News
2008 . 2007
Oct 8, 2008 - Map reveals species most at risk from Climate Change. The verdict is bleak: of 17,000 assessed species, over 7000 could become threatened with extinction because of climate change. .
Aug 13, 2008 - Invader gobbling up East Coast, Caribbean Fish - Lionfish spread could become 'most devastating marine invasion in history' - A maroon-striped marauder with venomous spikes is rapidly multiplying in the Caribbean's warm waters and even off the East Coast — swallowing native species, stinging divers and generally wreaking havoc on an ecologically delicate region. Related: Lionfish Sightings Distribution Updated: Alert Bulletin
Aug 12, 2008 - 11th International Coral Reef Symposium: Call to Action - 2008 is a critical time for coral reefs. At the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium held in July, midway in the International Year of the Reef, over 3000 experts from 75 countries assembled to face some hard truths: coral reefs are teetering on the edge of survival and it is our fault. High levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have produced a lethal combination of hotter and less alkaline seawater. Pervasive overfishing, pollution, coastal development, and physical damage further undermine reef health, and consequently, that of the people and ecosystems depending upon them.
Aug 11, 2008 - Ocean Depths Reveal Hot Secrets - In August 2008, the UK will launch a hot mission into one of the world's deepest and unexplored volcanic ridges—a region known as the Cayman Trough. The trough lies between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica in the Caribbean Sea. Related: UK National Oceanographic Centre, Southhampton.
July 30, 2008 - Global Warming's Fish-Sex Effect - ... a rise in water temperature of just 1.5 degrees Celsius can change the male-to-female ratio from 1:1 to 3:1 ... What makes these findings especially troubling, of course, is that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that ocean-water temperatures are likely to rise by 1.5 degrees over the course of this century — and they may even go up a few degrees more. A small increase in water temperature among sensitive fish like the South American pejerrey can result in a population that is 98% male.
July 15, 2007 - GEF-IWCAM GIS Training Workshop.
The GEF-IWCAM Project held a three-day (9-12 July) GIS training workshop in Cienfuegos, Cuba. It was organised by CEHI and UNEP/CEP RCU and eighteen persons from 12 of the 13 countries that participate in the GEF-IWCAM Project attended. The BRT/IWCAM GIS Specialist and members of the GEF-IWCAM Project Coordinating Unit, CEHI and UNEP-CEP served as facilitators. The Cienfuegos watershed is the area of interest of the GEF-IWCAM Demonstration Project in Cuba. Update: Final Report
GIS models, the ArcGIS-based N-SPECT modelling tool and Open Source GIS Software were the main features of the workshop. The workshop was inspired and informed by previous work with N-SPECT, advice by the IWCAM Regional Technical Advisory Group (RTAG) and the ongoing discussions of the IWCAM GIS Working Group.
July 14, 2008 - GEF-IWCAM Trinidad & Tobago Prepares Government Ministries to Monitor Environmental Changes Resulting from Climate Change and Land-Based Activities
Working group in session (CSO-Stephen Cockburn in tie) GEF-IWCAM T&T Project Manager (right) oversees working group The Global Environment Facility funded Integrating Watershed and Coastal Areas Management Programme for Small Caribbean Islands States (GEF-IWCAM) Trinidad and Tobago Demonstration Project partnered with the Central Statistical Office (CSO) in the Ministry of Housing, Planning, and the Environment in Trinidad to host a one-day environmental indicators workshop for Government Ministries in Trinidad and Tobago.
The theme of the workshop was Environmental Indicators: What are they and how to use them, was held on the Monday 14th July 2008 at the Kapok Hotel, St. Clair, Trinidad.
Eighteen government ministries were represented at the workshop which was organized by the T&T Demonstration Project-Manager Sandra Timothy and CSO Senior Statistician- Mr. Stephen Cockburn. The meeting was chaired by Willard Phillips of the UNDP and Mr. Clement – Director of Statistics delivered the feature remarks. The workshop was ably facilitated by Dr. Sherry Heileman, GEF-IWCAM consultant.
The aim of the workshop was to strengthen ministries capacity to develop and recognize basic environmental indicators to be used to improve their data collection and monitoring systems.
July 14, 2008 - Tainted African Dust Clouds Harm U.S., Caribbean Reefs - Coral reefs in the United States and the Caribbean may be under siege—from a surprising source half a world away.
Jun 20, 2008 - Montgomery Primary School Win EMA Competition [Video]
MONTGOMERY Government Primary School has won the 2008 Environmental Management Authority’s “Hands – on” Environmental Competition, and is the first school from Tobago ever to do so. Following the competition’s theme “Climate Change – A Call to Action”, Montgomery Primary School picked the category “Coral Bleaching” on which to focus.
Not only were they the overall winners, they also won the following awards: best cultural presentation; best project for a Tobago school; best first time entrant; and best project for a small school. The prizes the school won included many educational books and $7,000 in prize money.
Eleven pupils from Montgomery attended the awards in Trinidad with their teacher Ms. Carol Washington–Williams and Principal Mrs Janette Moore–James. Also present to witness this event were the Honourable Hilton Sandy (Secretary for Division of Agriculture Marine Affairs Marketing and Environment, THA), Barry Lovelace (Environmental Education Coordinator, Buccoo Reef Trust), and Ava Schiavetta (Education Officer, Coral Cay Conservation).
The school performed two calypsoes and a speech band to do with coral reefs and mangroves and presented a music video they produced with the Buccoo Reef Trust.
