,INDIGENOU' PEOPIES.AND NATURAL I. R['OURCE'

' The Caribbean area was originally inhabitedi by Ar"waks and Caribs' These peoples were. imerindians atld were all natural conservationistsI of the environment.

]AGRICULTURE AND FOREST UsE:The indigenous peoples used the forest as a;;;; oifood, medicines, building materials'

, **"t and recreation' They also used it for,.ligiou, purposes and as land for agriculture'They grew only enough in 9n-e season.to meet

, itt"it i"eds. Whenever food from cultivated, sources ran out, their other options wereilhi"g, hunting and gathering wild fruits' The

'

Amerindian peoples were subsistence tarmers;

' in"f ."tti"d out-'slash and burn' agriculture'Tools for agriculture were made from stonesand shells,-while resources from the forest were

used to make houses, and for crafts such as, hammocks, canoes, baskets and food dyes' as well, as medicine.As subsistence farmers, whenever the crop yield

, *"t i"* due to exhaustion of nutrients in thesoil, the Amerindians would move their home

; ""J nna

another plot of land to cultivate' Thisi movement gave time for regeneration of the. exhausted Plot., The field crops grown included maize' cassava'. ,*"", potuto"r, hot pepper, cotton and.tobacco', Other food sources that they gathered included

ilii;, shelfish, snails, turtle eggs. b4pacles and

Wildfowl Trust, Pointe-i-PierreArea; 26 hectares (64 acres)Natural attractions: The Tiust breeds endangered,p"cie, of waterfowl and birds and reintroducesthem into natural wildlife areas' There are alsoitJig"no"t waterfowi such as wild muscory ducksand"wading birds such as scarlet ibis' Brilliant.ofo".t arJprovided by the tropical mockingbirds'ift" y"fto* headed amazonparrots and blue andgold macaws. There is a library and-small museumfontaining uniqu,e Amerindian artifacts'Access facilities: Easy access by car to thePetroTrin compound' Guided tours available'

grubs. In addition to this, they hunted manylmall animals such as snakes, conies' rabbits'agoutis, deer, lizards' igt'3n25' and birds'

FrsulNcFishermen used nets, hooks, spears and remorato catch fish. Fish hooks were cut from turtleshell, ,rring sisal string moistened and dippedin sand to make a saw- A remora is a fish with,u.tion cups on the back of its head' which it;;;; cling on to large fish' The fishermen also

"t"a fotg

"iro*, dlpped in poison from a special

U"tr., *htrt ,tunn"d hshes, manatee and pedroseals. Manatee are now an endangered species'

Tobago

Little Tobago or Bird of Paradise, north-eastTobagoArea: 101 hectares (250 acres)Natural attractions: Wildfowl and 58 species ofbirds exist here. The red-billed tropic bird can alsobe observed in its largest nesting colony in theNorth Atlantic.Access facilities: Tobago tour operators provideguided tours. Boats are availabie at Speyside'

t Figure 3 5 I Fishing offthe beach

CHAPTER ] NATURAL REsOURCES OF THE CARIBBEAN

St Giles Island, northeast TobagoIrea: 29 hectares (72 acres)Natural attractions: This is a seabird breedingcolony. The magnificent frigate bird, rtran-o'-warand red-billed tropic birds abound here. TWenty-four species ofland birds can also be seen.Access facilities: Access is difficult because ofrough seas. Small boats can land on very calmdays. Deep-sea fishing is carried out in these seas.

Tirrtle Beach Hotel, Plymouth, northwestTobagoNatural attractions: Turtle-nesting can beobserved on the beach.Access facilities: Turtles can be viewed nightlyduring the breeding season from April to July.Lectures on all natural attractions are deliveredevery Tuesday at 6.00 pm. Mount Irvine Hoteloffers lectures at 5.45 pm on Mondays.

Grafton Beach Resort, Black Rock, northwestTobagoNatural attractions: Turtle-nesting can beobserved on the beach.Access facilities: Turtles can be viewed nightlyduring the breeding season, April to July. Thisresort has organise d a turtle watch to protect thisendangered species.

