DOCSLIB.ORG

Challenges to CARIFORUM Labour, Private Sector and Employers - Final Evaluation

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

ILO EVALUATION o Evaluation Title: CARIFORUM Civil Society in the Regional Development and Integration Process: Challenges to CARIFORUM Labour, Private Sector and Employers - Final evaluation o ILO TC/SYMBOL: RLA/13/03/EEC o Type of Evaluation: Final independent o Country(ies): Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Dominican Republic, Haiti o Date of the evaluation: March-June 2018 o Name of consultant(s): Juan David Gonzales and June Alleyne o ILO Administrative Office: DWT/CO-Port of Spain o ILO Technical Backstopping Office: DIALOGUE o Date project ends: April 2018 o Donor: country and budget US$ €2,015,000 (European Comission) o Evaluation Manager: Cybele Burga o Evaluation Budget: USD 50000 o Key Words: Social Dialogue, Capacity Development This evaluation has been conducted according to ILO’s evaluation policies and procedures. It has not been professionally edited, but has undergone quality control by the ILO Evaluation Office FINAL EVALUATION REPORT I Executive Summary Background and context In October 2008, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Dominican Republic, being members of the Forum of the Caribbean Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM), signed the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU). Haiti signed the agreement in December 2009, but has not yet applied it, as it still has to be ratified. The first objective of Article 1 of the Agreement indicated that the EPA is expected to contribute to “the reduction and eventual eradication of poverty through the establishment of a trade partnership consistent with the objective of sustainable development, the Millennium Development Goals and the Cotonou Agreement” but also to promote regional integration, economic cooperation and good governance, and to improve CARIFORUM States' capacity in trade policy and trade-related issues.1 In the context of the implementation of this EPA, the ILO Decent Work Team (DWT) for the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean based in Trinidad and Tobago put together, with the financial support of the EU, the project “Support to Facilitate Participation of CARIFORUM Civil Society in the Regional Development and Integration Process: Challenges to CARIFORUM Labour, Private Sector and Employers to Fulfil their EPA Obligations”. It targeted all CARIFORUM countries and was to be implemented between 2015 and 2018. This project is herein after referred to as the “ILO-EU Project”. Summary of the assignment objective, logic and structure The project was designed to address a number of needs identified by ILO in the region, most notably: the limited knowledge about social aspects of the EPA, the existence of few support programmes with regards to these aspects, labour legislation in all CARIFORUM countries need updating, labour information systems in most countries are weak, dialogue on labour and social aspects issues is limited, child labour remains a problem in a number of CARIFORUM countries and occupational health and safety (OHS) training is required across the region.2 The overall development objective of the ILO-EU Project was to allow employers and workers, through their national and regional organizations, to engage effectively in social dialogue processes, to contribute to the design and implementation of social and economic development policies for Caribbean regional integration, and to drive the monitoring process of the social aspects of the CARIFORUM-EC EPA. As such, the main beneficiaries of the ILO-EU Project were the Caribbean Employers’ Confederation (CEC), the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) and their national constituents, National Employers’ Organizations (NEOs) and National Trade Unions (NTUs). 1 http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2008/february/tradoc_137971.pdf 2 ILO. 2014. - Description of Action- Challenges to CARIFORUM Labour, Private Sector and Employer to fulfil their EPA Obligations: Caribbean Employers Federation (CEC) and the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) component of the support to facilitate Participation of CARIFORUM Civil Society in Regional Development and Integration Process © UNIVERSALIA II FINAL EVALUATION REPORT The ILO-EU project had three specific objectives: . “Enhance technical and organizational capacity of the regional organizations of employers and workers to enable them to participate meaningfully in the harmonization of labour laws and practices to support the free movement of a skilled and competitive workforce, the development of an enabling environment for sustainable enterprises across the region, and the promotion of the Caribbean Single Market intra and extra regional trade and development”; . Put processes and programmes in place to assist the regional and national organizations of employers and workers in building and maintaining the institutional capacity required to promote and implement internationally recognized core labour standards according to Article 191 of the EPA, and the Decent Work Agenda; . Establish mechanisms to facilitate the promotion of and participation in dialogue between the CEC and the CCL within the CARIFORUM-EC Consultative Committee. In addition, establish mechanisms to enable them to fulfil their roles in the implementation and governance of the EPA, including monitoring its effect as described in the Social Aspects Chapter. To achieve these three specific objectives, the project was articulated around 12 outcomes regrouped around three components: a joint CEC-CCL component, a CCL component and a CEC component. Actual status of the assignment A total budget of 2,015,000 euros was granted to implement the project over a three-year period between February 2015 and February 2018 across the fifteen CARIFORUM countries. The project was subject to a no-cost extension of three months and was finalized in April 2018. Purpose, scope and clients of the study The objective of this final independent evaluation is to assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, potential impact and sustainability of the ILO’s actions taken during this project. These actions were aimed at enhancing the capacities of the CEC and the CCL with a view to fulfill their obligations with respect to the implementation of the EPA with the EU. As stated in the Terms of Reference (ToR), the purpose of this evaluation is to: . Assess the relevance of the intervention’s objectives and approach . Establish how far the intervention has achieved its planned outcomes and objectives . Determine the achievements of the ILO-EU Project objectives at the outcome and impact levels . Understand the extent to which the ILO-EU Project’s strategy has proven efficient and effective . Evaluate whether the ILO-EU Project is likely to have a sustainable impact. Knowledge and information obtained from the evaluation will be used to inform the design of future similar ILO activities in the Caribbean or countries in similar situations. This evaluation is being carried out in line with the requirements of the ILO Evaluation Policy. ILO project evaluations are conducted to provide an opportunity for the Office and its funding partners to assess the appropriateness of the design as it relates to the ILO's strategic and national policy framework, and consider © UNIVERSALIA FINAL EVALUATION REPORT III the effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of ILO-EU Project outcomes. Project evaluations also test underlying assumptions about its contribution to a broader development goal. The evaluation focused on all the activities that have been implemented since the initiation of the ILO-EU Project, in February 2015, until its completion in April 2018. It thus covered activities conducted and results reached until the project extension period between February 2018 and April 2018. This evaluation responds to the evaluation questions presented in the evaluation matrix (Appendix II) that derive from the questions proposed in the ToR and that was approved by the evaluation’s director. The internal clients of this evaluation are: ILO Regional Office, DWT/CO–Port-of-Spain, DWT/CO–San-José, DIALOGUE, PARDEV and EVAL. The external clients of this evaluation are the donor (European Union), the Caribbean Employers’ Confederation (CEC), the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL) and the Programme Steering Committee. Methodology for the evaluation This summative evaluation was participatory, utilisation-focused and was supported by mixed methods throughout the six phases of the evaluative process described below: . Preparation . Data collection and country visit (May 7th to May 24th, 2018) . Validation Workshop (May 24th, 2018) . In depth document review . Data analysis and triangulation . Report writing and validation (July-August 2017). The evaluation triangulated information from three sources of data: . Document review was done in order to identify milestones reached and provide references to challenges and delays in the delivery of activities. Field Visits were conducted in 5 CARIFORUM countries that participated in the project: Barbados, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. A total of 48 individual and group semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders from nine different types of organizations (including: CEC, CCL, NEOs,
Recommended publications
  • The University of Chicago the Creole Archipelago

