Page sponsored by Texaco Caribbean Limited
Publication: Daily Nation
Paper Section And Page: 23A
Paper Date: Wed, Apr 18, 2001
Byline: by Terry Ally
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Page sponsored by Texaco Caribbean Limited |
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SIX reefs are to get a health "check" on Sunday which is being celebrated as Earth Day. This is when the Barbados Marine Trust (BMT) introduces the international programme, Reef Check.
This coral assessment programme provides a way for local communities to monitor the health of their own reefs using a method to count easy-to-identify reef health indicators, like live coral, grouper and lobster. This data is passed onto the Reef Check scientists, for inclusion in the global coral reef status report. It is an important indicator in an era when these "rain forests of the sea", which support an extraordinary diversity of species and take centuries to develop, are under increasing stress from pollution, coastal development, poor fishing practices, storm activity, and global warming.
The Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Global Climate Change (CPACC) project is already monitoring reefs in the Caribbean, and documenting data with the view not only to assess reef health but to establish trends resulting from possible climate change impacts. Monitoring stations to measure sea level and meteorological data have been set up since the beginning of the project in 1997, as well as pilot activities to specifically monitor coral reefs for climate change impacts in Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas.
To further their efforts of marine
preservation, the BMT also hopes to provide the island with, what are
called reef balls. Reef balls are artificial reefs made from marine grade
concrete. They are squat and dome-shaped with lots of holes and come in
eight standard sizes, the smallest of which is the size of a basketball.
They mimic the functions of real coral reefs, in that they attract fish
and restore habitat, and living corals can also be transplanted onto them.
These are needed because some reefs are severely damaged and do not host
the algae that attracts fish. Five sites in Barbados' most active fishing
communities have been chosen for this
pilot activity.
Reef balls will not eradicate the causes of reef destruction, but by creating additional structure to the sea floor, they provide shelter for fish and a place for plants and corals to grow. Coral reefs are the home to a wide range of marine biodiversity and also serve as spawning grounds for many commercial species of fish. They also protect beaches and coasts from erosion by reducing wave energy, and provide significant revenue earning potential for dive tourism.
Although the monitoring methods used by
CPACC are more extensive than Reef Check, these two programmes aim to
increase public awareness on coral reefs in the Caribbean, with a view to
encouraging more sustainable coastal zone practices.
Wind power to meet five per cent of needs
THE DAYS when Barbados resembled Holland with windmills dotting the landscape are coming back.
Well, the wind turbines the Barbados Light & Power (BL&P) plans to reintroduce won't dot the landscape or grind cane, but they will be concentrated in a suitable location to provide about five per cent of the island's power needs. Senior planning engineer with the BL&P, Peter Williams, said the company was genuinely concerned about the environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions and also about utilising non-renewable sources of energy. Having done research, company officials are persuaded that wind energy is feasible for Barbados and are moving ahead with plans for the installation of wind turbines.
Wind power was traditionally used in Barbados to drive windmills that crushed sugar cane. Then along came the industrial revolution that delivered cheap and (then) efficient energy. With increasing population and growing economies, more energy was needed, but what also came with this new birth, was increasing emissions of carbon dioxide - the greenhouse gas that scientists blame for heating up the earth's atmosphere. Sustainable energy technologies offer the potential to both reduce electricity costs while protecting the environment.
However, there remains impediments to the widespread use of renewable energy technologies. Initial capital investment is quite high, and there is a lack of clear-cut policies on customs duty and tariff exemptions for would-be purchasers of clean technologies. Also, the franchises under which utilities operate in the Caribbean specify that the utility is the only entity allowed to produce electricity for sale to the public. This precludes the establishment of wind farms, except by special arrangement with the respective island utilities, which, in most cases are owned by Government. This means that a utility can block private sector investment if not by opposition, then by specifying an unrealistic buy back price.
Under the Caribbean Alternative Energy
Project wind turbines were installed in Antigua, Barbados, Montserrat,
Curaçao and Turks and Caicos in the early 1980s. Most failed due to
technical problems and lack of maintenance. However, technology has
changed, the science improved, and the price competitive to make it viable
today.
Who is watching region's weather?
WHAT is happening to the earth's climate? And who is watching?
Most reports support the argument that the earth is heating up; but this evidence mostly comes from the North - or to be more precise, not from the Caribbean region.
Who can tell us what's happening in the Caribbean? Data on climate trends for this region for the past century are scarce and inconsistent. But when at the United Nations Conference On Small Island States in 1994 it was noted that climate change was one of the issues in the region requiring "urgent action", the Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Global Climate Change (CPACC) project was born. Since its inception in 1997, the project installed 18 stations in the region to monitor sea level and meteorological parameters which is transmitted via satellite to the Regional Archiving Centre at the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies which does quality control and analysis. This data gives a picture of trends which go towards creating a computer model for the region.
Climate change predications for the Caribbean are now extrapolated from global models whose grid sizes are too large to get an accurate picture of most of the small islands. A new computer model is being developed to provide more accurate predictions of climate change impacts in the Caribbean.