Barbados

Natural Island Reserve of BarbadosBarbados is a coral island, pushed out ofthe seaby volcanic activity long ago. On the west coastofBarbados, coral beaches offine, white sandstretch along a blue-green sea. Coral reefs fringethe Barbados shoreline and provide excellentsnorkelling and scuba diving. Along the east coastthe strong and constant trade winds create a livelysurfand the waves pound against a rocky shore.The constant breeze of the trade winds giveBarbados a mild and pleasant tropical climate.Much of the island is low, with excellent beaches,but there are rolling hills and many deep ridgesand gullies, with an interesting distribution offlora and fauna. Within the Barbados coral core,there is a vast array ofcaves and undergroundlakes; these provide an excellent supply ofdrinking water that is among the purest in thervorld. Geologically, Barbados is unique, beingformed of two merged land masses, and there aregeological structures that are found nowhere else.

124

Ecosystem attractionsOcean Park marine aquarium allows you toobserve life under the ocean and see marinecreatures up close.Harrison's Caves are a system of limestone caveswith bubbling streams, thundering waterfalls,tumbling cascades and deep pools.

t Figure 3.52 Harrison's Caves

JamaicaGreen Grotto CavesLocation: Discovery Bay, St AnnOn the main north coast road, 3.2km west ofDiscovery Bay, 4 km east of Runaway Bay.Natural attractions: System of limestone cavesabout 1.5 km long, with stalactites, stalagmitesand an underground lake.Open: All year daily 0900-1600An entrance fee is charged.This includes loan of hard hat and 45 minute tourof caves

WE5T INDIEs VOICANOE5Much of the Caribbean land owes its existence tovolcanic action.The island arcs are characteristic oftectonic plateboundaries.The major volcanoes include:* Kick-'em-Jenny* Mont Pel6e* La Soufridre

- Guadeloupe

* Soufridre Hills -

Montserrat* Soufridre

- St Vincent

Kich-'em-JennyThis is unusual in being an actively growingsubmarine volcano. It is situated 8 kilometres(5 miles) off the north shore of Grenada and rises1300 metres (4300 feet) from the sea floor. Itssummit grew from 235 metres (770 feet) below thesea surface in 1962 to 160 metres (525 fee0 twentyyears later.Numerous eruptions have occurred since 1939,when an eruption cloud rose 275 metres (900 fee$above the sea surface.Other known eruptions occurred in 1943, 1953,1965, 1966, 1972 and 7974. Theeruptions of 1939and 7974 caused eruption columns above the seasurface.

Mant PeI6e, MartiniquePel6e in Martinique is an example of a type ofvolcano known as alava dome. An extremelydestructive eruption followed the growth of adome at Mont Pel6e in 1902.The coastal town of St Pierre, about 4 miles to thesouth, was destroyed and nearly 30 000 inhabitantswere killed by an incandescent, high-velocityflow of ash and gas. Only two men survived; onebecause he was in a poorly ventilated, dungeon-like jail cell and the other who somehow made hisway safely through the burning city.

La Soufridre de la GuadeloupeLa Soufridre in Guadaloupe is a stratovolcano.This means it is tall and steep-sided, builtup of many layers of hardened lava and ash.Stratovolcanoes are also known as compositevolcanoes.The volcanic cone reaches a height ofaround1500 metres and occupies the southern end ofBasse-Terre, the western half of the butterfly-shaped island of Guadeloupe.The presently active la Soufridre volcano grewwithin the craters of earlier eruptions, some veryold. The summit consists of a flat-topped lavadome, and several other domes occur on thesouthern slopes.A relatlvely minor eruption in 7976-77 causedsevere economic disruption, when the island'scapital city, which lies immediately below thevolcano, was evacuated.The name Soufridre is French in origin. It can betranslated as sulphur mountain.

S oufridre Hills Volcano, Montserr atThe Soufridre Hills volcano, like its namesake onGuadeloupe, is also a stratovolcano. The volcanohas been active sinceJuly 1995: There were noreported historical eruptions before this time.The Soufridre Hills volcano is located at the southend of Montserrat Island (about 16 kilometres by1 1 kilometres). The current volcanic activity hasdestroyed the town of Plymouth and a significantpart of the island. Many people left the island toseek new lives elsewhere.

Soufridre, St VincentSoufribre in St Vincent is another stratovolcanothat has a history of violent eruptions, includingthose in 1718, 181,2 and 1902, when 1600 peoplewere killed only hours before the disastrous Pel6eeruption on Martinique, 165 kilometres to thenorth. A lava dome built up in the summit craterin 1977, forming an island in a lake that filIed thecrater. There was an eruption in 1979, when thelake and dome were ejected. Since then, a newdome has grown in the crater.

