ITTO Forestry Report 2003.Doc.....Use as a Guidelines

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THIRTY-FOURTH SESSION12-17 May 2003Panama City, Panama

ACHIEVING THE ITTO OBJECTIVE 2000 ANDSUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

REPORT(EXECUTIVE SUMMARY)

SUBMITTED TO

THE INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER COUNCIL

BY

THE DIAGNOSTIC MISSION ESTABLISHED UNDER

DECISION 2(XXIX) “ITTO OBJECTIVE 2000”

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INTERNATIONAL TROPICALTIMBER COUNCIL

Dit!."ENER#$

ITTC%&&&I'(/)* #+!i 2003

O!iina EN"$ISH

I T T O



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ACHIEVING THE ITTO OBJECTIVE 2000 AND

SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

INTRODUCTION

This report of a diagnostic mission requested by the authorities of Trinidad and Tobago identifies and prioritises theconstraints to achieving sustainability in the forest sector. It identifies activities that might be supported by the ITTO tohelp Trinidad and Tobago to achieve sustainable forest management. The mission was composed of four internationaland one national specialist covering the fields of forest policy and institutions, forest management, forest products and

processing, forest economics and biological diversity. The Forestry Department of Trinidad and Tobago provided themission with a warm welcome to their country and with extensive bacground material on forests and forestry in thecountry.

The mission spent two wees in December !""! in the field in Trinidad and Tobago and visited a large number of forest

areas sub#ect to different types of management and displaying the full range of forest conditions and problems. $e metmany persons representing the full range of staeholders with an interest in the forest sector. The Forestry Department placed staff and office facilities at the disposal of the mission and facilitated our field visits. The detailed report of themission, terms of reference, composition and itinerary are provided in the full report and its annexes.

OVERVIEW OF THE TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO FOREST SECTOR 1

The country of Trinidad and Tobago consists of two main islands, Trinidad %&,'!' sq. m.( and Tobago %ca )"" sq. m.(and a number of small islets, with a population of *.) million people %$orld +an $orld Development Indicators!""!(. Trinidad is traversed by three ranges of hills with its highest point in the northern range at -) m. These hillsseparate two areas of lowland terraces, alluvial plains and swamps. Tobago has a central ridge running for two thirds of the length of the island rising to /0 metres. The southern and western parts of the island are relatively flat.

Trinidad and Tobago are structurally part of the 1outh 2merican continent, to which they have been #oined in recentgeological times. Trinidad has mainly sedimentary whilst Tobago has a higher proportion of igneous rocs. The islandshave a humid tropical climate with a distinct dry season from 3anuary to 4ay. 5atural forests are mainly restricted tothe hilly country of both islands but there are also significant areas of swamp forest in Trinidad and patches of lowlandforest in less accessible areas in the lowlands. The last complete forest inventory was conducted by the Forest

Resources Inventory and Management section of the Forest Department in *-'", based on *-- aerial photographs.6ecent Forestry Division documents refer to !&',""" hectares of land covered by natural forest, with part of thisseriously degraded. *-!,""" ha of natural forest are designated state7owned forests the remaining /,""" ha of forestsare privately owned.

The state7owned forests are composed of )/ legally ga8etted forest reserves with a total area of *)*,&)" ha, and 'unproclaimed forest reserves totalling **,/" ha. Forest reserves may be managed for protection sustained yieldharvesting or may be converted for plantation forestry. In !""! there were */,&"" ha of forest plantations, some located

within the forest reserves and some on private land. There has recently been an expansion of forest plantationsestablished on private land.

2 total of 00," ha of the forest reserves are allocated for production forestry. Detailed forest resource information isavailable for */,""" ha managed under the 9block system9. These areas are divided into coupes of about !"" ha whichare selectively felled on a !/ 7 )" year rotation, principally for Mora excelsa. These areas are sub#ect to pre7logginginventories to mar trees destined for felling and post7harvest liberation thinning. The balance of the production foresthas been managed under the 9open range9 system where silvicultural management has been less intense. 4any of theseareas are seriously degraded.

Timber statistics show significant variation from year to year. This may be partly attributed to a high variation in theamount of timber that is imported for rough processing and then re7exported. :owever, discrepancies also exist

* 4uch of the information in this section of this report is summarised from a bacground commissioned by the ITTO Lackhan, N: Report on aspects of the management of the forestry resources of Trndad and Tobago! "##$! %npublshed

manuscrpt .

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between customs department data and those compiled by the forest department. This suggests that not all timber flowsare accurately captured in government statistics.

The most recent year for which complete figures exist is !""". In that year domestic log production is recorded as0*,--& m) %;achan, !""*(. Imports of sawn timber were !-,'"" m), with exports in the order of *""" m). The/,""" ha of private forest accounted for approximately half the production of industrial timber from natural forests in!""". The proportion of natural timber from private land in growing, while the production from plantations comesmainly from state land.

The country has a dispersed small scale processing and furniture maing industry. There are over '" sawmills, many of them only operated intermittently and many of them old and inefficient. There are large numbers of small furnituremaing worshops. +oth sawmill operators and furniture maers appear to be turning more towards imported timber 7mostly from <uyana, the =12 and >anada.

The country has en#oyed an oil boom in recent decades and this has inflated labour costs and created a growth inemployment opportunities in the industrial and service sectors. This has led to a severe shortage of labour for agriculture and tree crops and much of the export7oriented agriculture is now uncompetitive and many estates of sugar cane, cocoa and coffee have been abandoned. 1ome of the cocoa and coffee plantations are reverting to natural forest.?ven agriculture for local marets appears to have suffered and much land is now neglected. ?xtensive areas are nowcovered with scrub and grasslands, particularly in the less accessible parts of Trinidad. 1ome of the recent private

plantation initiatives have been in these degraded areas.

Trinidad %until */"" years ago( and Tobago %until **,""" to *),""" years ago( were connected to the 1outh 2mericancontinent. Trinidad is today separated from @ene8uela by only *" m of shallow sea. This has resulted in the islandretaining a more diverse continental fauna and flora than other, more isolated, >aribbean islands. The island thereforecombines much of the culture and charm that attracts tourists to its >aribbean neighbours, but is unique amongst theseislands in having an abundance of species of birds and other fauna and flora. This has led it to become a primedestination for eco7tourists from 5orth 2merica and ?urope. +ird7watching tours alone bring many tourists to theisland and supports the existence of a number of high price lodges. Forest7based eco7tourism may be the fastedgrowing source of forest7based income.

