Environment TO BAGO newsletter Environment TOBAGO June 2012 nvironment TO- E BAGO (ET) is a non- government, non-profit, vol- unteer organisation , not subsidized by any one group, A Tribute to David Rooks - My friend, mentor and fellow corporation or government environmentalist body. Founded in 1995, ET is a Patricia Turpin – President (ET) proactive advocacy group that campaigns against negative environmental activities With the passing of David Rooks, so too has passed one of the greatest reposito- throughout Tobago. We ries of the natural history of Trinidad and Tobago. He was a living library. A self achieve this through a variety of community and environ- taught naturalist, ornithologist, ecologist and advocate for conservation throughout mental outreach programmes. Trinidad & Tobago. David’s environmental career did Environment TOBAGO is funded mainly through grants not really become his passion until he and membership fees. These had lived several lives and colourful funds go back into implement- ones at that. His first career was in ing our projects. We are grateful to all our sponsors the oil industry- He was trained as an over the years and thank oilfield driller by my father in the them for their continued dense forests of south Trinidad support (Forest Reserve and La Brea). During that time he was an avid hunter and camper. It is said that converted hunt- ers make the greatest conservation- ists. Not to be outdone, he invested in an import business in Trinidad in the hat’s inside 1960’s, his career path took another W turn however in the 1970’s, and this ET’s News 1 brought him to Tobago to assist with Ecology Notes 10 David Rooks—in the forest Cocoa production at Charlotteville Estate in Northeast Tobago. He put Articles 11 down roots there. Perhaps not realising, the major impact this would have on his fu- Book Review 17 ture and the conservation movement in the island What’s Happening @ ET 20 Historically, David had a lot of exposure to nature lovers. His Grandfather, Henry Caracciolo was one of the Founders of the Field Naturalist Club of T&T in 1891. Notes to contributors 22 Himself, becoming one of the Presidents of the TTFNC in the 1960’s and subsequent years. It was through the lobbying of the TTFNC that environmental interests in To- bago were brought together in 1996 to form the NGO –Environment Tobago. David was the first President of Environment Tobago. David’s experiences during these years, the issues dealt with, the advocacy that was instrumental in the implementation of environmental legislation, the people he en- countered, and the” in the field” knowledge he had acquired made him an ideal teacher (I was one of his students), and a knowledgeable naturalist guide. He was ap- pointed as David Attenborough’s field guide during the filming of “Trials of Life”. And Page 2 Environment TOBAGO newsletter so began the last of his careers as a leading Naturalist guide for T&T. As the years pro- gressed, he added many awards to his resume. His love for nature evident in everything he did. A natural progression to writing about his experiences, findings, and observations June 2012 began a parallel career as an environmental journalist for many local and international journals and magazines. In the years to come, these works will need to be compiled and preserved. Editor: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal The environmental community mourns his loss; we have lost a warrior, a true advo- Assistant Editor: cate for the natural environment. Uncompromising, in his stance for environmental Christopher K. Starr justice and for this we will be eternally grateful. For his friends, the loss of a story teller Design & Layout: beyond compare. Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal Technical Support: Jerome Ramsoondar Enid Nobbee Contributors: Jo-Anne Nina Sewlal An Environmental NGO perspective in Conservation Christopher K. Starr Patricia Turpin – President (ET) Bertrand Bhikkary Environment Recently, 157 NGO’s and CBO’s met in Port of Spain for a networking and TOBAGO Photographs: funding capacity building exercise. Out of all the attending agencies, 12 were environ- Environment mental organizations while the majority were social, civil society-gender oriented, TOBAGO physical disabilities organisations. It was fairly obvious from this meeting that environ- mental NGO’s being mostly volunteer organizations, whether affiliated with animals, marine or terrestrial issues, encounter the same problems with access to funding, ca- pacity building and garnering the respect of the population and government agencies and are often seen as being “against“ development. The discourse below was delivered at the above mentioned NGO conference in defense of ENGO’s and the difficulties Board of Directors encountered in daily operations. 