HURRICANE' IN THECARI BBEANlNrRopucrroNA natural disaster is a naturally occurringevent, not caused by human activity, that affectslife, property, wildlife or industry, resulting inpermanent damage to human societies, ecosystemsand the environment.

t Figure 3.53 The crater of Soufridre, StVincent

CHAPTER '

NATURAL RESoUR(E5 oF THE CARIBBEAN 125

HuRnIcANE FoR,ITATIoNHurricanes form to the east of the Caribbean andthen move in a generally northwesterlf di.ection.A hurricane begins when moist

"ir, t ""t"a by theSun, rises from the surface of a warm tropicalsea. As the moist air rises, it cools and condensesinto rain. This releases energy, which powers thehurricane. As the air rises ui*urar,

-'or" f,ot,moist air rushes in from all iides to replacg it. inthe northern hemisphere, because of ti" ioriotisrorce, these winds are deflected to the right, sothat they come ro spiral arouna tn"."ni.?t

."t_eye of the forming hurricane.The precise cause of hurricanes is not wellunderstood, although the conditio.r, i., _fri.f,they form are known. They occur:* over warm seas with a surface temperature of

atleast 27"C* in the rropics, but not within 5" of the equaror(because the Coriolis force weaken, i"_lra,

the equator)* from July to November in the Northern

Hemisphere and from January to tut"..f, in theSouthern Hemisphere.

L!-E DEsrRucrtvE trvrpAcr oFH U RRIcAN EsCoastal areas are usually the worst hit. In suchareas, the effects of winds, heavy rainfall andwaves cause most damage. Houses can be sweptaway and people and livestock drown. One reasonfor the hazard from water is deforestation orthe removal of narural vegeradon

.;;;.-ihrcincreases the amounr of sol ana aebris that lscarried down into the swollen rivers via.rorio.r.

t26

Additionally, in hilly or mounrainous areas.nurncanes bring not only flooding but alsomudslides and avalanches.

See studentt es9np?ge I 3 I at the end of the chapter.

The longer-term effects ofhurricanes are causedby the loss of revenue, resulting from the*:r:::n1f crops and. the "*i"nr" orr"buildinganq replacing property that was destroyed.L1T:l ":riviry increases rhe porenriat impactor natural disasrers. Most of the changes linkedto. h uman acov ity involve rather rto*"pro."r r"r,with cumulative effects. fo.

"*"_pt., iu,present global warming began wit'h the IndustrialRevolution, when people siarted Ur_ine _"rrlu"

amounts of fossil fuels.The people worst affected by hurricane damageare the poorest. The exact number drowned andburied is often never known M"ry;;;;;.i

"r"destroyed, dirt roads are swept away and cropsare flattened or washed away- Relieli;;;;"very slow to reach remote areas because landcommunications are disrupted. In such cases,helicopters are rhe only quickm""", ,ipl"riaingassistance

- but few are available i" pooi",

countries.

A hurricane is one form ofnatural disasterthat affects the Caribbean. Other n"rur"i-disasters include volcanic eruptions, floods andearthquakesA.hurricane is a very powerful rotating srorm,wtth rntense low pressure at its centre-.Hurricanes only occur,in the tropicr. On

"u"r"g",five hurricanes affect the Caribbe"o.*-ryyear, althou.gh this figure has been risinjdueto changes in Earth,s weather p"rr"rrrr. ih.hurricane season is fromJuly to November..Themajor characrerisric of a huriicane is lts frighwinds (wind speed over 720 kph). The wirids areresponsible for most of the damage caused byhurricanes.

i

li

.11

l

I Figure 3.54 Hurricane damage

Recent hurricanes afficting the Caribbean* September 1998

- Hurricane Gilbert produced

257 kph (160 mph) winds, killing 318 peopleand devastating Jamaica. '

* September 1998 -

Hurricane George crossedthe Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the FloridaKeys and then hit the Southern US state ofMississippi. Wind strength was similar in allthree countries

- over 250 kph (155 mph). The

death toll was 610, with 100 000 homeless, T0Toof bridges collapsed or were swept away and907o ofbanana plantations were destroyed.

* September 2004 -

Hurricane Ivan, a category3 system, with sustained winds of 185 kph(115 mph), hit Grenada. Four people died, 60were hospitalised with injuries, hundreds weretreated and discharged. Nine out of every tenbuildings were damaged or destroyed and therewas no water and electricity and only limitedcell-phone coverage.