Forests in Trinidad fall under the control of the Forestry Department of the 4inistry of Aublic =tilities and the?nvironment. In Tobago the forests fall under an 2ssistant >onservator of Forests, who reports to the 1ecretary for 2griculture, ;and, 4areting, and the ?nvironment in the Tobago :ouse of 6epresentatives. The Director of Forestryin Trinidad is also the chief <ame $arden, responsible for wildlife conservation and protected areas. The Forestry

Department has a small but highly motivated staff, but has seen its recruitment curtailed in recent years and has suffereda decline in the numbers of its senior staff who have benefited from overseas education and training.

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The country has had a formal forest policy since *-&!. The cabinet approved a new policy in *--- but stipulated thatthere should be further public consultations before it is approved. The cabinet will further examine the policy when theconsultative process is complete.

The Nationa Fo!e"t St!ate#$

The staff of the Forest Department prepared a draft strategic plan in !""*. The cabinet has approved this plan sub#ect toa further round of public consultations. It includes an analysis of the forest sector and conveys a vision that isconsistent with ITTO <uidelines. It stresses the need for

• 2 broader ecosystem approach to forestry,

• 2ddressing the changing needs of staeholders,

• Developing collaborative management approaches with communities,

• ?xpanding the role of the private sector

• Focussing of biodiversity conservation needs and strengthening the protected area management capacity,

• $oring with non7governmental organisations,

• Improving and adapting the sills mix of the FD staff,

• Improving information on forest resources,

•

Improving the administrative efficiency of the FD.

The mission endorses the overall approach of the strategic plan and of the action plan that accompanies it. $e feel thatthe commitment to a number of strategic changes is particularly desirable.

• The commitment to thorough public consultations including public review of the strategic plan itself. This should

help not only to communicate the contents of the strategy, but also to secure the buy7in of the different staeholder groups whose support will be essential for the implementation of the strategy

• The issue of achieving a balance in future timber production between natural forests and plantations.

• The issue of the respective roles of the FD and the private sector in managing timber production forests.

• The intention to explore the full potential for collaborative management or community7based management.

• The recognition that the sills mix both for the training facility at ?>I2F and within the FD may need to be

changed in order to achieve the broad new vision of forestry portrayed in the strategy.

Inte!nationa a""i"tan%e to the Fo!e"t an& En'i!on(ent Se%to!"

The Forest sector has been sub#ect to a number of studies, the most notable recent one being a Natonal Forestry &cton

'rogramme %5F2A( produced with support from international consultants in *--!. The constraints to the achievementof forestry ob#ectives identified in that programme are similar to those identified in our present study. The 5F2Aidentified -* potential pro#ects for support by international donors to address the development needs of the forest sector.

5one of these pro#ects was ever funded. The following are some of the more recent internationally supported forestinitiatives in the country.

In *-0!, the <overnment initiated the 5orthern 6ange 6e7afforestation Aro#ect %566A( to reduce the incidence of flooding, erosion and landslides on the western portion of the 5orthern 6ange. This Aro#ect developed expertise in

nursery techniques, soil and water conservation and reforestation of degraded lands. 2 =5DABF2O Aro#ect entitledC%pper (atershed Management 'lannng for Trndad and Tobago prepared a land use classification for the country in*-'.

In *-'", with assistance from the >anadian International Development 2gency %>ID2(, a national forest inventory wascarried out. Invaluable though it was, this inventory was based on *-- aerial photography. It is therefore seriously outof date. There is now a great deal of uncertainty about the extent and condition of the forests of the country. 2 newnational forestry inventory is therefore urgently required.

2lso, in *-'" with assistance from The Organisation of 2merican 1tates %O21(, a plan for a 1ystem of 5ational Aarsand Other Arotected 2reas was completed. This Alan recommended a total of * units within The 1ystem Alan. Of thetotal, ' units were recommended as 5ational Aars, ' as 5atural ;andmars, *) as 1cientific 6eserves, *) as 5ature>onservation 6eserves, *) as 6ecreation Aars and as 1cenic ;andscapes. This represents approximately -,""" ha,

but a $orld +an 6eport has recommended that this area be increased to approximately *"",""" ha.

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THE CONDITION OF FOREST RESOURCES

The Forest 6esources Inventory and 4anagement section statistics state the areas of different forest types as follows

?vergreen seasonal forest -',*'"1emi7evergreen seasonal forest *),-)"Deciduous seasonal forest ),!"Dry evergreen forest /""1easonal montane forest -)"4ontane forest !*,!"1wamp forest *,0)"1econdary forests *,)"

Total *0!,*&"

>offee plantations -,!'- %*-'!(>ocoa plantations !',""" %*--'(

?xtent of different forest types in Trinidad and Tobago as quoted in the 5ational forest 2ction Arogramme *--! 7figures derived from +eard %*-&-(

There are extensive mangroves in coastal areas of Trinidad and one of these areas, the >aroni 1wamp, is listed under the 6amsar >onvention as a wetland of international importance. The 5ariva 1wamp $ildlife 1anctuary is also

proposed for inscription under the 6amsar >onvention. The mangrove areas have been sub#ect to pressures for conversion to agriculture in the past but these pressures appear to have diminished recently. 4angroves are notexploited for wood but could potentially be at ris from coastal oil spills.

There are widespread initiatives to establish small7scale tree plantations on private land. This tendency has acceleratedrecently as a result of an incentive programme launched by the government in *---. This scheme provides a cashsubsidy of /"E of the first year establishment costs of plantations on private land. The maximum grant payable is

TT*/"" per hectare and the minimum eligible area is * ha. '/" farmers have registered plantations with the ForestDepartment 7 at least in part in order to benefit from the incentive programme.

