May 2009 - Caribbean Compass

MAY 2009 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 10
Caribbean
Eco-News
Young Caribbean Environmentalists Excel
Students from around the Caribbean excelled in an
international amateur video competition on the theme
“Coping with climate change: Sandwatch leading the
way”. Sandwatch is an international youth environmental
educational program focusing on coastal areas,
supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization. Out of the eight first- and
second-place winners, seven were from the Caribbean.
You can watch the first-prize winning videos on
YouTube: “We Are the Sandwatchers” by Hope Town
Primary School, Bahamas, at www.youtube.com/
watch?v=N56eMXfeIV0; “Sandwatch: Changing
Beaches with Climate Change” by Coleridge and Parry
School, Barbados, at www.youtube.com/
watch?v=f4DmlC067FA; “Sandwatch Video
Competition” by the Nevis Eco-Rangers of the Lynn
Jeffers School, Nevis, St. Kitts & Nevis, at www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHSSM8vv5oA;
and “Aqui las arenas
son mas blancas” (“The Sands are Whiter Here”)
by ESBU Camilo Torres Restrepo, Havana, Cuba at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd0ad7wJo3E.
Meanwhile, The Caribbean Regional Winner of the
Interlux (yacht paint) Waterfront Challenge was the
Jost Van Dykes Preservation Society in the BVI.
Spearheaded by director Susan Zaluski, the Society’s
Student Environmental Awareness Programme promoted
environmental stewardship among students by
teaching them about local marine and coastal ecosystems.
Combining educational events for teachers and
students, a week-long environmental camp, a turtletagging
program and a beach clean-up, the program
drew together educators, environmentalists, students,
parents and other community members to make sure
local kids understood their unique island environment
and learned ways to protect it.
For the Birds
Beginning on April 22nd, the Society for the
Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB),
the largest single organization devoted to wildlife conservation
within the Caribbean, launched month-long
BERTRAND JNO BAPTISTE
activities celebrating the diverse Caribbean culture as
this relates to wild birds. These festivities, under the
theme “Celebrating Birds in Culture,” will form the 8th
Annual Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival. This year’s
event will focus on popular culture that has referenced
birds, such as the music Bob Marley with his song
“Three Little Birds,” as well as historical and anthropological
perspectives on the value of birds beginning
with the early pre-Columbian societies of the region.
‘Yellow bird, high up in banana tree…’ This month, the
8th Annual Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival celebrates
native birds, such as this black-and-yellow
bananaquit, in local culture
For more information visit www.scscb.org, and
then click on “Programs” and “Caribbean Endemic
Bird Festival.”
Meanwhile, the non-profit organization Environmental
Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) has initiated seabird
surveys. According to Katharine Lowrie, Field
Research Manager, there is no data on how many seabirds
are in the Lesser Antilles or on which islands
they nest. It is also not clear where they feed. Over the
next two years EPIC will be compiling a Seabird
Breeding Atlas of the Lesser Antilles. The EPIC team
will be working closely with the islands’ administration
and conservation organizations to collect existing
information about seabirds. They also hope to speak to
schools and residents about their work, while gaining
local knowledge from fishermen and others. The final
Atlas will be available online. The results will also be
integrated into the Caribbean Waterbirds Conservation
Plan being drafted by the SCSCB.
Lowrie and her team will sail from St. Kitts & Nevis
to the Grenadines in search of seabirds aboard their
75-year-old wooden Norwegian converted fishing boat,
Lista Light. Many will be familiar with this 50-foot gaff
ketch, which was a frequent visitor to the islands in
the 1970s with former owners Noel and Mary Bevan.
ISAF Goes Green
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF), the
global governing body for the sport of sailing, is
working on a Strategic Plan for the environmentally
sustainable development of sailing. ISAF has placed
a focus on the environment, setting out the following
objectives to safeguard our environment: develop
and implement an environmental program for the
sport and events; increase and develop awareness of
environmental issues among all sailing stakeholders;
support the development of ISAF event venues
that are sustainable for the environment, economy
and community; and position sailing as “environmentally
aware”.
An ISAF Declaration on Environmental Principles
includes guidelines on discharge of wastes, habitat
and species protection and “ten golden rules” for sailing
in environmentally sensitive areas.
For more information visit www.sailing.org/1110.php.
Environment Tobago Newsletter
Congratulations to Environment Tobago for producing
a top-notch newsletter and putting it on-line for all
to share. Check it out at http://issuu.com/environment_tobago/docs/et_newletter_-_march_2009.