Precautionary measures againsthurricanes

When a hurricane is forecast* Keep your radio and television on and listen

to the latest Meteorological Service bulletins.If power fails, use a battery radio. (Check yourbattery-powered equipment beforehand.) Yourradio may be your only information link duringand after the hurricane. Emergency cookingfacilities and flashlights will be essential ifutility services are interrupted.

* Use your time well before the storm arrives.Panic-buying of emergency food and supplies atthe last minute may result in you having to dowithout. Secure important family documents ina watertight container in a safe place. A camerawith film is also useful for records after theevent.

* Leave beaches and other lowlying areas eariy;don't run the risk of being marooned. Theseareas may be swept by storm waves. Moor yourboat securely before the storm arrives, or moveit to a safe area.

* Board up windows or protect them with stormshutters or tape. Danger to small windowsis mainly from wind-driven debris. Largewindows may be broken by wind pressure.

* Secure outdoor objects that may be blown awayor uprooted. Garbage cans, garden tools, signs,porch furniture other normally harmless items

* May 2005 -

A localised thunderstorm rippedthrough the Cayo District of Belize. It affectedthe towns of Iuante Elena and San Ignacio whereroofs of homes and schoois were blown away,trees were uprooted and lamp posts snapped.

* August 2005 -

Hurricane Katrina, a category 5hurricane, with winds of 250 kph (155 mph),passed over Cuba, causing damage and flooding.The storm moved on to hit the southern UScoast, including the city of New Orleans, whichwas extensively damaged by winds and flooding.The economic cost, which included damage tooil infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico and lostproduction, was enormous.

* September 2005 -

Tiopical Storm Rita hit theBahamas. No casualties were reported. Therewas only minimal destruction to property.

* October 2005 -

Hurricane Wilma lashed theBahamas. More than 500 people had to go toemergency shelters.

can become dangerous missiles in hurricanewinds. Store them safely before the stormstrikes.

* Store extra drinking water in clean closedcontainers. Your normal water supply maybecome contaminated through flooding or itscontainer may be damaged by the hurricane.Keep your car fuelled. Service stations may beinoperable or inaccessible for several days afterthe storm strikes, due to flooding, interruptedelectrical power or debris.

* Ifyour house is sturdy or on high ground, stayat home, unless you are officially advised toevacuate. If your home is not safe, seek shelterwith relatives or friends or, if necess ary, go toan officially designated shelter. Remain thereuntil the storm is over and it is safe to travel.

* Stay indoors during the hurricane. Tkavel isextremely dangerous when wind, tides ormaterials dislodged by the winds are whippingthrough your area.

* Beware the eye of the hurricane. This calmstorm centre causes a 1u11 in the wind, lastingfrom a few minutes to half an hour or more.Stay in a safe place unless emergency repairsare absolutely necessary. Remember, someof the strongest winds rise rapidly, comingfrom the opposite direction to what it wasimmediately before the eye passed through.

For further information, call or visit the nationalemergency management agency in your country.

CHAPTER 3 NATURAL REsoURcE5 oF THE CARIBBEAN 127

Qu EsrtoNsI Describe the difference between reriewable and

non-renewable resources and state two advantagesand disadvantages of both.

2 ldentify the types of forest that are present inthe Caribbean and identify five environmentalimpacts associated with the exploitation of forestresources.

3 Discuss the importance of coral reefs in theCaribbean and describe and explain four ways inwhich they are being destroyed.

4 Write a short essay about the functions ofwetlands. (750 words)

5 Currently, large areas of mangrove are beingremoved from one Caribbean island in orderto make room for industrial plants along thecoast. Discuss the impact this could have on theecosystems along the coast.

6 Give an example of a Caribbean animal at risk ofextinction and discuss four factors that might leadto its extinction.

7 ln the Caribbean, coastal management is 3 veryimportant issue, since much of the coastline isthreatened by rising sea levels, hotels and industrialplants. Discuss three mitigation measures for eachof the threats listed.

I What do the initials IUCN stands for and what isthe purpose ofthe organisation?

9 lndigenous peoples of the Caribbean practisesustainable development. Explain why you eitheragree or disagree with this statement.

l0 Explain three types of human activity that can leadto species becoming threatened. Give relevantexamples in your answers.

ilT[-