2s of late !""! incentive grants have been paid to )!& landowners in support of approximately !""" ha. of plantations.4any other farmers have also begun to plant trees at small scales but have not registered. One reason for the difficultyin establishing the true extent of these areas is that owners are only eligible for the incentive schemes if they have paidtheir land taxes 7 since land tax avoidance is widespread many people choose not to register

T!en&" in )o!e"t e*tent an& %on&ition 5o accurate information is available on trends in forest extent or condition.

There is considerable anecdotal evidence that there has been very extensive squatting on both state and private landsand that this trend has accelerated recently. The Forestry Department has only a wea mandate to expel squatters andthe 1ub7Intendent of 1tate ;ands and 1urvey Department whose #ob it is to regulate squatting have are under7staffedand have been reluctant to exercise their mandate. 2 move was made in the late *--"s, by a previous administration, to

regularise the status of long7term squatters by issuing 9;etters of >omfort9. These would have entitled the squatterseither to title to their land or to the benefits of a resettlement programme. This measure led to an expansion of speculative squatting by persons hoping to benefit by acquiring tenure or being resettled.

1everal Forest 6eserves have lost a significant proportion of their forest to squatters, the problem is especially seriouson the hills of the northern range where watershed protection functions are liely to be seriously compromised bysquatters who clear land on steep slopes. 1quatting may be the most serious threat to the sustainable development of the forests of Trinidad and needs urgent government attention. :owever the issue is apparently highly politicised.?ffective measures to address this problem would require co7ordinated action by a number of different governmentagencies and such inter7agency collaboration has been difficult to achieve.

1trip mining of sand and gravel has degraded forests in large areas of the Forest 6eserves especially along the southernfoothills of the 5orthern 6ange. The @alencia forest 6eserve in the 5$ >onservancy has been especially hard hit.

4ined areas are never rehabilitated and are abandoned to grasslands and scrub. They appear to be maintained in thisstate by fire. 2gain there is a problem of a lac of inter7departmental co7ordination. The 4inistry of ?nergy and 4ines

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awards leases without adequate consultation with the Forest Department 7 in addition many mines are illegal. +ut thecapacity and political will to bring this situation under control appears to be lacing.

4any forest areas are criss7crossed by oil and gas extraction infrastructure. ;arge numbers of small wells are located inthe forests and the pipelines that bring the produce of these wells to the coast form a dense networ within the forestareas. 6oads are maintained along the pipelines and to give access to the wells and these facilitate access to the forest.This access facilitates access for the forest department and for recreational visitors but it also provides access for hunters, illegal loggers, mari#uana cultivators and squatters. The actual area occupied by the oil and gas infrastructuredoes not constitute the ma#or problem 7 rather it is the secondary impacts of the ready access that this infrastructure

provides. Fires and oil spills associated with this infrastructure are a persistent problem.

=nsustainable forestry practices are also commonly blamed for forest degradation. The open range selection systemthat was widely applied in the past did result in a decline in abundance of high quality timber trees. =nder this systemfelling permits were allocated outside the framewor of a rigorous forest management plan. These forests now havevery little commercial timber and in addition they are said to have been more susceptible to other illegal activities. Itappears that the diminished Forestry Department presence once logging ceases renders these forests more susceptible toencroachment.

Trinidad is well nown in forestry circles for its bloc management system. This system has been applied for /"7"

years to some of the best7stoced forests of Mora e)celsa and some other species. +locs of up to !"" ha. of forestwere exploited on a !/7)" year cycle. )"E7/"E of the basal areas was extracted 7 roughly 7' trees per hectare. Theforests were sub#ect to a pre7logging inventory by the forest department and all trees destined for extraction weremared. ?xtraction permits were issued to a limited number of local licensees. The Forest Department carried out

post7logging liberation treatments ! years after logging. The Forest Department also established logging roads. ForestDepartment staff provided close supervision of all operations. The forests sub#ect to this management produced a 4I2of about 7' m).

The relatively short rotation cycle was #ustified because the principal commercial species, Mora tends to becomehollow at greater ages. The mission visited forests sub#ect to the bloc management system in the @ictoria 4ayaroForest 6eserve. The forests appeared well managed and well stoced. They supported considerable biodiversity. $edid however have some doubts as to the sustainability and the economic viability of the system given TrinidadGs highlabour costs and the relatively low royalties that were charged.

2 shelterwood system applied for about " years to the 2rena Forest 6eserve was also visited. This had successfullyled to the restocing with local and introduced commercial species of secondary forest that was spontaneouslyoccupying abandoned agricultural land. The forest was well stoced but logging has been suspended in *-'" becauseof pressure from environmental groups who believed the area should be set7aside for recreational use. It is to the creditof the Forest Department that they had succeeded in restoring forest on a seriously degraded site to the stage where itwas thought to merit conservation.

The periodic bloc management system in Trinidad is claimed by the Forest Department to be ecologically sustainable.It does appear to maintain a well7stoced forest with high environmental value. One difficult issue is whether thecombination of the relatively high cost of these systems combined with the increased value of natural forests for amenity and conservation purposes renders the forests unsustainable on economic grounds. The ultimate criterion will

be the relative value of timber from these forests compared to the value of equivalent timber imported from TrinidadGs

timber rich 1outh 2merican neighbours or timber grown in plantations either on state or private lands.

+!ote%te& a!ea", The ma#or legal category of protected area is the $ildlife 1anctuary. There are ** designated $ildlife1anctuaries in Trinidad and ! in on the offshore islets of Tobago. The total area of $ildlife 1anctuaries is somewhatover *0,""" ha almost all of which is located within Forest 6eserves. 1ome small 5ature 6eserves exist to conservespecific sites, they total less that *,""" ha. There are proposals to upgrade the status of some of the $ildlife 1anctuariesto 5ational Aars. The legislation to enable 5ational Aars to be established has not yet been passed by the parliament.In the meantime the term 95ational Aar9 appears in a number of reports and in some cases quite high areas of land aredescribed as being 5ational Aars. These references and figures appear to refer to areas that have at various times been

proposed for 5ational Aar status but have not been ga8etted.!