    The University of Chicago the Creole Archipelago

    THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO THE CREOLE ARCHIPELAGO: COLONIZATION, EXPERIMENTATION, AND COMMUNITY IN THE SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN, C. 1700-1796 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY BY TESSA MURPHY CHICAGO, ILLINOIS MARCH 2016 Table of Contents List of Tables …iii List of Maps …iv Dissertation Abstract …v Acknowledgements …x PART I Introduction …1 1. Creating the Creole Archipelago: The Settlement of the Southern Caribbean, 1650-1760...20 PART II 2. Colonizing the Caribbean Frontier, 1763-1773 …71 3. Accommodating Local Knowledge: Experimentations and Concessions in the Southern Caribbean …115 4. Recreating the Creole Archipelago …164 PART III 5. The American Revolution and the Resurgence of the Creole Archipelago, 1774-1785 …210 6. The French Revolution and the Demise of the Creole Archipelago …251 Epilogue …290 Appendix A: Lands Leased to Existing Inhabitants of Dominica …301 Appendix B: Lands Leased to Existing Inhabitants of St. Vincent …310 A Note on Sources …316 Bibliography …319 ii List of Tables 1.1: Respective Populations of France’s Windward Island Colonies, 1671 & 1700 …32 1.2: Respective Populations of Martinique, Grenada, St. Lucia, Dominica, and St. Vincent c.1730 …39 1.3: Change in Reported Population of Free People of Color in Martinique, 1732-1733 …46 1.4: Increase in Reported Populations of Dominica & St. Lucia, 1730-1745 …50 1.5: Enslaved Africans Reported as Disembarking in the Lesser Antilles, 1626-1762 …57 1.6: Enslaved Africans Reported as Disembarking in Jamaica & Saint-Domingue, 1526-1762 …58 2.1: Reported Populations of the Ceded Islands c.
  • 2. Geophysics and the Structure of the Lesser Antilles Forearc1

