Got crabs? Manage them.
Submitted by Bertrand Bhikarry on Sun, 04/11/2010 - 16:48
Management is undoubtedly one of the top occupational niches of the 21st century, but isn't managing a swamp taking it a bit too far? A managers task is defined as the 'organisation and coordination of activities in accordance with certain policies, and which achieves stated objectives'; but since a wetland is not dimensionally bound, it calls for unique management styles not readily templated. At right: A villager makes his crab traps using bamboo culms.
Wetlands, or swamps, or marshes; the nomenclature is interchangeable but generally it is understood to be areas which remain submerged, can be partially submerged at times, or is in close proximity to rivers or lakes. What has never been questioned by those who derive a way of life from the resource, is that it is beneficial, of very great importance.
Of course there are the people who do not interact with low level, muddy and pest filled areas, yet value them as primary assets . These groups can harbour interests detrimental to the welfare of the wetlands. At times for example, they require the land space, or even the waterways, as the first stage in a developmental thrust, and would justify the potential for damage as 'foward thinking', and as adding economic benefit to the wider population.
The rights of both groups of wetland 'user' are to be acknowledged. The former group, may be bound by tradition even poverty, and may only derive personal benefits from their activities within the confines of the swamp or its contiguous dependencies. The latter group may have gotten rights by virtue of purchase and feels privileged to convert the space into a built asset.
Unfortunately it cannot end where the rights of one group overrides that of another.
Wetlands are multi- dimensional, as stated earlier. Those considerations go beyond what's above in its treetops , what is on the land, and what is in the water.
Wetlands are the sites of early mankind's veritable toehold on earth. If a man ever stepped onto the land in a manner of speaking, it would have been in a wetland area. If eons afterward, migrants settled into a new place, it would have been a wetland that drew them in as a safe haven, a source of food.
Mangroves eco-systems are home for many species. Some just visit for breeding, such as some seagoing fish and migrant birds
Nothing has changed. Wetlands still feed us all, if indirectly. To throttle the functions of the wetland as a short term solution to one groups problems will surely come back to haunt generations of other people; Our own children as it were. To forestall the unpleasant scenario, good management of the wetland resource is the key approach. Enter the wetland manager.
As important as the wetlands are for the food security of our islands, they have another intrinsic feature; that of habitat protection for land dweller. As irony would have it, man gravitated toward the wetlands as a source of food, and in the process also made his home there - Permanently. It does not bode well for the resource. The shortened prognosis is; man will encroach on wetlands in pursuit of his activities, and the loss of wetland will place man's habitat at nature's peril. Enter the wetland manager.
Certain situations prove the need of wetlands management. In Trinidad, illegally situated rice farmers almost got away with large scale expansion of paddies at the Nariva swamp lands in the late 1980's. Subsequent to that there were efforts to drill for oil in the wooded lands adjacent to the same swamp by the oil interests.
In staving off the negative encroachment, the Nariva Swamp may be luckier than other T&T wetlands in that it has come under management. It's one of the largest freshwater wetlands in the Caribbean, and has been on the List of Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention since 1993. The Bon Accord Lagoon in Tobago may not be so lucky. If there is ever a need for a wetland management plan, the Tobago Bon Accord Lagoon and marsh can claim to it as a matter of utmost urgency. The home of a large part of the islands biodiversity stock, with a depth of life comparable to the hallowed Main Ridge Rainforest, it is under siege by a multitude of ills.
The identified threats to the Buccoo Reef and the Bon Accord Lagoon are no secret, and can be attributed to all user groups of the area and its environs. Obviously at Bon Accord it's time for professional management . For 'organisation and coordination of activities in accordance with certain policies, and which achieves stated objectives'.
In all probability plans and management concepts exist for the Bon Accord Lagoon, as there has been no lack of attention given to it by the scientific community on one end, and by local community user groups on the other. Indeed suggestions have been made by consultants that a team comprising the stakeholder groups be mandated to serve all interests. To a point, because even such a body would need a focussed manager to work the plans.
Acquiring skills for managing wetlands is a tenuous path for the aspiring professional. It was not long ago when practitioners of the sciences dominated the line-up for jobs emanating in parks, reserves and conservation tracts. It holds true no longer. Other skills are needed to facilitate the management processes there, and among these are the typical proficiencies the business sector habitually cultivates. Got Mangroves? Get involved through a local group. These are volunteers from the Unit Trust in Tobago on a wetlands cleanup with Environment Tobago
Certainly in the small island states of the Caribbean , there is room for the person who wishes to be part of the stewardship process for wetlands and its outlying areas. No matter what background such persons have, with wetland protection it's the vision, not the hindsight that counts.
Authors Note:
There are several excellent courses offered continually by many organisations and governments . Among those are the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education who offers training in location based facilities as well as online. For the latest and in-depth information on the short courses, including content, dates, duration and tuition fees please see their website: www.unesco-ihe.org/shortcourses
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[...] Got crabs? Manage them. | KnowTnT.com (Beta) www.knowtnt.com/node/141 – view page – cached 288/IMG_2092.jpg">Management is undoubtedly one of the top occupational niches of the 21st century, but isn't managing a swamp taking it a bit too far? The managers task is defined as the 'organisation and coordination of activities in accordance with certain policies, and which achieves stated objectives'; but since a wetland is not dimensionally bound, it calls... Read more288/IMG_2092.jpg">Management is undoubtedly one of the top occupational niches of the 21st century, but isn't managing a swamp taking it a bit too far? The managers task is defined as the 'organisation and coordination of activities in accordance with certain policies, and which achieves stated objectives'; but since a wetland is not dimensionally bound, it calls for unique management styles not readily templated. At right: A villager makes his crab traps using bamboo culms. Wetlands, or swamps, or marshes; the nomenclature is interchangeable but generally it is understood to be areas which remain submerged, can be partially submerged at times, or is in close proximity to rivers or lakes. What has never been questioned by those who derive a way of life from the resource, is that it is beneficial, of very great importance. Of course there are the people who do not interact with low level, muddy and pest filled areas, yet value them as primary assets . These groups can harbour interests detrimental to the welfare of the wetlands. At times for example, they require the land space, or even the waterways, as the first stage in a developmental thrust, and would justify the potential for damage as 'foward thinking', and as adding economic benefit to the wider population. View page Tweets about this link Topsy.Data.Twitter.User['knowtnt'] = {"location":"Trinidad and Tobago","photo":"http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/721436715/knowtntscreenie_normal.png","name":"KnowTnT","url":"http://twitter.com/knowtnt","nick":"knowtnt","description":"The continuous unauthorized biography of Trinidad and Tobago. Bloggers from T&T welcome. ","influence":""}; knowtnt: “Got crabs? Manage them. http://tinyurl.com/yadgm5k by Bertrand Bhikarry ” 30 minutes ago view tweet retweet Filter tweets [...]
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