Ecosystem Management for Integrated Land and Seascape of Northern Trinidad

The Institute of Marine Affairs has been contracted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to execute a project entitled “Ecosystem Management for the integrated land and seascape of northern Trinidad.  The focus of the project is the Caura/Tacarigua watershed. The project duration is December 2009 to November 2010.

This project is a component of a global UNEP Ecosystem Management Project (Norway Partnership) which aims to promote the use of the Ecosystem Management Approach to address issues related to the conservation and preservation of the environmental goods and services inherent in any ecosystem.   This approach emphasises the interconnectedness between inland watersheds and the coastal and near-shore environments in order to provide decision makers, as well as the general public, with a better understanding of the wide reaching effects of human actions on their surrounding environment.  It also aims to foster a new understanding of the value of these environments to human well-being, beyond any direct economic value.

Ecosystem Management for the Integrated land and seascape of northern Trinidad can also be considered as the start of the implementation of a Local Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from land-based sources and activities (LPA).  The LPA results from the Trinidad and Tobago National Programme of Action for the Protection of the Coastal and Marine Environment from Land-based Sources and Activities (NPA) 2008-2013 which was developed by a Cabinet-appointed Committee. This Committee was led by the Institute of Marine Affairs in its capacity as a Regional Activity Centre for the Protocol Concerning Land-based Sources and Activities of the Cartagena Convention.  The Convention is administered by the Caribbean Environment Programme.

The specific objectives of this project are:

a) To develop strategic and feasible responses to address pressures caused by land-based activities that impact on the coastal and marine environment and undermine the functioning of the ecosystem. This will be done through implementation of a pilot project to develop the capacity for public, private and community groups to plan and implement activities that maintain the integrity of the watershed (i.e., the Acura/Tacarigua watershed) and its linkages with associated down streams coastal areas (e.g., wetlands).

b) To strengthen the existing broad cross-sectoral coalition of agencies and ministries for actions to promote sustainable development in coastal areas and define specific national development goals and targets to which mainstreaming will contribute (e.g., identification of sectoral priorities); and to stimulate catalytic mainstreaming actions to demonstrate how mainstreaming will be accomplished.

The activities identified are as follows:

1. Detailed project design

2. Programme/project and proposed activities to monitor ecosystem’s health and the expected outputs:

Caura/Tacarigua Watershed Water Quality Monitoring Programme (WQMP)

1. Water Quality Monitoring
2. Monitoring of vegetation coverage
3. Monitoring of water flow

3. Activities to protect, maintain and enhance ecosystem health and services, and to rehabilitate the degraded ecosystem:

1. Development of a Community Based Management system for Caura’s Recreational Resources
2. Reforestation of degraded sites with participation of the local community
3. Organic Farming Demonstration Project
4. Agricultural and Residential Waste-Water Mitigation
5. Cleaning of the water courses to restore/support better flow of water to ensure linkages between the watershed and the coast

4. Institutional development and coordination

5. Documentation, dissemination and outreach.

It is envisioned that out of this project the existing capacity of state agencies, NGOs/CBOs and other Government bodies would be enhanced to make more informed development strategies and decisions for the sustainable development of Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean Region. Additionally, Members of the local communities will be incorporated into the project with the intent of creating sustainable livelihoods and an improved standard of living.

One major output of the project would be the formation of a central repository of online GIS resources accessible by researchers and Government agencies that would reduce the time required for the comprehensive research and analysis of the complex environmental issues and interactions involving all stakeholders in Trinidad and Tobago by eliminating the need for inter-agency data transfer at every corner. This “complete” store of data would allow key decision makers access to information that should produce much more sustainable practices and decisions to the benefit of all stakeholders.