Two-day Flood Modelling Workshop

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/UN) is coordinating a two-day training exercise in flood modelling on Tuesday 30^th – Wednesday 31^st October, 2019.  The workshop is a component of the four-year project “Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in Trinidad and Tobago” which the FAO is implementing on behalf of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.

This workshop activity will enable participants – including staff of the Drainage Division, Ministry of Works and Transport and the Division of Infrastructure, Quarries and Environment, THA – to become familiar with aspects of the hydrology of catchments and their influence on receiving floodplains.  The focus of the workshop will be on the development of design storms and the application of techniques for generating streamflow hydrographs emanating from catchments.

This workshop sets the stage for a follow-up session in early November in which participants can understand how the streamflow hydrographs flowing onto a floodplain may cause flooding.  It will explore the capabilities and limitations of a popular two-dimensional hydrodynamic model and how it can be used for performing hydraulic analyses for evaluating the suitability of flood control measures.  The model’s capability for producing flood hazard maps will also be covered.

The workshop is linked to a current feasibility study being undertaken in the project to identify possible options for improving freshwater input into the mangrove swamp forest of the Caroni Swamp.  If a feasible option is identified, improved freshwater flow to the Swamp may also provide an associated solution to reduce or mitigate flood challenges in surrounding areas.

National Inception Workshops - BIOREACH Project

BIOREACH: Biodiversity Conservation and Agroecological Land Restoration in Productive Landscapes of Trinidad and Tobago

Project Preparation Grant (PPG) Inception Meetings

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nation’s (FAO/UN) project preparation team is leading the development of a Project Document (for the BIOREACH: Biodiversity Conservation and Agroecological Land Restoration in Productive Landscapes of Trinidad and Tobago project) in collaboration and consultation with relevant Agencies and stakeholders in Trinidad and Tobago. The outcome document is to be completed by March 2020, for submission to Global Environment Facility (GEF) for their endorsement.

In light of this, on October 8^th and 10^th 2019 the BIOREACH Project Inception Workshops were held at the Cara Suites in Claxton Bay, Trinidad, and at the Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort in Tobago.

The workshops were geared at creating awareness among national stakeholders about the Project, and getting their feedback on the design of the Project.

Participants were informed through presentations on different components of the Project (which seeks to address threats to our local biodiversity and productive landscapes from human encroachment, forest fires and unsustainable practices); and also participated in several group discussions, with the aim of assisting in the development of a Project proposal that when completed will result in a well-drafted proposal with the potential to achieve sustainable and effective results.

The presentations delivered during the Inception Workshops can be found below:

1. Project Components
2. Project Outline and Objectives
3. Socio-Environmental Analysis

Attendees at the Trinidad Workshop Listen to a Presentation Delivered by Mr. Asif Khan, PPG National Coordinator

Group Presentation during the Trinidad Leg of the PPG Inception Workshop

Dr. Claus Eckelmann, Lead Technical Officer - FAO/ UN Addressng Tobago Invitees

Group Discussions at the Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort in Tobago

International Coastal Clean-up 2019

Volunteers and EPPD staff proudly posed for a photo at the end of a successful ICC 2019 

International Coastal Clean-up (ICC) 2019

Another year, another successful International Coastal Clean-up (ICC)!

From L-R, His Excellency Arend Biesebroek, (Ambassador to the EU Delegation T&T), Ms. Keima Gardiner (Waste Management Specialist) and Mr. Fazeer Mohammed on the TV6 Morning Edition programme. 

In preparation for the ICC, the Ministry of Planning and Development in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to Trinidad and Tobago participated in the Morning Edition television programme, to raise awareness on the thirty-third (33^rd) anniversary of this worldwide data collection initiative.

Volunteers remove waste at the Foreshore

Trinidad and Tobago has been an active participant in this venture for the past seventeen (17) years, and on Saturday 21st September, 2019 the combined Ministry and EU team took part in this year's ICC at the Foreshore, off the Audrey Jeffers Highway, Port of Spain, which was one (1) of thirty (30) sites cleaned in Trinidad and Tobago.

The ICC is the largest, annual global volunteer initiative aimed at removing discarded material and debris from waterways and the marine environment, in an effort to restore its integrity. A whopping 220 volunteers came out to the Foreshore to bear the initial sweltering heat, to participate in this year’s exercise.

As the day unavoidably came to an end due to the inclement weather, a still impressive 2090 lbs of garbage and marine debris were removed from the Foreshore coastline. The most popular items found were plastic bags, plastic utensils (forks, knives, spoons), beverage bottles and tiny plastic pieces. 

The most unusual items picked up were quite expansive, ranging from a headboard to bike handles, refrigerator parts and even a hair dryer.

Overall, the day was an eventful one, albeit cut short due to the sudden storm that rolled in. The day was filled with most importantly, data collection followed by rain baths, a singular bee sting, in-house garbage hauling and even birthday celebrations.

Photos below show some of the EU's and EPPD's staff, volunteers and trash collected at ICC 2019