    2. Geophysics and the Structure of the Lesser Antilles Forearc1

    2. GEOPHYSICS AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE LESSER ANTILLES FOREARC1 G. K. Westbrook, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Durham and A. Mascle and B. Biju-Duval, Institut Français du Pétrole2 ABSTRACT The Barbados Ridge complex lies east of the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc along the eastern margin of the Caribbean Plate. The complex dates in part from the Eocene, and elements of the arc system have been dated as Late Cretaceous and Late Jurassic, although most of the volcanic rocks date from the Tertiary, particularly the latter part. It is probable that the arc system was moved a considerable distance eastward with respect to North and South America during the Tertiary. The accretionary complex can be divided into zones running parallel to the arc, starting with a zone of initial accre- tion at the front of the complex where sediment is stripped from the ocean floor and the rate of deformation is greatest. This zone passes into one of stabilization where the deformation rate is generally lower, although there are localized zones of more active tectonics where the generally mildly deformed overlying blanket of sediment is significant dis- turbed. Supracomplex sedimentary basins that are locally very thick are developed in the southern part of the complex. The Barbados Ridge Uplift containing the island of Barbados lies at the western edge of the complex; between it and the volcanic arc lies a large forearc basin comprising the Tobago Trough and Lesser Antilles Trough. There are major longitudinal variations in the complex that are broadly related to the northward decrease in sedi- ment thickness away from terrigenous sources in South America and that are locally controlled by ridges in the oceanic igneous crust passing beneath the complex.
  • Paleogeography of the Caribbean Region: Implications for Cenozoic Biogeography

    Paleogeography of the Caribbean Region: Implications for Cenozoic Biogeography

    PALEOGEOGRAPHY OF THE CARIBBEAN REGION: IMPLICATIONS FOR CENOZOIC BIOGEOGRAPHY MANUEL A. ITURRALDE-VINENT Research Associate, Department of Mammalogy American Museum of Natural History Curator, Geology and Paleontology Group Museo Nacional de Historia Natural Obispo #61, Plaza de Armas, CH-10100, Cuba R.D.E. MA~PHEE Chairman and Curator, Department of Mammalogy American Museum of Natural History BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Number 238, 95 pages, 22 figures, 2 appendices Issued April 28, 1999 Price: $10.60 a copy Copyright O American Museum of Natural History 1999 ISSN 0003-0090 CONTENTS Abstract ....................................................................... 3 Resumen ....................................................................... 4 Resumo ........................................................................ 5 Introduction .................................................................... 6 Acknowledgments ............................................................ 8 Abbreviations ................................................................ 9 Statement of Problem and Methods ............................................... 9 Paleogeography of the Caribbean Region: Evidence and Analysis .................. 18 Early Middle Jurassic to Late Eocene Paleogeography .......................... 18 Latest Eocene to Middle Miocene Paleogeography .............................. 27 Eocene-Oligocene Transition (35±33 Ma) .................................... 27 Late Oligocene (27±25 Ma) ...............................................
  • Thematic Report for the Insular Caribbean Sub-Region

    Thematic Report for the Insular Caribbean Sub-Region

    CLME-TT/3 Prov Barbados, February 2007 Original: English THEMATIC REPORT FOR THE INSULAR CARIBBEAN SUB-REGION A discussion paper for the CLME Synthesis Workshop by Sherry Heileman, Ph.D. CLME Project Implementation Unit Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, Barbados February 2007 Insular Caribbean - CLME Thematic report CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 1 2. THE INSULAR CARIBBEAN .......................................................................................................... 1 Geography and oceanography ................................................................................................................... 1 Ecological features..................................................................................................................................... 3 Socio-economic background...................................................................................................................... 5 2.4 Environmental and socio-economic vulnerability of SIDS ................................................................. 6 3. PRIORITY TRANSBOUNDARY PROBLEMS.............................................................................. 7 3.1 Unsustainable exploitation of living marine resources ........................................................................ 8 3.1.1 Description of the problem and justification
  • The Application of GIS to the Reconstruction of the Slave-Plantation Economy of St

