Developing a National Protected Area System Plan

A Protected Area System Plan is an attempt to express a country’s vision of how (and how much of) its natural heritage is used for both conservation and sustainable use. 

Such a plan should cover the range of ecosystems present, link the key players (including civil society) responsible for developing and managing protected areas, include processes for defining management options, setting priorities and integrating with other land use.  

Work has recently begun to develop a National Protected Area System Plan in Trinidad and Tobago, under the “Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in Trinidad and Tobago” project.  

Learn more about the context for and benefits of developing the Plan at this link.

First Pilot Protected Area Subcommittee launched!

A key strategy in the Forest and Protected Area Policy (2011) is participatory management.  One of the mechanisms being employed under the Improving Forest and Protected Area Management (IFPAM) Project is the use of Subcommittees for each site.  The Subcommittees are made up of key stakeholders for each pilot site.  They will advise the Project Steering Committee (PCU) on actions specific to matters pertaining to their respective pilot protected area (PA) site and advise the Project Coordinating Unit on general management directions and on technical matters related to their respective pilot PA site.

 

The first meeting of the Trinity Hills and eastern extension pilot PA Subcommittee was convened on 24^th August, 2015 at the Forestry Division’s Rio Claro office. Organisations serving on this Subcommittee include Forestry Division, The Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago (Petrotrin), Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club, the Environmental Management Authority and the South Eastern Hunters Association.

At the first meeting, it was evident that this mechanism of using Subcommittees would contribute to improving coordination of management actions and sharing of information. For this Subcommittee, its first meeting resulted in the formulation of objectives and initiated discussions to select actions to implement for the next year in the pilot PA. 

 

 Subcommittee members listening as the PCU facilitates a session detailing the context for management in the PA

Dr. David Persaud, Environmental Manager - EPPD, shares the rationale for the boundaries of the PA with Subcommittee members.

>> For background information, project and other key documentation, and progress updates on the IFPAM Project, go to the "GEF Forests and PAs Project" Page