Page sponsored by Texaco Caribbean Limited
Publication: Daily Nation
Paper Section And Page: 15A
Paper Date: Wed, Jun 6, 2001
Byline: Compiled by Terry Ally
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Page sponsored by Texaco Caribbean Limited |
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LAST YEAR it was the "greening" of Barbados. This year, it will be the "blueing" of beaches in Barbados and other Caribbean islands.
Last week four regional agencies formed a consortium to implement the Caribbean Blue Flag Campaign. They are the Caribbean Conservation Association (CCA), the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST), and the Quality Tourism for the Caribbean (QTC), which received formal approval from the Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe (FEEE) and the support of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The work of the consortium will be lead by the CTO and will receive technical support of UNEP and FEEE.
Blue Flag is a voluntary certification scheme for beaches and marinas operating
in Europe by the Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe since middle
1980s.
It proved to be effective as an environmental tool to enhance safety management
and environmental quality of beaches and marinas.
The working plan is divided into two main phases: Draft criteria and the pilot
phase.
The criteria will be developed by the consortium in consultation with Caribbean
countries and FEEE to reflect the environmental as well as social and cultural
conditions of the region.
It will cover four areas: water quality,
environmental education and information, environmental management, and safety
and services.
Special consideration will be given to regional standards, including the already
adopted water quality standards of the Aruba Protocol of Land-Based Sources and
Activities of Marine Pollution of the Cartagena Convention.
In the pilot phase, scheduled to be launched in October, the criteria will be
tested at selected beaches in several countries. A final set of criteria will be
developed based on the experiences of the pilot beaches and a full-fledged
Caribbean Blue Flag Campaign will then be launched.
16 endangered parrots released in wild
THE United States Fish and Wildlife Service has released 16 captive-reared endangered Puerto Rican parrots into the wild.
"This is another great day for all Puerto Ricans, but in particular for the endangered Puerto Rican parrot," said Sam D. Hamilton, southeast regional director for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. "If we can sustain the success rate for reintroduction, we may be able to soon add a second location to help these rare and beautiful birds regain their lost habitat."
Approximately 40 parrots live in the wild at the Caribbean National Forest. Another 126 parrots live in two aviaries on Puerto Rico. They are being bred to augment the wild population. Once there were thousands - possibly a million - Puerto Rican parrots, but hunting and trapping nearly wiped them off the face of the island.
The Fish and Wildlife Service, the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, and the United States Forest Service, as well as many educational entities and interest groups, have been working for more than 30 years to recover the only endemic parrot of Puerto Rico. This is the second time captive-reared parrots have been released into the wild. Hamilton said the first 10 captive-reared parrots released last June had a 50 per cent survival rate.
4-wheel drives hindering turtle nesting
WITH more people purchasing four-wheel drive vehicles, there has been an increase in driving on beaches. Two of the beaches that have been used with increasing frequency both during the day and night are Long Pond, and the beach at the former Hilton site, both of which are important sea turtle nesting beaches.
Driving on beaches affects sea turtles negatively in several ways. Obviously there is the risk that adult females and hatchlings on their way to or from the sea will be crushed by driving vehicles at night. The weight of vehicles can also crush incubating eggs, and the unsightly ruts they create are difficult for hatchlings to cross. In addition, vehicles are ripping up the beach vegetation that holds sand in place, causing beach erosion.
Both of these mentioned nesting beaches are regularly monitored to assess changes in sea turtle population abundance in response to conservation efforts.
The leatherback nesting season is well under way and the hawksbill nesting season is just beginning. There is a very real threat that the lighting-up of these previously dark areas by vehicle headlights and particularly the driving of vehicles over areas of the dry, vegetated beach where turtles prefer to nest, is going to deter turtles from making their nests. With so much coastal development reducing beach width and spilling light onto the beach, it is becoming increasingly important that the few wide, dark areas of beach left in Barbados that are important for sea turtle nesting be protected from such vehicular use.
The Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU) and the National Conservation Commission (NCC) are also concerned about the effects of driving vehicles on the beach. Under the new Coastal Zone Management Act, it is likely that regulations will be introduced to control this activity, but until then the CZMU and NCC are collaborating in the placement of signs at strategic locations advising against beach driving.