+antation", Alantations have been established since the mid7*-!"Hs, mainly monocultures of Tea % Tectona grands(and Aine % 'nus carbaea(. 4ore recently, mixed hardwood plantations have been established using >edar %*edrella

odorata(, >ypre %*orda allodora(, 4ahogany %+etena macrophylla( and 2pamate %Tabebua pentaphylla(. The total

! The ?42 1tate of the ?nvironment 6eport for *--0 gives an aggregate area of 5ational Aars of -,//" ha. The present figure quoted to us by the FD is *,"- ha. all of which falls within Forest 6eserves.

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area covered by plantations in !""* was */,&"" ha, of which -,*"" ha correspond to Tea, &,!"" ha to Aine and theremaining !,*"" ha to mixed hardwoods. The rate of establishment in ear !""* was very limited 0 ha of Tea, 0* haof Aine and /' ha of 4ixed :ardwoods.

The e*tent o) %o((e!%ia -antation )o!e"t"

S-e%ie" A!ea .ha/ Tea -,*""

Aine &,!""

4ixed :ardwoods !,*""

Tota */,&""

1ources !""* 2nnual 6eport of the Forestry Department.F2O <lobal Forest 6esource 2ssessment !"""F2O >ountry Information !""!.

T!ee" on Fa!(" an& A#!o)o!e"t!$, 2 significant proportion of the timber needs of the country is met from treesgrowing on farms. Trees on farms are also important sources of fodder, fruits and presumably other non7timber forest

products. The depressed state of the agricultural sector means that much former agricultural land is now under7used.1ome of this is reverting naturally to forest 7this is especially the case of abandoned cocoa estates. 4any farmers are

now planting trees on their farms and we saw examples of well maintained plantations of timber trees. The governmentsystem of subsidies for plantation establishment is contributing to this trend. Future forest assessments should givespecial attention to the timber resource present on private farmlands and to means to optimise this potential source of forest products.

Re#ato!$ %a-a%it$, Trinidad is divided into Forest >onservancies, each headed by an 2ssistant >onservator of Forests who are normally university graduates). >onservancies are divided into 6anges under the control of a Forester *. Forester * is the entry7level grade for graduates of the ?astern >aribbean Institute of 2griculture and Forestry%?>I2F(. Arogression to Forester ! and Forester ) is by seniority. The Forest Department at present has anestablishment of 0' Foresters grade *, * Foresters grade ! and *! Forester grade ). 2dditional regulatory capacity isfound in the staff of the $ildlife 1ection and the Fire =nit. 1ome of the above staff are deployed to non7regulatoryfunctions in other sections of the Forest Department. The density of regulatory staff is therefore considerably less than* officer per *""" ha. $e formed the strong impression that forestry staff were heavily concentrated in areas under

management for timber and that application of forestry regulations was much more effective in these areas thanelsewhere. $e received anecdotal reports that the forestry field staff received inadequate support from the police or the

#udiciary in the application of forest regulations.

Wate!"he& -!ote%tion, The original forest reserves in the country were largely established to protect watersheds. Thewell7nown example of the >entral 6idge Forest 6eserve in Tobago was established primarily to protect the watershedand is the oldest reserve of its ind in the $estern :emisphere. $atershed protection remains an important ob#ective of the forests on the hills of both islands. There is anecdotal evidence that water quality is declining as a result of thedegradation of the forests in the uplands. Flooding is reputed to be more frequent in some locations as a result of forestdestruction. Arudence would suggest that it would be advisable to maintain forest cover on steep slopes. The potentialsustainable yield of timber from the steeper slopes is low and the costs of sustainable forest management would be high.In addition the forests on steep slopes have considerable amenity and biodiversity value. 6estoration of forest cover ondegraded areas should also be encouraged. The ITTO 96estoration <uidelines9 could provide useful guidance for

reforestation efforts.

A(enit$ an& !e%!eationa 'ae" o) )o!e"t", The forests of both islands are becoming more and more significant for their amenity and recreational values. 6icher people are seeing to locate their homes in forested areas 7 in Tobagoforeigners are building houses on cleared areas within plots of forested land. The suburbs of Aort of 1pain areexpanding onto the forested hills to the 5orth and $est of the city. 4any people appear to tae advantage of recreational opportunities offered by forests and in several areas recreational hiers, cyclists and hunters use the pathsmaintained by the Forest Department. +ird watching is a ma#or motivation for foreign tourists visiting the islands. 2nyfuture assessment of the forest resources of the islands should evaluate amenity values and ensure that their contributionto the economy and social well7being of the islands is not compromised by forest clearing or forestry operations.

Fo!e"t" a" "o!%e an& "in" o) at(o"-he!i% %a!on, 2ccording to F2O, deforestation in Trinidad and Tobagoaccounted for the loss of approximately !,!"" ha of natural forests per year, or ".'E per year, during the period *--"7

!""" %F2O !""!(. This was attributed to over7exploitation, the expansion of agricultural, squatting, fires and housingdevelopment mainly as a result of population growth %4inistry of 2griculture, ;and and 4arine 6esources, *--'(.

) 2 shortage of graduates means that at present two >onservancies are headed by a Forester ).

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Deforestation accounts roughly for the emission of */",""" to !"",""" metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere eachyear. 2lthough significant, this is a modest amount compared to the approximately .! million tons of carbon emittedannually from the consumption of commercial energy. Trinidad and Tobago registers one of the highest levels of emissions of carbon dioxide per capita in the world. 2ccording to both the International ?nergy 2gency and The $orld+an, >O! emissions per capita reached *0.& metric tons per capita, significantly above the average for ;atin 2merica%!. 4TBcapita(, and nearly equivalent to that of the =nited 1tates %*-.' 4TBcapita(.

4ost carbon emissions are due to the high levels of commercial energy consumption in the country. 2ccording to bothInternational energy 2gency and The $orld +an, per capita energy consumption amounts to ,!"/ g of oilequivalents in *---, one of the highest in the world and significantly higher than those of countries with equivalentlevels of development %+ra8il *."', >olombia 0, @ene8uela !!/"(.

+otentia )o! %a!on "e3e"t!ation, Alanting for protection purposes is restricted to about /" hectares per year.:owever, if *,""" hectares of degraded land could be reforested per year, it would be possible to captureapproximately )./ million metric tons of >O! in the first !" years and *" million metric tons in &" years. This wouldhave a commercial value, at present prices, of /" million =1 dollars. This assumes the use of mixtures of species withan average growth rate of / 4T of >Byear during the first !" years and a current price of =1 =1 / per metric ton of >O!.

