Biodiversity conservation and agroecological land restoration in productive landscapes of Trinidad and Tobago project (BIOREACH)

Agricultural landscapes are often sites of high biodiversity especially if they buffer protected areas. As such promoting sustainable land management practices in these areas can enhance biodiversity conservation especially if the adjacent communities participate in land use planning exercises and sustainable land management actions. This is true of the geographic area south and west of the Nariva Swamp in Trinidad and Tobago including the communities of Plum Mitan and Biche. These communities with extensive farmlands, still house significant biodiversity and serve as a protective buffer for the Nariva Swamp Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA). Implementing sustainable land management practices in these bio-productive buffer areas is therefore important for overall biodiversity conservation in the Nariva Swamp area.

About the Project

The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) is executing the biodiversity-sensitive land use planning and participatory land management component of the Biodiversity Conservation and Agroecological Land Restoration in Productive Landscapes of Trinidad and Tobago Project (BIOREACH) project. 

The overall goal of the project is to address biodiversity conservation and agroecological land restoration issues in Trinidad and Tobago with a specific mission to improve biodiversity protection, decrease land degradation, and support the transformation to sustainable agriculture which supports healthy ecosystems and people’s livelihoods and health.

In addition to CANARI, project partners include the Environment Management Authority (EMA) and the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (NAMDEVCO).

How will this project benefit the Caribbean region?

• By encouraging and facilitating greater participation of communities in land use planning
• By improving land use practices in Trinidad and Tobago
• By enhancing biodiversity of bio-productive spaces

What activities are we undertaking to achieve this?

CANARI’s work addresses the first component of the BIOREACH project, which focuses on biodiversity-sensitive land use planning and participatory land management mechanisms. Under Phase I, CANARI is using a Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS) process to engage community members, farmers and other stakeholders to collaboratively produce land use maps of the areas south and west of the Nariva Swamp, focusing on the communities of Biche and Plum Mitan. The maps produced will inform biodiversity-sensitive land use planning and participatory land management mechanisms in Phase II.

What have we achieved so far?

• Conducted a socio-economic analysis of the communities of Plum Mitan and Biche on the Western Boundary of the Nariva Swamp. (completed March 2024)

• Conducted stakeholder analyses, community engagement and mobilisation for community mapping exercises (completed March 2024)

• Executed community mapping exercises to produce the draft participatory land use maps of the area between the communities of Plum Mitan and Biche and the Nariva Swamp (completed September 2024)

The socioeconomic analysis documented the main livelihood activities and land-use practices within the Plum Mitan and Biche communities, as well as activities and practices in the land area between these communities and the Nariva Swamp ESA. In turn, the socioeconomic report was informed by background literature review and key informant interviews (KIIs). Demographic and socioeconomic data from the socioeconomic report, in addition to stakeholder analyses, were utilised to design the community mapping workshops. In particular, livelihood activities identified in the report framed the guiding questions for community stakeholders during the mapping workshops.

Key stakeholders identified in both the socioeconomic report and the stakeholder analysis also helped to prioritise the stakeholder groups targeted for participation in the mapping workshops. Stakeholder analyses also informed the timing and format of the mapping workshops. CANARI conducted three community mapping workshops during the period April – May 2024 to engage key community stakeholders in Plum Mitan and Biche using a PGIS process to share and integrate local knowledge and perspectives to assess land use activities, including key livelihood activities and resources used on the lands between these settlements and the Nariva Swamp.

Project news 

• https://www.facebook.com/CANARICARIBBEAN/posts/pfbid02KSwX1yks6KoozzAHHg68WxgMeXEmryfUMRgPuTpMSAWL19NYouvghh92opTJSmf8l

• https://www.facebook.com/CANARICARIBBEAN/posts/pfbid032TyTU8YSYBQP81yr96b9ypTAJu59d5W2rBD6KrNsTXtnfFFTyRQFFFmASked6Z6zl

• https://www.facebook.com/CANARICARIBBEAN/posts/pfbid0359pLjLYqKbsUnbvxW8H8TAAVnDb8bRt1usM4fb48161fKCHChUotXi86vvzxejGLl

Project related communications

More information about this project

• Download the BIOREACH project summary
• Contact Dr. Natalie Boodram, Senior Technical Officer, at natalie@canari.org

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Experience Nariva Project