to ______wetland to go bird watching wearing binoculars around their neck.

WHITNEY: Hurry Will! I don’t want to miss seeing the birds.

WILL: Don’t get so excited Whitney. They are not going anywhere. Remember Mr. Eddie told us as long as he is around ______will always be there.

WHITNEY: Oh look Will! Aren’t they beautiful? They just take my breath away!

WILL: Whitney look! What is that Bulldozer doing there?

WHITNEY: It can’t be. No one would want to destroy this beautiful place? Would they?

WILL: Man, don’t joke! They can’t be thinking of such a thing.

DAN: Mangroves are useless!

AUDIENCE: “ No they are not.” Mangroves are nurseries for crawfish and conch, they give us protection from storms that knock. Homes or birds and ducks that fly, places of beauty that soothe our eyes. Mangroves are useless? That’s the silliest thing we’ve ever heard!!

133 DAN: Now that may be true, but this swamp isn’t doing people any good. We need this land to develop. I can build many homes here. You know what they say. “Give the land to Developer Dan and he’ll have plenty of money in his hands” Ha ha!

WILL: But Mr. Dan, this wetland is already a home for herons, ducks, groupers and even crawfish. Where will they live if you build your houses in their home?

DAN: Who cares! They are just a bunch of birds and fish. They can find somewhere else to live.

Whitney and Will leave Developer Dan. They are very sad – soon they run into the wetland animals.

WHITNEY: Oh Whistler, Pinny, Little Blue. What can we do? Developer Dan has plans to steal your land.

BLUE: It’s very sad, but humans always think they are so important. That we animals have no rights.

WHISTLER: Well, it’s wrong, wrong, wrong! We have to do something!

PINNY: Well I don’t know about you, but animals never win. I am going to round up my little Pinnys and find some place else to live.

TOMMY: I’m with you Pinny. Its time to move on.

The animals begin to move away.

WILL: Wait! We can’t give up. We have to find a way to stop the destruction of your homes. Don’t you see – soon their won’t be any place for you to move to if this keeps up.

WHITNEY: I know! Lets go to see our friend Environmental Eddie. He will be able to help us. You know when he is not touring the wetland he is a lawyer – he’ll be able to talk to Developer Dan.

ALL ANIMALS, WHITNEY AND WILL: Lets Go !!

SCENE 3

Mr. Eddie’s Office

134 ALL ANIMALS, WHITNEY AND WILL: Mr. Eddie, Mr. Eddie!! You have to help us!

EDDIE: Hold on guys! What’s got you so upset? Now calm down and tell me what has happened.

WHITNEY: Developer Dan has a bulldozer at the ______Wetland.

WILL: He says mangroves are useless and he can make it a better place by building houses.

WHISTLER: He thinks that it is OK just to destroy our home as if we have no rights!

Harry the Hunter dashes in.

HARRY: Hey Eddie, Guess what that sneaky Developer Dan is up to? What are all these kids and animals doing here?

EDDIE: Well Harry, it seems they are here for the same reason you are. The ______wetland is being threatened with development. OK everyone! Give me some time to think about what we can do, and I’ll call a meeting with Dan at the wetland tomorrow afternoon. Everyone plan to be there!

Everyone leaves except Harry the Hunter.

HARRY: Eddie, what are we going to do? That wetland is one of the last ones left on ______. Without that area as a nursery for fish and conch – our fisheries will die out, and its so important for birds. I know most people think us hunters are bad, but without their habitat all that wildlife will disappear.

EDDIE: I know Harry – this is heartbreaking news! But give me a couple of hours I’ll think of something and I’ll call some other people who care, like the members of the Bahamas National Trust. You call the other hunters – they will want to stop this as well.

Harry leaves and Eddie stands and looks at the audience.

EDDIE: You know sometimes you just have to stand up for what is right! I have lived and loved that area all my life – hunted in it as a boy, fished along its shores, watched birds hunt and raise their young there – I’m afraid that this is a time for the ENVIRONMENTAL NINJA!!!!

135 Acknowledgements This project would not have been possible without the help of Rosemary Godfrey and Annalisa Bianchessi of Rare Pride; Lynn Gape of the Bahamas National Trust; the Department of Environmental Health; the Wetlands Committee; Audubon society and the Parks flight program.