Bioo#i%a &i'e!"it$, Trinidad and Tobago has a rich flora and fauna but low levels of endemism for an island of itssi8e. It has somewhat over )/"" species of flowering plants of which about !E are thought to be endemic. :owever

successive taxonomic revisions are showing that specimens restricted to Trinidad and Tobago are often the same asspecies described under different names from continental 1. 2merica. 1everal species previously thought to be endemicare no longer recognised as such.

The system of ** $ildlife 1anctuaries was established in Trinidad between *-)& and *-'. Two of TobagoGs offshoreislands are also designated as $ildlife 1anctuaries. These, totalling about *0,""" ha. together with a number of small

5ature 6eserves, totalling less than *,""" ha. are the only areas specifically designated for biodiversity conservation.2n additional layer of protection was provided when, between *-'0 and *---, a number of 9Arohibited areas9 wereestablished under the Forests 2ct to prevent entry into sensitive areas at specific times of the year. This measure wasoriginally taen to protect nesting animals and to counter fire riss. This designation is now being used to strengthenthe protection of the Forest 6eserves in the north of Trinidad and for the $ildlife 1anctuaries. These totally protectedareas now cover an aggregate of *"",""" ha.&

& 2gain we have found it difficult to reconcile the figures for protected areas from different sources. Other estimatessuggest that the areas allocated to total protection are somewhat less than this.

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2 5ational AarGs 1ection is in the process of being established within the Forest Department and the term 5ationalAar is now used for some of the protected areas. :owever the enabling legislation for the establishment of 5ationalAars is still pending. One exception is the >haguaramas Aeninsula that is designated as a 5ational Aar under the>haguaramas Development 2ct. 2 ma#or study for the establishment of 5ational Aars and the creation of a 5ationalAars and $ildlife 2uthority was conducted with financial support from the $orld +an but has not been implemented.The prime candidate sites identified for 5ational Aar status in this study were the 4aracas and 4atura Forest 6eservesin Trinidad and the 4ain 6idge Forest 6eserve in Tobago. The >aroni and 5ariva swamps and the Trinity $ildlife6eserves are also mentioned as possible 5ational Aars. 2s well as being responsible for protected areas the $ildlife1ection of the Forest Department is responsible for issuing hunting licences and for the control of all hunting activities.

The Forest Department has at present only one senior staff member, the head of the $ildlife 1ection, who hasspecialised training in biodiversity conservation related matters. The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

notes the absence of a long7term strategy to address the information, training and management needs of this section.There are no programmes to inventory or monitor the biodiversity of the designated forest protected areas nor arespecific biodiversity management programmes in place.

$ith the exception of the coastal swamp forest protected areas the other reserves and sanctuaries appear to have beendesignated primarily for their landscape values rather than for any specific biodiversity value. There appears to beinsufficient information on which to evaluate the relative biodiversity values of the different forest areas. 4ost

protected areas are in the scenic hills where timber harvesting would conflict with watershed protection ob#ectives. Thelowland forests managed under the 99Aeriodic bloc system9 may well have biodiversity values equal to or greater thanthose of the designated reserves. The present low7intensity management of these forests is probably consistent with themaintenance of their biodiversity.

T!en&" in )o!e"t io&i'e!"it$, 4onitoring the trends in tropical forest biodiversity is notoriously difficult. Fewcountries are even close to cataloguing all their species and few have effective programmes to detect trends in speciesnumbers or status. Trinidad and Tobago is no exception. 2 floral inventory of the country is well advanced andinformation on highly visible groups such as birds and mammals is relatively complete. Information on lower plantsand invertebrates is limited.

The best indicators of biodiversity trends will be measures of forest loss and degradation. Thus the main threats toforest biodiversity are probably identical to the threats to forests themselves. >onversion of forest lands by squatters

and strip miners are clearly the main problem areas. >onversion of native forests to plantations clearly does not favour biodiversity. :owever we felt that the selective management systems applied to production forests were liely to beconducive to the maintenance of biodiversity. :owever, the progressive fragmentation of the forests is liely to pose athreat to biodiversity. The maintenance of corridors of forest along ecological gradients would be particularly desirablein order to maintain populations of species that mae seasonal movements or that are susceptible to climate change.

Co(-ian%e 4ith inte!nationa %o((it(ent", The achievement of biodiversity conservation ob#ectives consistentwith Trinidad and TobagoGs commitments under the >onvention on +iological Diversity and under its own?nvironmental Aolicy will require the retention of large areas of forest covering the diverse habitats found in different

parts of the country. To the extent possible it is desirable that these areas be contiguous to allow species to move andthat they include ecological gradients. <radients are important to allow for seasonal movements of animals and tocounter any impacts of climate change. Optimal biodiversity outcomes will therefore require that the entire 9forestlandscape9 be taen into account in planning protection programmes. $atershed protection and production forests will

play a vital role in complementing the strictly protected areas in providing continuous and extensive habitat for biodiversity.

The cloud forests on the higher hills, most notably on the 5orthern 6ange of Trinidad, are liely to be of especially high biodiversity value. >loud forests in general are rich in species, especially epiphytic plants. They are attractingconsiderable interest internationally as they are believed to be particularly susceptible to climate change. ;ittleinformation was located on the cloud forests of Trinidad and Tobago and they probably merit further study.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Forest account for nearly half of the national surface of Trinidad and Tobago. :owever, their apparent contribution tothe classical gross natonal product is insignificant. Forests are included as part of the agricultural sector, which

contributed only about !./E to <5A between *-'" and *-'' %6ef 5 Tropical Forestry Action Programme for Trinidad and Tobago, $--"(. The exclusion of environmental services form the standard measures of <5A, as well as theexclusion of added7value and the creation of #obs in the processing industry account for the apparent limitedcontribution of forests and forestry to the <5A.

