NEWS

Farming for Food, Health and Environmental Security

In the lead-up to this year's observance of World Food Day, the "Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in Trinidad and Tobago" project initiated a timely step, in hosting a farmers' workshop in Plum Mitan, Trinidad.


This workshop, entitled "Farming for Food, Health and Environmental Security" assisted farmers in examining some of their farming practices to reduce the use of harmful chemicals on their farms.

Located within the northern portion of the Nariva Swamp Environmentally Sensitive Area, this particular group of farmers was identified as a key audience for sharing information and new techniques in pest control to help improve the management of the protected area.

Learn more about the workshop at this link.

National Consultation on Draft Protected Areas System Plan

A meeting of key Government and civil society stakeholders was held on Friday 8th September 2017 in Trinidad, as a one-day National Consultation on a Draft Protected Areas System Plan.  This followed a similar meeting earlier on Tuesday 5th September 2017 in Tobago.  The meeting sought to discuss preliminary recommendations for harmonizing existing protected area sites with proposed sites, in order to develop the most feasible network of sites based on the criteria of representation, redundancy, resilience and realism.  Dr. Howard Nelson, a consultant to the "Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in Trinidad and Tobago" project presented the draft plan.  Learn more about the discussions at this link.

ERIC receives National Energy Globe Award

The Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville (ERIC) recently was recognised for its contributions to climate change awareness and action with a National Energy Globe Award for Trinidad and Tobago.

ERIC, an active participant on the Climate Change Champions network is also represented on both the Steering Committee and the Tobago Subcommittee for the project "Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in Trinidad and Tobago".  Read more about this special achievement and the presentation of the award at this link.

Interpretive Trail Design and Maintenance Course Ends

 The fifth and last module of the Interpretive Trail Design and Maintenance Course took place earlier this month, with activities coming to a close in west Trinidad.  Some twenty-five participants put their earlier learning on the course to use, designing a series of trails at the Botanical Gardens, Port of Spain.  Learn more about their experiences in the last module at this link.

Draft National Protected Areas System Plan Consultations

The Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in Trinidad and Tobago Project (IFPAM) is facilitating National Consultations on a draft National Protected Area System Plan.  A session was held in Tobago on 5th September 2017 at the Community Development Conference Room, Glen Road, and another will take place in Trinidad on 8th September 2017 at the PETROTRIN Pointe-à-Pierre Club.

The National Protected Area System Plan will include a range of sites within the terrestrial, riverine, coastal and marine environment.  The Plan’s intention is to provide a structured framework, as defined in the National Protected Areas Policy (2011), for a system of protected areas ranging from management for strict conservation to management for ecologically sound activities.  The System’s proposed design is guided by representation, resiliency, redundancy and realism in selection of these sites.