Networking for nature

A farmer testing for pesticide residue during a workshop.
 Photo: courtesy the Project Coordination Unit, FAO
A farmer testing for pesticide residue during a workshop. Photo: courtesy the Project Coordination Unit, FAO

AN early activity undertaken in the current four-year project titled Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in Trinidad and Tobago, was the hosting of a multi-stakeholder inception workshop.

That activity set the tone for the participatory approach adopted in the project, which brings together expertise, experiences and views of people engaged with forest and protected areas.

The approach is sustained in project implementation, building networks among government agencies, non-governmental organisations and citizens. Positive engagement among these entities is grown by understanding various perspectives and brainstorming the way forward for improved management and sustainability of protected areas and livelihoods and practices connected to them.

Information gathering

Over the course of this project, more than 70 stakeholders have engaged in discussions and been exposed to critical issues facing six of our protected areas in TT. Research and site visits helped the team to understand issues threatening the sites’ sustainability, and learn from people active in these natural spaces – in livelihood, recreational or conservation activities – to examine options for boundary demarcation, multiple use and management.

In Plum Mitan, workshops with farmers revealed willingness to step away from the chemical treadmill that plagues food production, to support management of the Nariva Swamp. A walkabout activity in Charlotteville, Tobago to build awareness of the value of species found in forest, coastal and marine areas provided an encounter with an individual who was removing corals from the reef. The interaction allowed understanding of the benefits of leaving these corals on site to multiple income earners.

The desire of people in Guayaguayare to promote natural assets of the Trinity Hills region to adventurers and tourism management students, as an under-explored site was revealed. From the scientific perspective, complexity of land development and food production demands upstream of the Caroni Swamp, remains an area of active research and solution-searching to manage the site promoted by some as a “flagship tourism resource.”

Translation into relevant action

Joint efforts in Tobago, not just under this project, but spurred on by it, have resulted in the setting up of a North East Tobago Trust to oversee management of the Main Ridge Forest Reserve and northeast marine area. This is a useful demonstration that a serious approach to managing the oldest Forest Reserve in the western hemisphere and other surrounding natural areas is underway.

Sometimes solutions are not clear cut, but eventually reveal themselves when a silo approach is abandoned in favour of participatory efforts. The project has distilled information and perspectives from these various actions and constructed specific statements – Conservation Objective Statements – which outline why these natural sites are under protection, how they can be used sustainably, and how effective management can be demonstrated through meeting specific targets. This approach clarifies protection through a specific plan that outlines the “what and why” and “how and by whom” protection is effected.

Assessing gains

An annual, networking project activity is hosted as a “Lessons Learned” meeting. This facilitates sharing of project experiences among stakeholders, who discuss approaches used to address information gaps and challenges. The activity is a larger forum for exchange of ideas, deeper networking and honest reflection of what worked well and what could be improved for creating better tools in management and public engagement.

True success will be measured through adoption of “what works” in normal operations of managers – formal and informal. Networking has already achieved critical sharing of information and views; understanding of issues and compromises needed. It has removed some visible and invisible barriers in interaction and ideology. Meeting the conservation objective in the six initial sites is a step in the process of improving how we manage the remaining natural areas in our country. A continued effort to tread the path together is the only way effective management will be assured.

Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in TTT is a four-year project being implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for the TT Government. Funding was provided by the government, FAO/UN, the EU and the GEF.

For more information, visit http://eppd-tt.blogspot.com/p/gef-improving-forest-and-protected-areas.html.

To learn more about our local forest and protected areas, visit: https://protectedareastt.org.tt/

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