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The %o(-etiti'ene"" o) -!o&%tion )o!e"t!$, Trinidad and Tobago produces modest quantities of industrial timber.>onsumption of wood products is complemented by significant imports of sawn timber, wood7based panels and paper

products mainly from the =1 and >anada. 5early all the production of industrial roundwood is converted into sawntimber, supplying about half of national consumption. The difference %)",""" 4) in the year !"""( is imported. Theconsumption of wood based panels %0,""" 4) in the year !"""(, pulp %',""" metric tons( and paper %0",""" metric tonsin the year !"""( is supplied by imports. In the year !""", Trinidad and Tobago registered a deficit of nearly 0" million=1 dollars in its international trade of wood products.

Nat!a )o!e"t", 2ccording to F2O, in the year !""" forests covered about !/-,&"" ha, of which natural forestsaccount for !&',""" ha and plantations for */,&"" ha %F2O Forest resource 2ssessment !"""(. The Forestry Divisionreport on Arogress towards the achievement of ITTO Ob#ective !""" refers to a natural forest cover of !&',""" ha, of which 00.&E is state owned %*-!,""" ha(, and !!.E is privately owned %/,""" ha(.

The e%ono(i% 'iaiit$ o) -antation", 4ost existing plantations are state owned, although an incentive system for the establishment of industrial plantations was recently introduced by the Forestry Division to encourage the

participation of the private sector. In principle, the incentives account for half the cost of establishment %TT *,/"" per hectare( and the supply of seedlings. Despite these efforts, the total area of privately owned forest plantations remainsinsignificant.

Tea was first introduced in *-*) in the *entral Range Reserve and in the 1outhern $atershed %.uarry Road

Alantation( using Tenasserm seeds from 4yanmar %former +urma(.+y *--& there were over -,"/" ha of tea plantations in Trinidad. This has changed little since then, reaching -,*"" ha in !""*. 4ost have beenestablished in areas originally under natural forests5

Tanteak %Trndad and Tobago Forest 'roducts *ompany Lmted ( is a state company established in *-0, with amonopoly over the harvesting, processing and mareting of both tea %Tectona grands( and pine % 'nus carbbaea (from state7owned plantations. It went out of business in !""*. It allegedly failed because of corruption, lac of management sills, overstaffing, poor logistics and unsuitable mareting abilities. Tantea paid a royalty of *. TTdollars per hp.ft %about =1 0./Bm)(, based on the +tate Lands Forest 'roduce Rules of *--".

2ccording to the National Forest Plan , *"" 7 */" ha of tea should be planted per year until a target of */,""" hectaresis reached in )" years. 1uch a plan is intended to guarantee an increase in supply from &",""" m)Byr to about-",""" m) per year. 5onetheless, a review of the economic feasibility of tea plantations should tae place

before such an expansion program is implemented. The high production costs, slow rates of growth, erosion of soils and low royalties will limit the economic viability of such schemes. In reality due to financial constraints,

practically no replanting of tea has taen place for more than *" years. The Forestry Department seems

dependent on coppice and germination after clearfelling as the basis for the second rotations.

>omparison of the theoretical yield and actual yield over the period *-''7*--) revealed a &)E shortfall in the production of tea. The considerable discrepancy between pro#ected and actual levels of production are partly due to

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lower growth rates than expected, limitations of the Forestry Department to comply with originally established thinningand clearfelling schedules, and illicit removals that are not reflected in official production statistics.

2 *--& F2O reports refers to illicit removals of tea as follows The theft of teak has assumed chronc and scandalous

proportons! It s clear that the Forestry Department, for hatever reason, has not demonstrated a capablty to

secure the naton/s teak forest resources0 %6ef. Trinidad and Tobago 7 ?valuation of commercial forest plantation resources. ?den 1hand, F2O national consultant. October *--&(.

2 significant wealth is building up in the form of baclogged harvestable plantations of Tea, while the governmentattempts to restructure Tantea as a private company, including the management and control of both Tea andAine resources now under the control of the Forestry Department. This decision is in agreement with theconditions of a =1 / million loan from the *arbbean Development 1ank for new equipment and managementassistance. The government of Trinidad and Tobago has signed a memorandum of understanding with the +ritish*ommonealth Development *orporaton for the implementation of these decisions. ?xisting tea plantationsare estimated to have the capacity to produce over )",""" 4) of industrial timber per year, with a commercialvalue of over =1 / million per year in the form of logs.

Aine plantations % 'nus carbaea ( have been established since *-/. +y the year !""" there were approximately &,!""hectares of >aribbean pine plantations in the country %F2O !""!(. From three to four thinning operations are scheduled

for Aine plantations, depending on height classes. The final thinning taes place at year !" or !/, and clearfelling at age)". In practice, however, pine plantations have not been thinned and clearfelling has yielded sub7quality saw7logs.

The royalty system does not provide the necessary returns to the <overnment of Trinidad and Tobago to encouragefurther plantation investment.

The 5ational Forest 6esource Alan refers to future planting programs lined to the area clearfelled %*"" haByr(, plus anexpansion program of !"" haByr until a target of 0,/"" ha is reached in about !" years. =nder such a scenario, thetheoretical production of pine logs would increase from )/,""" m)Byr to about ",""" m)Byr.

5onetheless, the development of pine plantations is considerably below original expectations, with a potential production capacity below !",""" m) per year of low quality timber.

2 review of the economic feasibility of pine plantations should tae place before such an expansion program is

implemented, considering the high productions costs, slow rates of growth, low royalties and low maret pricesin place. 2ccording to the +tate Lands Forest 'roduce Rules of *--", royalties for Aine amount to TT *.&/ per hoppus foot %=1 .0 B4)(.

So%ia i""e", Forestry in Trinidad and Tobago is beset effective lobbying by constituencies with widely divergent andrapidly changing perceptions of what constitutes good forestry and what is preferred as a use of forest land. 2nemerging environmental movement rooted in the middle classes is actively lobbying against monoculture plantationsand logging in natural forests. ?ntrepreneurs are exerting political pressure to prevent any limitations on their encroachment on forestland for real estate development. Aoorer people 7 and some not so poor 7 are squatting onforestland and clearing it for agriculture and house construction. 4eanwhile owners of sawmills and timber merchantsare lobbying to be allowed to manage state forests independently of Forest Department regulation. These stronglyarticulated and sometimes conflicting demands are a reflection of the challenges of multi7staeholder forestmanagement that are emerging in many countries. 2nd, as in many other countries the forest Department lacs the

authority and in some cases the sills to resolve some of the problems. The problems caused by the different categoriesof squatting are the most serious as they could lead to the irrevocable loss of forest cover. One of the ma#or challengesfor the Forest Department for the coming years will be to reconcile these conflicting demands and ensure that the forestestate of the country meets the needs of all the divergent interest groups.

