May 2011


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ENVIRONMENT: No need to be blue about green issues

By Professor Andrew Lawrence

The International Day for Biological Diversity was celebrated on May 22, on the theme Forest Biodiversity, in recognition of the UN’s designation of 2011 as the International Year of Forests.

On the website of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a video clip of Edward Norton (of Incredible Hulk fame and therefore, I guess, in keeping with the “green” theme) who is the UN Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity. In this clip Edward asks viewers if they would prefer to give up a lung or take away all clean water from our children, rather than pay a little more for a shrimp cocktail or a cheeseburger? He says that with respect to our choices about nature as a global community, even though the choice seems obvious, we consistently make the wrong decision: destroying millions of acres of forest each year for non-essential industries such as cheap beef and shrimp. His point is that forests provide essential services to us, including clean air and water and that without forests these fundamental needs would be lost.

This is a good point and, I felt, rather well made. However, it highlights for me something that is becoming an increasing frustration. Over the 20 plus years of my professional life, I have delivered and listened to a continual stream of negative “doom and gloom” messages delivered by well-intentioned and committed individuals and groups. Unfortunately, there comes a point where people become so disheartened by these messages and feel too small or incapable of making any real difference, that they just give up listening.

As a consequence I would like to make some positive observations about Trinidad and Tobago, with respect to forest biodiversity. As an Englishman coming from an island which has removed all but 2-3% of its ancient forests, the first thing that I noticed when I arrived in Trinidad was how beautiful, green and forested the country appeared. The view of the Northern Range from the airport is one that stays with me. In addition, the number of national conferences, meetings and other events recently held on environmental conservation issues, demonstrate that there is an increasing groundswell among the people for positive environmental and green initiatives.

I have met a wide range of highly committed men and women who give their time voluntarily for local NGOs and CBOs. I have also seen the increasing environmental education of Trinidad’s young people and school children, which embeds a real sympathy for the environment. I have been impressed by how groups and families appear to enjoy their natural environment, be it walking in forests or playing in rivers, and this again indicates a fundamental empathy with nature. Finally, the Government will shortly be introducing a new policy for the protection of Trinidad and Tobago’s forests and for the establishment of a national park system for the country.

All of this bodes well for the future. However, I also hope that the current leaders, managers and users of Trinidad and Tobago’s forests recognize this groundswell of opinion and act now to learn the lessons of countries like the UK, which destroyed their forests before their fundamental value to its people was appreciated. Unfortunately Trinidad’s forests and biodiversity are still under pressure from a variety of sources. For example, a paper, shortly to be published, indicates that the density of agouti in the Central Range is much lower than densities in other countries, possibly indicating over-hunting of this important game animal. Agouti are a keystone species in Trinidad and Tobago’s forests because they distribute a variety of tree seeds and help to ensure their regeneration.

In truth, we do not have sufficient data to know for sure whether or not agouti are being over-hunted. But do we have to wait until they are gone for confirmation of this? Before the hunting community gets upset, I would like to suggest that we come together to resolve the situation. Why not agree on a voluntary ban on hunting agouti for a year or two? Continue to hunt, but shoot them with cameras rather than guns and help to improve the baseline information available on the populations of this species. This form of photo-hunting is becoming increasingly popular in other parts of the world and we, as scientists, could certainly benefit from the additional, voluntary manpower that the hunting community could provide for this type of survey work.

–Professor Andrew Lawrence holds a Chair in Environmental Biology at the Department of Life Sciences, and is a member of the Environmental Committee St. Augustine Campus, UWI.