2010-2012 “Trinidad & Tobago, a twin island state. One island heavily industrialized and President:: the other a Naturalist and Tourism paradise. We are a tiny country, feeling now the Patricia Turpin effects of unchecked industrialization and development. We too are suffering from Vice-President: climatic changes being experienced world-wide. Increasing sea temperatures, changing Bertrand Bhikkary rainfall patterns, rising sea levels and extreme weather events are indeed matters of Secretary: some importance. Tackling coral bleaching and bacterial infestation on our reefs have Wendy Austin Treasurer: become issues uppermost in our agenda. Geoffrey Lewis As a small island developing state, we face critical challenges in grappling with Other Directors: environmental problems, while pursuing economic goals. The pressure on land space William Trim and our natural resources compounds the challenges. It is expected that while ac- Rupert McKenna counting for a miniscule fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, this figure will in- Darren Henry crease with the present industrialization being pursued. We may be committed to the stabilization of these gases effecting climate change, but both national and global ac- cords must be adhered to, in order to correct the imbalances of a “planet on over- load“. In Tobago, in less than a generation, we have witnessed the burgeoning of population density, with many people living in our coastal areas, all striving for a “better way of life”, and at the same time, so many private, public and state develop- ment activities. As a result of this forward movement, there has been an improved living condition for our residents, but the environment has suffered. We have seen a massive increase in all types of pollution- from solid waste, with the common sight of plastics and styrofoam adorning our roadsides, clogging our waterways and seas. Sewage pollution, deforestation and bad agricultural practices Environment TOBAGO newsletter Page 3 such as burning; result in habitat loss, and flooding. Biodiversity loss from over hunting, over fishing and the use of toxic chemicals such as Malathion for vector control. As well as, air pollution from industry, development and a flagrant disregard for the envi- ronmental laws. The same problems are encountered throughout the world, but in our small island, these issues appear magnified. It has become the chore of this genera- tion to cleanup, restore and urgently manage our natural resources. The government of Trinidad and Tobago is signatory to many treaties, proto- cols and conventions in the international arena for Biodiversity conservation and pres- ervation- the most notable signed at the Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. There are others too, designed to obligate signatory countries to work towards protection of our seas and coastal areas, conservation of our reefs and wetlands, regulate the trans- port of toxic waste and management of our resources. To accomplish this monumental task, The EMA (Environmental Management Authority) was formed with the responsibility for policy, policing and management of our Natural Resources and protected areas. As an NGO, we at Environment Tobago have found this body to be ineffective in policing and upholding the environmental laws of the country. As a stakeholder, we have found that in order to ensure that justice is served in the context of preserving and conserving our environment as is indicated in our mission we have had to resort to aligning ourselves with an environmental lawyer. This alignment has enabled us to access information through the FIO Act and to bring the EMA to task with the process of CEC’s. It has also allowed us to bring those in authority to task for many infringements of the environmental laws of the Island of To- bago without being victimized as was common in the past. Environmental decision making has for too long, been affected by political pos- turing and the vagaries of the election process. Ministers and secretaries appointed to important posts e.g. Minister of the Environment or Secretary of Natural Resources, who know little about the post to which they have been appointed. After every elec- tion it takes almost one year to bring these individuals up to speed. All legislation and policies in waiting for parliamentary approval are then set back and have to be re- viewed again and again. To complement the laws (we have 115 pieces of environmental legislation in this country) and policies governing the environment, we must be committed to change in attitudes and behavior at all levels of society; including our elected represen- tatives who must act in a responsible manner and move the country towards steward- ship of the land as a first priority. This mindset is essential in a world of dwindling natural resources. It would be sad indeed to leave behind a legacy that would label us “the generation that destroyed the planet“. We believe that effective management of our Natural Resources and ecosys- tems is a huge priority. NGO’s can be effectively used in the co-management of our ecosystems as has been stated in our current policies for Forests and Protected areas and ESA’s as has been shown in Tobago in our work with wetland assessment and res- toration However funding for NGO work has been heavily constrained by the National and Global downturns in the economy.