Art for the Deep Sea and the Lush Island of Trinidad
I’ve been privileged to start this year with a trip to the beautiful island of Trinidad with the Sustainable Ocean Alliance Caribbean. Although my flight time meant that I had to rise before the sun, I was excited to go off and explore somewhere new and be a part of the closing of the SOA’s Caribbean Youth Against Deep Seabed Mining campaign. Trinidad is known as the island to host the highest level of biodiversity in the Caribbean due to its close proximity to the South American continent, and I was eager to learn about the wildlife that resided in this new region.
The island a glance
Dawn broke as the propeller plane flew over the island, and I immediately noticed a stark difference in the landscape compared to my home Barbados. The outlines of mountains stood tall, and the early morning light reflected off the winding rivers and lakes. I don’t know if it’s because I spent my entire life living on a flat, limestone island, but I always find mountains to be magical.
Over the course of the few days travelling through the northern region of Trinidad, one of the most notable species of plant among the lush greenery was the abundance of towering bamboo. These opportunistic grasses took over the landscape as the original forest trees were cleared away and now dominated the area.
I often saw magnificent Frigatebirds with their two metre wingspans and forked tails soaring overhead along the coastal areas and a species of New World vulture known as American Black vultures casually roosted on the fronds of coconut trees the day I visited Maracas Beach. The island is also home to the Scarlet Ibis, ocelot, Guyanan Red Howler, and the Silky Anteater to name a few. The island is teeming with wildlife, so if you’re a nature enthusiast living in the Caribbean, you don’t have to travel far to get your adventure fix. My tight itinerary did not allow for a hike through the island’s rainforest to explore the wildlife, however, as there was key advocacy work to be conducted!
The threat of deep seabed mining
I joined members of the SOA Caribbean from across the region including Jamaica, Grenada, the Bahamas, and St. Lucia in Port of Spain, Trinidad for an art exhibition at the Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago. This event closed a 6 month campaign which raised awareness on the mining of marine mineral resources in the deep sea and the impacts it could have on this environment by showcasing the artistic talents of the Trinidadian youth.
The Sustainable Ocean Alliance Caribbean
I had such an amazing time with the members from across the Caribbean. Each of them intelligent and passionate about the ocean and its life. I felt inspired after the time I spent with them.
The deep sea is most likely not a topic to be on your radar, nor the threats that it faces, and honestly, I don’t blame you. Ocean exploration is relatively still in its infancy, and we know so little about the underwater world. There are, however, companies and corporations interested in exploiting the mineral resources of this poorly understood environment, namely polymetallic nodules.
Polymetallic nodules, discovered in the 19th century, are concretions of rocks composed of iron and manganese hydroxides. As critical terrestrial metals used in urban development, high-technology and green energy applications dwindle, eyes have shifted to the deep sea where these nodules which contain useful metals are in abundance.
Since the deep ocean is poorly studied, the SOA has led a campaign to rally voices together, to call for a moratorium on deep seabed mining to be held until adequate studies have been done on the life that exists in the deep sea and whether the mining of the polymetallic nodules can be done in a way that has little to no negative impact on the fragile ecosystems of this area.
Large countries such as France, Germany and Spain are joining the call for a moratorium as well, and this gives me hope that we will be able to bring to a halt yet another human activity with disastrous environmental effects that will take our society to an early grave before it truly begins.