    The Application of GIS to the Reconstruction of the Slave-Plantation Economy of St

    The Application of GIS to the Reconstruction of the Slave-Plantation Economy of St. Croix, Danish West Indies Daniel Hopkins, Philip Morgan, and Justin Roberts he project of developing a historical-geographical understanding of slavery and the economic and social systems that supported it requires the exploration of primary data sources that have otherwise notT received significant attention. This paper focuses on a remarkable se- ries of maps, cadastral records, and censuses of the island of St. Croix, in the Danish West Indies (now the United States Virgin Islands) which provide uniquely rich materials for the analysis of the workings of an eighteenth-century slave-plantation society. These Danish records are so susceptible to demographic, economic, and cultural analysis, and the information they convey can be so precisely placed within the mapped physical realities of the landscapes of St. Croix, that they may represent a be nchmark for studies of the geography of New World plantation society in general. Atlantic slavery dominated huge agricultural areas, and its profits permeated the European, African, and American economies, to say noth- ing of its cultural implications,1 and research on this tremendously impor- tant subject has proliferated enormously. Most of this work has been published by historians,2 but the dividing line between history—and es- pecially economic history—and geography can of course not be very sharply drawn in the case of the slave-plantation system. Some very solid historical geography of plantation slavery in the Caribbean has been writ- ten, but the field remains quite open.3 The source material is widely scat- tered and by no means uniform or easy to handle, and a great deal of the fundamental record of the geography of slavery doubtless remains to be re- constructed and interpreted.
  • Caribbean Tsunami Hazard

    Caribbean Tsunami Hazard

    ESTIMATING THE THREAT OF TSUNAMIGENIC EARTHQUAKES AND EARTHQUAKE INDUCED-LANDSLIDE TSUNAMI IN THE CARIBBEAN WILLIAM R. MCCANN Earth Scientific Consultants Westminster, CO 80021, USA Deformation along the margin of the Caribbean Plate is the principal cause of the tsunami threat in the Caribbean. That margin parallels the northern coast of South America, the Lesser Antilles, and extends along the Greater Antilles from Puerto Rico through Jamaica. The eastern boundary of the Caribbean plate near the Lesser Antilles is the locus of subduction of Atlantic seafloor. At least three distinct, shallow tectonic regimes parallel the margin. They are: an outer tectonic belt where the North America Plate bends to enter the subduction zone, the main interface or zone of contact between the plates, and an inner zone of intraplate activity in the overriding Caribbean Plate. The level of seismic activity and tsunami potential in each of these zones is influenced by the presence of aseismic ridges on the downgoing plate. Ridges may increase the probability of tsunami or slow earthquakes, by reactivating thrust faults in the accretionary prism. The northeastern corner of the Caribbean Plate margin has a smooth transition from the relatively simple subduction zone in the Northern Lesser Antilles into a region of oblique convergence. It is a complex margin dominated by microplate tectonics from near Puerto Rico through Hispaniola. Here too the same three tectonic zones can be defined, but the third zone, “intraplate activity in the Caribbean Plate”, is more clearly delineated as microplate deformation in a wide plate boundary zone. Strike-slip tectonics dominates the region from Haiti westward to the northern coast of Honduras.
  • The Caribbean Epidemiological Network: the Complexities of Developing a Regional Perspective

    The Caribbean Epidemiological Network: the Complexities of Developing a Regional Perspective

    The Caribbean epidemiological network: the complexities of developing a regional perspective K.-G. DOUGLAS Project Director, Drug Abuse Project, Caribbean Epidemiology Centre, Trinidad and Tobago J. HILLEBRAND Epidemiology Adviser, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna ABSTRACT The present article describes the geographical, political and cultural difficulties involved in developing a regional drug abuse epidemiological network in the Caribbean. Earlier initiatives such as the Caribbean Community Epidemiology Task Force failed owing to a lack of resources. It was not until 1996 that a major success was achieved, when the Plan of Action for Drug Control Coordination and Cooperation in the Caribbean laid the groundwork for the establishment of a comprehensive and sus- tainable effort to control substance abuse in the region through drug demand reduc- tion. In 1997, the Santo Domingo Declaration against Drugs reinforced the recom- mendation of the Barbados Plan of Action and called for the timely implementation of an epidemiological system for substance abuse. Subsequently, member States of the Caribbean Community allocated resources to the Drug Abuse Epidemiological and Surveillance System Project, which is being implemented by the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre. Within the framework of the project, the Caribbean Drug Information Network was launched in 2001; this concentrates on institution-building, training and the development of practical expertise in survey research. In order for the Network to continue its work, it will need further political support, adequate funding and the ability to link its activities to other aspects of demand reduction. Keywords: Caribbean; drug abuse; demand reduction; epidemiology network; regional initiative. Introduction Features of the sector The Caribbean region has a total land area of 700,000 sq km and comprises a number of islands, including those in the Caribbean Sea, along with the Guianas (Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname).
  • Bird List E = Endemic EC = Endemic to Caribbean ELA= Endemic to Lesser Antilles ES = Endemic Subspecies NE = Near Endemic NES = Near Endemic Subspecies