CRITICAL ISSUES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELO+MENT OF FOREST RESOURCES

+oi%$ an& Le#a F!a(e4o!, E*i"ten%e o) a F!a(e4o! o) La4"6 +oi%ie"6 an& Re#ation" to Go'e!n Fo!e"t

U"e In *-&! Trinidad and Tobago adopted the first forest policy for the sustainable management of a permanent forestestate. 2 revision was made in *-'* to tae into account the significant social, economic, political and technologicalchanges, which had taen, place in the country since *-&! but it was never adopted by <overnment. 2 further revisiontoo place in *--' and while >abinet has approved it <overnment has not formally adopted it. The absence of an

agreed strategy and policy for the forest sector is a source of uncertainty for the FD and weaens its operationalcapacity. Thus, whilst we strongly endorse the need for further public debate of forest issues we also see a need toconclude this process reasonably quicly so that the role and mandate of the FD is clear and it is seen to have stronggovernment support.

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The e"tai"h(ent an& "e%!it$ o) -e!(anent )o!e"t e"tate, The process of survey, demarcation and legal proclamation of Forest 6eserves commenced in *-"* and was completed in *-*. This resulted in )/ legallyconstituted Forest 6eserves and ' unproclaimed Forest 6eserves. In most cases, the 6eserves were established to serve

both production and protection purposes. Arotection forests include all areas above the -"m contour, pars, wildlifesanctuaries, nature reserves, dams and wind belts within Forest 6eserves. :owever parts of the designated permanentforest estate no7longer support forest cover and important forest resources exist on abandoned agricultural or estate cropland which is not classified or managed as forest. The designations and status of all forest resources need to be updated.

The %ont!o o) en%!oa%h(ent ."3attin#/, ?ncroachment %squatting( for shifting agriculture by unemployed, landless people to grow a range of short7term crops has escalated to alarming proportions in the country. 2n internal ForestryDepartment report in !""* entitled C1quatting in Forest 6eserves, Arohibited 2reas and $ildlife 1anctuaries estimatedthat in *--& approximately **,/-) ha or ' percent of forest cover had been removed illegally.

=nder the Forests 2ct, forest officers can only charge an offender for felling trees in 1tate ;ands or Forest 6eserves.They have no authority to e#ect them since this authority lies with the >ommissioner of 1tate ;ands %Director of 1urveys(. 2s such reports of squatting are routinely sent to the Director of 1urveys who would assign his officers toevict the squatters. If this fails, as it normally does, the matter is taen to >ourt and this may tae many years to bedetermined. The FD needs to be given a clearer mandate and strong political support in order to address the issue of

squatting on forest lands.

La% o) in)o!(ation on )o!e"t !e"o!%e" 2lthough the Forest Department has a cadre of well7qualified staff, it ishampered in its wor by the absence of information on forest resources. It suffers especially from

• $ea statistical data bases

• ;ac of up to date land cover information

• ;ac of information on timber stocs

• ;ac of information on forest biodiversity

• ;ac of information on non7timber forest products

• ;ac of information on watershed functions

There is an urgent need to update this information and to establish a permanent system for the assessment andmonitoring of all forest resources.

The in&"t!ia in)!a"t!%t!e i" ot&ate& an& !eati'e$ ine))i%ient. There are particular problems with

• Over7capacity of saw mills

• Outdated processing equipment

• The failure to capture the potential value added from processing of all forest products but especially of plantation

tea.

• 2 lac of capacity to enhance the human resource base in all aspects of forest7based industries and especially in

wooden furniture production and mareting.The potential to achieve value added and to maintain and create employment in the forest7processing sector is far from

being realised. Further studies may be needed to identify the obstacles to improving the performance of the processingsector. There is a need to create conditions that favour an efficient and innovative private sector.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Fo!e"t De-a!t(ent nee&" to &i'e!"i)$ the "i" (i* o) it" "ta))6 in%!ea"e the n(e! o) "ta)) at te%hni%a an&

-!o)e""iona e'e"6 an& i(-!o'e it" in)o!(ation %oe%tion an& (ana#e(ent )n%tion" an& it" aiit$ to (ana#e

)inan%ia an& othe! !e"o!%e". 2 fundamental problem is that many of the benefits that Trinidad and TobagoGs peoplerequire from their forests are of a public7goods nature. Their production will not generate royalties or revenues for thestate. The capacity of the Forest Department to meet the new demands being place upon it will be difficult if increasedfunding is not available. $e support proposals for The Forest Department to develop a degree of financial autonomyand an ability to generate revenues. :owever we also emphasise that the FD will continue to require public sector funding at higher levels than those that it has en#oyed in recent years if it is to meet current challenges.

The potential of the forest sector will not be realised unless the e'e o) -oiti%a "--o!t -!o'i&e& to the Fo!e"t

De-a!t(ent i" #!eat$ in%!ea"e&. In particular the Department needs to be given political support in order to enforceforest regulations. The latter tas will be greatly facilitated if appropriate collaborative arrangements can be developed

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ITTC%&&&I'(/)Pa 1*

with the private sector and local communities. This could lead to a greater support for forestry programmes from civilsociety.

In conclusion the mission identified the following specific issues requiring attention

* The mission reviewed the draft Forest Policy and draft Strategic Plan for the Forestry epartment . The missionsupports the vision of forestry outlined in these documents. The following specific issues emerging from thesedocuments need particular attention

• The decision to move from timber management to an integrated approach to forest resources management should

be implemented vigorously.

