The Trini Environmentalist

What are Manatees? Manatees, though they live in water, are classified as mammals because they come up to the surface every three to five minutes to get oxygen through their nostrils. In the Caribbean, we have the West Indian Manatee (Latin Name: Trichechus Manatus), also known as the ‘Sea Cow’. These gentle giants can grow up to 13 feet long and weigh up to 1200 pounds. Their diet consists of seagrasses and small invertebrates, consuming up to 15% of their body weight in vegetation. It is believed that the lack of predators in Trinidad and Tobago allows our Manatees to live up to sixty (60) years. Figure 1: showing a manatee floating (WNW Press Release 2021) What is the Status of our Manatees? In Trinidad, the Nariva Swamp is the most well-known habitat for manatees. However, based on an evaluation by UNEP/CEP in 1995, they determined that the manatee population consisted of twenty-five (25) to thirty (30) individuals in total. At that time the trend was that the population was de...

  Their Status: In Trinidad and Tobago there are a wide variety of mammals that live here unlike any other island. Our islands lie the closest to South America meaning that we have both continental and tropical species of flora and fauna. The White-fronted Capuchin is a monkey that can be found in many South American countries such as Venezuela (the closest South American country to Trinidad and Tobago), Columbia, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador as well as in Trinidad and Tobago. Each country has its own subset or variation in the species that makes it unique. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature 2008, the Trinidad White-fronted Capuchin was declared as a critically endangered species with a total population size of 61 mature individuals in Trinidad and Tobago. When a species is critically endangered it means that the population size is less than 250 mature individuals. Since being classified as a critically endangered species there has been no furth...

  It has been an interesting week for Trinidad and Tobago’s environmental scene. There were Scarlet Ibises in Oropouche Lagoon,  another Leatherback Turtle on Maracas Bay , and Sea Foam across the Eastern Coast. The Good: In other good news, one of the National Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, a large fleet of Scarlet Ibis has been spotted in the Oropouche Lagoon. Most people know about the Caroni Swamp which is most renowned for the groves of Scarlet Ibis that live there but the Oropouche Lagoon is also home to this Environmentally Sensitive Species. The Oropouche Lagoon has a very similar environment to the Caroni Swamp which means that the Lagoon will be a perfect habitat for these birds. In recent times the sighting of these birds have increased in the Oropouche area. This is a positive outlook for Scarlet Ibis populations in Trinidad and Tobago (LoopNewsTT 2021).    Figure 1: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday 2017 There was unusual news about a Leatherback Turtle on ...

This week’s blog will be the last on the Food Security in Trinidad and Tobago series. This week we answer the questions that were left unanswered. Let’s start with: Are Trinibagonians under the impression that anything from foreign lands is better than local? Figure 1: JAKPAT 2021 The cultural norm in Trinidad and Tobago is that any and everything that comes from foreign lands is better than what can be produced locally. While there may be some truth to this statement since developed nations usually have stricter protocols and standards, but that does not mean that the same quality cannot be found locally. Recently with the use of modern agricultural techniques, there has been a significant improvement in the quality of local produce. Buying local produce guarantees that the lifespan of the product will be longer as a result of fewer chemicals used for shelf preservation.   Is Trinidad and Tobago up to the task of achieving food security? Figure 2: Shutterstock 2020 There are m...