    Bird List E = Endemic EC = Endemic to Caribbean ELA= Endemic to Lesser Antilles ES = Endemic Subspecies NE = Near Endemic NES = Near Endemic Subspecies

    Lesser Antilles Prospective Bird List E = Endemic EC = Endemic to Caribbean ELA= Endemic to Lesser Antilles ES = Endemic Subspecies NE = Near Endemic NES = Near Endemic Subspecies West Indian Whistling Duck Dendrocygna arborea EC Black-bellied Whistling Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis Masked Duck Nomonyx dominicus Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris Greater Scaup Aythya marila Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata Blue-winged Teal Spatula discors Green-winged Teal Spatula crecca American Wigeon Mareca americana White-cheeked Pintail Spatula bahamensis Northern Pintail Spatula acuta Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps Least Grebe Tachybaptus dominicus Feral Rock Pigeon Columba livia Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto Scaly-naped Pigeon Patagioenas squamosa EC White-crowned Pigeon Patagioenas leucocephala Grenada Dove Leptotila wellsi E Bridled Quail-Dove Geotrygon mystacea EC Ruddy Quail-Dove Geotrygon montana Zenaida Dove Zenaida aurita EC Eared Dove Zenaida auriculata Common Ground Dove Columbina passerina Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus mesonauta White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus White-tailed Nightjar Hydropsalis cayennensis manati St.Lucia Nightjar Antrostomus (rufus) otiosus E Antillean Nighthawk Chordeiles gundlachii ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ WINGS ● 1643 N. Alvernon Way Ste. 109 ● Tucson ● AZ ● 85712 ● www.wingsbirds.com (866) 547 9868 Toll free US + Canada ● Tel (520) 320-9868 ● Fax (520) 320 9373 Lesser
  • Experts Meeting on Sources of Tsunamis in the Lesser Antilles

    Experts Meeting on Sources of Tsunamis in the Lesser Antilles

    Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Workshop Report No. 291 Experts Meeting on Sources of Tsunamis in the Lesser Antilles Fort-de-France, Martinique (France) 18–20 March 2019 UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Workshop Report No. 291 Experts Meeting on Sources of Tsunamis in the Lesser Antilles Fort-de-France, Martinique (France) 18–20 March 2019 UNESCO 2020 IOC Workshop Reports, 291 Paris, September 2020 English only The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this publication and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. Every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this publication. However, neither UNESCO, nor the authors will be liable for any loss or damaged suffered as a result of reliance on this information, or through directly or indirectly applying it. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariats of UNESCO and IOC concerning the legal status of any country or territory, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of the frontiers of any country or territory. For bibliographic purposes this document should be cited as follows: IOC-UNESCO. 2020. Experts Meeting on Sources of Tsunamis in the Lesser Antilles. Fort-de- France, Martinique (France), 18–20 March 2019. Paris, UNESCO. (Workshop Reports, 291). Published in 2020 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP (IOC/2020/WR/291) IOC Workshop Reports, 291 page (i) TABLE OF CONTENTS page Executive Summary ............................................................................................................
  • February 2010 with Updates SJ.P65