• $e strongly support the need to develop a longer term vision for the forest sector and in particular to establish the

balance to be sought between production forestry and forest conservation. 1pecial attention needs to be given to theextent to which future timber needs will be met from imports, natural forest management, state owned and operated

plantations, private plantations, and co7management schemes on public or private lands

! The Fo!e"t De-a!t(ent has a long and distinguished tradition of good forest management, but it no4 "))e!" )!o(

a n(e! o) in"tittiona an& -oi%$ 4eane""e" . 4any of these problems can only be resolved through action at ahigher political level, for instance

• The draft forest policy must be sub#ect to public scrutiny, adapted if necessary and given government approval.

• The weanesses in inter7agency co7operation must be addressed. In particular the problems of strip mining andsquatting must be addressed at governmental level.

• The restrictions on recruitment and advanced training must be relaxed in order to enhance qualifications and

number of Forest Department staff

• 4echanisms for better communityBcivil society involvement in and ownership of forest programmes must be

instituted.

• 2dequate funding for forest programmes must be allocated from central budgets.

) St!ate#i% ana$"i" an& a%tion" a!e nee&e& to i(-!o'e the %o(-etiti'ene"" o) the )o!e"t "e%to!5 In the futureforests are liely to be in greater demand for their environmental and amenity values and less for timber. :owever timber production could still remain a significant economic activity. In order to enhance the prospects for the timber sector several measures need to be taen

•

The competitiveness of timber from natural forest management vis J vis imports needs to be examined. 5aturalforest timber is only liely to be competitive in niche marets or for local consumption.

• The efficiency of plantation management must be increased.

• >ertification should be promoted in order to support sustainable forest management.

• Aroduction of quality products from plantation tea should be promoted.

• 1trategies to encourage an innovative and efficient private industrial sector should be developed.

& G!eate! e))o!t" a!e !e3i!e& in (ea"!e" to -!ote%t io&i'e!"it$. This resource is emerging as having hithertounappreciated values and is now the focus of a rapidly expanding sector of the tourist industry. Aarticular issues are

• 1trengthening the human resources of the Forest Department in all issues of protected area and species

management.

• >larifying the legal status of potential areas and securing definitive government rulings on the numerous proposals

that have been put forward for expanding and improving the management of protected areas.• Obtaining better information on the biodiversity values of managed forests and plantations and developing

management techniques that favour biodiversity in these forests.

/ Rehaiitation o) &e#!a&e& )o!e"t" an& !e"to!ation o) )o!e"t on &e#!a&e& an&" should become higher priorityissues for the Forest Department in the future. 4uch of the forest estate of the country is now poorly stoced or has itsenvironmental values depleted by mismanagement. 6estoration and rehabilitation should focus first on removing thecauses of forest decline and should be firmly rooted in multi7staeholder consultations to ensure that the results of restoration and rehabilitation yield forests that meet the diverse needs of society. The recent ITTO guidelines for therestoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary forests offer much valuable advice in this area.The potential of degraded lands to be used for carbon sequestration forestry should be further explored.

There is an urgent need )o! (%h ette! in)o!(ation on the )o!e"t !e"o!%e a"e an& )o! a !i#o!o" "$"te( )o!

(ana#in# thi" in)o!(ation. 1uch a system must provide for the continuous monitoring of all categories of forestresources. Thus inventories should not focus exclusively on timber resources but should give much greater attention toforest environmental values. Information is especially required on

• Information to support a broad ecosystem approach to forest management

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ITTC%&&&I'(/)Pa 1

• The boundaries, area, standing timber crop and 42I for all categories of forest lands

• The extent and location of degraded land or under7used agricultural land with forest potential

• The evaluation of amenity and recreational values of forests and their contribution to the economic and social

wellbeing of the islands

• The status and distribution of biodiversity

• The location and status of critical watershed areas

• Information to support the conservation and management of mangroves

The collection of this information would require considerable strengthening of the capacity of the Forestry Division toconduct ground surveys in the existing forest estate coupled with remote sensing and <I1 capacity to determine areas of ma#or encroachment and areas of degraded land and under7used agricultural lands.

0 The FD needs to enhance its capacity to deal with multi7staeholder negotiations, resolve conflicts and exploreopportunities for #oint or co7management of forest resources both on state lands, private lands and in and around

protected areas. The capacity to manage ecotourism programmes %recreational hunters, cyclists, bird watchers, hiersetc( so as to enhance the overall value of natural forests managed for timber and protection is a priority.

' The FD needs to build a constituency for forests and forestry. This will be achieved through the staeholder

consultations outlined above, through demonstration of the values of forest resources, their contribution to nationalwelfare and through campaigns to raise public and political awareness.

- 2ll of the above measures will require strengthening of the Forestry Department, both in numbers and sill7diversityof staff and in the availability of operating funds. 4easures will be needed to improve the incentives and rewardsavailable to FD staff for successful achievement of their mission.

*" It is the conclusion of the mission that the ITTO <uidelines contain many of the elements needed to achievesustainable forest resources development in Trinidad and Tobago and that the <uidelines should form the conceptualframewor for future development of the sector.

ITTO i" the!e)o!e en%o!a#e& to n&e!tae a -!o7e%t in T!ini&a& an& Toa#o that 4o& -!o'i&e a--!o-!iate

"--o!t to "t!en#then the %a-a%it$ o) the Fo!e"t De-a!t(ent to %a!!$ ot a (ti8"taeho&e!6 (ti8!e"o!%e

a""e""(ent o) )o!e"t". Initially this will require a careful examination of the ITTO <uidelines by the FD staff with thehelp of outside facilitators. >ommunication tools and strategies for promoting wide understanding and adoption of theguidelines will be needed. This should be followed by support for the a&a-tation an& a--i%ation o) the ITTO

Gi&eine" through convening three worshops 7 ! in Trinidad and * in Tobago 7 to explain, promote and see inputsfor the adaptation of the ITTO <uidelines to the conditions of the country. The information from the above worshopsshould provide the framewor for improved multi7resource assessments of the forests of the country. The worshopsshould be used to see public input to further define information requirements for sustainable forest management. Theoverall ob#ective should therefore be to enhance the capacity of the FD to wor with civil society to conserve andmanage forests in ways that are consistent with the ITTO <uidelines.

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ITTO Forestry Report 2003.Doc.....Use as a Guidelines

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Transcript of ITTO Forestry Report 2003.Doc.....Use as a Guidelines