Some of the highlights of the school’s project included:
• Making fishes for a display and performing a calypso on the corals during the visit of TRH Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall to Tobago;
• A walk-a-thon through the neighbouring community of Bethel;
• Puppet shows put on by members of Coral Cay Conservation;
• A trip to Buccoo Reef organized by the Buccoo Reef Trust;
• A community information evening; and
• Production of a music video based on the project.
Mar 14, 2008 - Last week the Buccoo Reef Trust (BRT) attended Ocean Sciences 2008 in Orlando Florida. There, the BRT/IWCAM Scientific Diver, Richard Parkinson, presented a research paper on 'Preliminary Findings from a new long-term Coral Reef Monitoring Programme in Tobago, West Indies'. The paper describes a reef monitoring program initiated by the Buccoo Reef Trust on the island of Tobago as part of a regional initiative aimed at improving the management of watersheds and coastal areas of Caribbean islands. The study involved a reef monitoring programme using 13 fixed stations at a depth of 10 metres, with each comprising three permanent 20 metre transects. The stations are located on the main coral reefs around Tobago and are designed to provide long-term data on the condition of the reefs over time. Data collection started in January 2007 using sediment traps, water quality testing and underwater video, which was analyzed using NCRI CPCe software. Preliminary results indicate differences in the condition of the reefs around Tobago, with reefs adjacent to the island's main town showing significantly elevated levels of macroalgae. Results also reveal an island-wide incidence of yellow blotch disease, which has spread substantially since the coral bleaching event of 2005.
Royal Visit to the BRT Mar 7, 2008 - Steelband Farewell for Royals
... Prince Charles took special interest in the work of the Buccoo Reef Trust during [a] stop at the four-acre site of its Marine Research Centre on the seacoast at Gaskin Bay Road, Bon Accord, where he was treated to a cultural show and later unveiled a plaque to commemorate his visit.Mar 6, 2008 - HRH The Prince of Wales and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, today visited the Buccoo Reef Trust (BRT) at the location in Bon Accord, Tobago identified for construction of the BRT's Tobago Marine Research Centre. HRH and the Duchess were greeted by the BRT Directors and other dignitaries and spent time dicsussing the work of the centre in research, education and conservation with the various specialist staff members, interns and OJTs.
HRH and the Duchess also met other related groups such as the Tobago Department of Tourism, Coral Cay Conservation and Environment Tobago and other invitees. The gathering was treated to cultural presentations by school children. HRH unveiled a plaque to commemorate his visit and warmly wished the BRT and its Tobago Marine Research Centre success in the future. View a video of the Royal Visit on our
™YouTube Channel. Read the speech by Owen Day, BRT Director (update: not delivered because of lack of time).
Mar 3, 2008 - Climate on Prince's Agenda ... he will launch a documentary about climate change by Dr Owen Day, a director of the Buccoo Reef Trust ...
Feb 29, 2008 - Prince Charles, Camilla to Visit Tobago ... They will spend one hour from 12 noon on Thursday at the four-acre site of the proposed Buccoo Reef Trust Tobago Marine Research Centre ... .
Feb 28, 2008 - The Buccoo Reef Trust attended the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure International Conference (GSDI 10) in Port-of-Spain Trinidad. There, the BRT/IWCAM GIS Specialist gave a presentation on 'Developing the National SDI with Local Action: A Multi-Benefit Citizen Science Methodology for Small Island Developing States' in Technical Session 23 - Island Challenges. The core message, based on experiences in Tobago, was that GIS development/ management in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) must incorporate a social component to successfully contribute to building a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) - i.e. the solutions, their relevance to society and the nature of the issues being addressed must be elaborated on with the wider population alongside any technical/ data issues.
Feb 24, 2008 - The Buccoo Reef Trust (BRT)/ IWCAM GIS Specialist attended a three day workshop on Spatial Modeling of Non-Point Sources of Pollution and Erosion that was held by CATHALAC and UNEP-CEP at CATHALAC's offices in the City of Knowledge, Panama City, Panama. Participants from Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago were tutored on and worked with a spatial model (N-SPECT), and proposed the initiation of small studies in the represented countries to explore the technology in a comparitive environment and to assist the implementation of the LBS Protocol under the Cartagena Convention. The spatial modeling technology will also be disseminated to other IWCAM Demonstration Projects via CEHI.
Feb 24, 2008 - Caribbean coral reefs in danger of Extinction - Prince Charles, Camilla to visit Buccoo Reef Trust.
Jan 17, 2008 - The Buccoo Reef Trust 2008 Wall Calendar is now available. It particularly celebrates and provides information on International Year of the Reef (IYOR 2008), and contains aerial and underwaters images that showcase the beauty of Tobago's coral reefs.
The 30cm x 60cm calendar is printed on high-quality glossy paper with space for notes and appointments and is suitable for offices, homes, as tourist mementos, etc.. It is priced at US$15. IYOR 2008 is a worldwide campaign to raise awareness about the value and importance of coral reefs and threats to their sustainability, and to motivate people to take action to protect them.
Update: Calendars have been distributed to various government office and private sector companies. The calendar may be purchased at many dive shops and other stores in Tobago, including: Bago To Go (Hilton Tobago), Books & Office Supplies, Cards & Things, Denzil’s Dinette, Extra Divers, Frontier Divers, Gold Burn’s Historical Parlour, Jake & Company, Joycie’s Kitchen, Linx Chair Rental, Rena’s Roti Shop, Undersea Tobago, VIP Studio and World of Water Sports.
Jan 13, 2008 - Human Activity Blamed for Decline of Coral Reefs. . Update: Journal article.