    February 2010 with Updates SJ.P65

    February 2010 (Revised Edition) Decent work a priority for Belize Government launches region’s second Decent Work Country Programme The Government of Belize officially October, 2009. The launch follows Trade Union Congress and other launched the region’s second Decent Cabinet’s approval of the Programme on stakeholders, at a national workshop Work Country Programme on 29 14 July 2009. By concluding a Decent convened on 26-28 January 2009, in Work Country Programme (DWCP), the collaboration with the ILO. The Belize Government commits to working with the DWCP will focus on the following three social partners and priority areas: other stakeholders to (i) modernization and promote the Decent harmonization of Work Agenda in their national labour national development legislation in line with strategies. international labour The International Labour The Decent Work standards and Organization (ILO) is the United Agenda focuses on CARICOM Model Nations agency devoted to ways in which creating Labour Laws; advancing opportunities for women jobs, while promoting (ii) improvement of and men to obtain decent and respect for rights, skills and employability productive work in conditions of social protection, and (particularly for women freedom, equity, security and consensus-building and youth) and the human dignity. through social development of a Its main aims are to promote rights dialogue, can be made supportive labour at work, encourage decent central to social and market information employment opportunities, enhance economic system; and social protection and strengthen development. (iii)institutional dialogue in handling work-related issues. The DWCP was strengthening of the developed by the The Hon. Gabriel A. Martinez, social partners.
  • Fossil Vertebrates from Antigua, Lesser Antilles

    Fossil Vertebrates from Antigua, Lesser Antilles

    Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 81, pp. 4448-4451, July 1984 Evolution Fossil vertebrates from Antigua, Lesser Antilles: Evidence for late Holocene human-caused extinctions in the West Indies (anthropology/island biogeography/vertebrate paleontology) DAVID W. STEADMAN*, GREGORY K. PREGILLt, AND STORRS L. OLSON* *National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560; and tNatural History Museum, P.O. Box 1390, San Diego, CA 92112 Communicated by Jared M. Diamond, March 30, 1984 ABSTRACT Vertebrate remains recovered from a lime- fissure was in an active working face of the quarry and was stone fissure filling on Antigua, Lesser Antilles, are associated presumably but a remnant of a larger cave or crevice that with radiocarbon dates ranging from 4300 to 2500 yr B.P., had been quarried away. Five stratigraphically concordant contemporaneous with the earliest aboriginal human occupa- radiocarbon ages range from 2560 ± 70 yr B.P. in the upper tion of the island. Nine taxa of lizards, snakes, birds, bats, and vertical unit to 4300 ± 150 yr B.P. in the lower vertical unit rodents (one-third of the total number of species represented (Table 1). Contemporaneity of man with the extinct fauna is as fossils) are either completely extinct or have never been re- demonstrated by the presence of shell remains of molluscan corded historically from Antigua. These extinctions came long food items and several lithic artifacts, including a blade from after any major climatic changes of the Pleistocene and are the horizontal portion of the fissure associated with a radio- best attributed to human-caused environmental degradation in carbon age of 3695 ± 100 yr B.P.
  • Crustal Structure of the Lesser and Leeward Antilles Forearcs Inferred from Satellite Vertical Gravity Gradients

    Crustal Structure of the Lesser and Leeward Antilles Forearcs Inferred from Satellite Vertical Gravity Gradients

    Geophysical Research Abstracts Vol. 21, EGU2019-11778-3, 2019 EGU General Assembly 2019 © Author(s) 2019. CC Attribution 4.0 license. Crustal structure of the Lesser and Leeward Antilles forearcs inferred from satellite Vertical Gravity Gradients Angela Maria Gomez Garcia (1), Christian Meeßen (2,3), Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth (3), Gaspar Monsalve (1), Judith Bott (3), Anne Bernhardt (4), and Gladys Bernal (1) (1) Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin, Colombia ([email protected]), (2) University of Potsdam, Institute for Earth and Environmental Sciences, (3) German Research Centre for Geosciences – GFZ, (4) Freie Universität Berlin The characterization of the crustal structure of the plates involved in a subduction system is a crucial step towards the understanding of potentially associated geohazards. Despite the low current seismic activity in the Lesser and Leeward Antilles (compared with other subduction zones), several historical M>7 earthquakes have been registered in both regions. In the Lesser Antilles, the oceanic floor of the North and South American plates subducts beneath the Caribbean plate. In contrast, in the Leeward Antilles, the Caribbean plate subducts under the continental South American plate. In regions where the seismic records do not extend far back in time, or where the frequency of such large earthquakes is low, alternative indirect methods for delimiting seismogenic zones may be applied. In those cases, it would be valuable to characterize in detail the regional continental-oceanic boundary and the backstop edge location. The tectonic history of the Lesser Antilles includes a variety of allochthonous slightly or high buoyant fragments, which have been either subducted or accreted to the backstop, and which can influence the spatial seismicity patterns.