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Nariva Swamp
The Nariva Swamp is the largest freshwater wetland in Trinidad and Tobago and has been designated a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. The swamp is located on the east coast of Trinidad, immediately inland from the Manzanilla Bay through Biche and covers over 60 square kilometres (23 mi2). The Nariva Swamp is extremely biodiverse, being home to 45 mammal species, 39 reptile species, 33 fish species, 204 bird species, 19 frog species, 213 insect species and 15 mollusc species. All this contained in just 60 square kilometers.
The area provides important habitat for waterfowl and is key habitat for the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus)., caimans, anacondas, boas, red howler monkeys, white-fronted capuchin monkeys, numerous species of parrots, including both the blue-and-gold macaw and red-bellied macaws, as well as many wetland and savanna birds, like herons and white storks.
Four major wetland vegetation types occur in the Nariva Swamp - mangrove swamp forest, palm forest, swamp wood, and freshwater marsh.
The Trinidad Regional Virus Lab (TRVL) (now CAREC) conducted research on arboviruses there in past decades.
One portion of the swamp, the Bush Bush Wildlife Sanctuary is historically important as a field site for the Trinidad Regional Virus Laboratory - now part of the Caribbean Epidemiology Center (Carec), which played a key role in the study of tropical mosquito-borne diseases.
The Nariva Swamp, 6,234 hectares (15,400 acres), was declared to be a forest reserve in 1954. The Bush Bush section of the Nariva Swamp 1,408 hectares (3,480 acres) is an area of high ground that was declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1968, and a prohibited area in 1989 by Dr. Keith Rowley (legal notice no 78 by then Minister of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources). The site was thus reserved as a local and international research centre, and in theory no hunting or harvesting was allowed on the site.
The Nariva Swamp is protected by 3 main pieces of legislation: the Forests Act, Chapter 66: 01; the Conservation of Wildlife Act, Chapter 67: 01; the State Lands Act, Chapter 57: 01. Offences taken to court are usually related to wildlife poaching and tree felling. This was not entirely successful and encroachment by squatters was ongoing (Ramsar, 1996). The Nariva Swamp has been threatened in the past by illegal squatting; the conversion of land to cannabis and rice farming, illegal grazing of livestock in the game sanctuary, overfishing and illegal timber harvesting, illegal hunting and excessive trapping of birds for the pet trade (Ramsar, 1996).
The Nariva Windbelt Forest Reserve of 6,267 acres (25.36 km2) was declared under the Forests Act on March 18, 1954. This designation gives the Forestry Division the authority to manage the area with reference to felling of trees, damage by negligence in felling any tree or dragging any timber, fires, and forest produce (CFCA, 1997). The year after the establishment of the Nariva Windbelt Forest Reserve (1955) the Manzanilla Extension, 383.2 hectares was declared a demarcated Forest Reserve.
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Nariva Swamp
The Nariva Swamp is the largest freshwater wetland in Trinidad and Tobago and has been designated a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. The swamp is located on the east coast of Trinidad, immediately inland from the Manzanilla Bay through Biche and covers over 60 square kilometres (23 mi2). The Nariva Swamp is extremely biodiverse, being home to 45 mammal species, 39 reptile species, 33 fish species, 204 bird species, 19 frog species, 213 insect species and 15 mollusc species. All this contained in just 60 square kilometers.
The area provides important habitat for waterfowl and is key habitat for the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus)., caimans, anacondas, boas, red howler monkeys, white-fronted capuchin monkeys, numerous species of parrots, including both the blue-and-gold macaw and red-bellied macaws, as well as many wetland and savanna birds, like herons and white storks.
Four major wetland vegetation types occur in the Nariva Swamp - mangrove swamp forest, palm forest, swamp wood, and freshwater marsh.
The Trinidad Regional Virus Lab (TRVL) (now CAREC) conducted research on arboviruses there in past decades.
One portion of the swamp, the Bush Bush Wildlife Sanctuary is historically important as a field site for the Trinidad Regional Virus Laboratory - now part of the Caribbean Epidemiology Center (Carec), which played a key role in the study of tropical mosquito-borne diseases.
The Nariva Swamp, 6,234 hectares (15,400 acres), was declared to be a forest reserve in 1954. The Bush Bush section of the Nariva Swamp 1,408 hectares (3,480 acres) is an area of high ground that was declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1968, and a prohibited area in 1989 by Dr. Keith Rowley (legal notice no 78 by then Minister of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources). The site was thus reserved as a local and international research centre, and in theory no hunting or harvesting was allowed on the site.
The Nariva Swamp is protected by 3 main pieces of legislation: the Forests Act, Chapter 66: 01; the Conservation of Wildlife Act, Chapter 67: 01; the State Lands Act, Chapter 57: 01. Offences taken to court are usually related to wildlife poaching and tree felling. This was not entirely successful and encroachment by squatters was ongoing (Ramsar, 1996). The Nariva Swamp has been threatened in the past by illegal squatting; the conversion of land to cannabis and rice farming, illegal grazing of livestock in the game sanctuary, overfishing and illegal timber harvesting, illegal hunting and excessive trapping of birds for the pet trade (Ramsar, 1996).
The Nariva Windbelt Forest Reserve of 6,267 acres (25.36 km2) was declared under the Forests Act on March 18, 1954. This designation gives the Forestry Division the authority to manage the area with reference to felling of trees, damage by negligence in felling any tree or dragging any timber, fires, and forest produce (CFCA, 1997). The year after the establishment of the Nariva Windbelt Forest Reserve (1955) the Manzanilla Extension, 383.2 hectares was declared a demarcated Forest Reserve.
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