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STUDYING RAREST BIRD IN THE BAHAMAS WITH LESS than 260 remaining on a single island, the Bahama Oriole is the rarest bird in The Bahamas - and one of the rarest in the world. To inform conservation efforts, the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) is working with University of Maryland scientists to gather vital information on the endangered species. Of the six endemic bird species found in the Bahamas, the Oriole is the most threatened. It once lived on Abaco as well, but disappeared from that island in the 1990s. It has a black head and body with yellow underparts. “Previous studies indicated that the Oriole relied on coconut trees for nesting, and was in serious decline because these trees were dying from lethal yellowing,” according to BNT Science and Policy Director Shelley Cant-Woodside. “The current research is key to understanding the biology of this amazing species. We now know that the Bahama Oriole is not completely reliant upon coconut trees, but uses other trees in residential areas and in the pine forest. This is an important find if we want to ensure a secure future for this very rare bird.” Research on the Oriole was last conducted in 2011. The current University of Maryland team is led by Dr Kevin Orland. Their work is funded by the American Bird Conservancy, a Virginia-based group that promotes bird conservation throughout
the Western Hemisphere. The current research aims to survey populations of Bahama Oriole on Andros; determine the number of nesting pairs in residential and forested areas; confirm whether coconut trees are the preferred nesting tree; and capture the basic biology of the species, including food sources and predators. The researchers are also training Bahamians in field research and promoting a wider appreciation of this rare bird, which is threatened by forest fires, logging, introduced diseases, invasive species, and the potential effects of climate change in terms of sea-level rise and changes in habitat. Latie Smith and Lehron Rolle, two participants in the BNT’s ongoing bird guide training programme, are working with the Oriole researchers on Andros. The bird guide programme is a joint venture with the National Audubon Society to train Bahamians as nature guides. Recent College of the Bahamas graduate Shannan Yates and BNT Science Officer Scott Johnson are also helping the researchers to band birds so as to track their movements. “A lot of work still needs to be done,” Ms Cant said, “but through partnerships like this, coupled with local stakeholder involvement, more reliable information will be obtained to help improve conservation measures.”
A BLACK-Cowled Oriole nesting in a thatch palm on Flamingo Cay in North Andros. Photograph: Carlton Ward Jr.
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A LEADING environmentalist has praised Kenred Dorsett after his ministry’s announcement this week of the launch a Youth Environmental Corps training up to 1,200 young people for jobs in the blue and green economies in the Bahamas. Save The Bays Chairman Joe Darville described the initiative yesterday as “one of the most exciting, practical, important and useful programmes I have ever heard of any government proposing”. A retired educator who spent nearly half a century in various posts from counsellor to headmaster and organised Youth Environmental Ambassadors following his retirement, Mr Darville said the proposed programme “is a perfect marriage between the demands for skilled environmental manage-
ment with the need for job training. Save The Bays, along with other advocacy groups including Waterkeeper Alliance, have long called for an understanding that it is not the economy or the environment but the economy and the environment that will lead to sustainable development and quality of life for all of us. The Youth Environmental Corps is a programme that fully recognises the economy and the environment go hand-in-hand.” Mr Dorsett announced details of the five-year plan aimed at tackling unemployment among those aged between 17 and 40 while providing jobs leading to a better environment. The Youth Environment Corps will work in conjunction with the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), the Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority and the
Forestry Unit in the Ministry of the Environment. Mr Darville invited the government to extend its partnerships to include Save The Bays, whose Youth Environmental Ambassadors programme in Grand Bahama has already certified and graduated more than 100 participants. “We would be delighted to work with government and with the Environment Minister’s programme in both establishing the needs and managing the day-to-day requirements of creating and maintaining a beautiful environment whether it is on land, in the wetlands or at sea,” he said. Among the key projects mentioned by Mr Dorsett is the proposed new Lake Killarney National Park and the National Hero’s Garden. If the Lake Killarney park is approved, it will include nearly 20
acres of walking trails and boardwalks. In the past, the ‘big lake’ in the centre of New Providence has been maintained by avid seasonal hunters who manage and respect the mangroves and strive to keep the lake in its most natural state. If the park is approved, the lake will be available for kayaking, swimming and snorkelling. The Hero’s Garden will be located inside the Botanical Gardens, Chippingham. “The Youth Environmental Corps will help to reduce the economic gap and enhance our ability to protect and manage these resources,” said Mr Dorsett, referring to the many national parks the BNT manages and the local parks and beaches that are the responsibility of the recently-created Parks and Beaches Authority.
NEW SHARK SANCTUARIES IN CARIBBEAN
THE Caribbean boasts two new shark sanctuaries as the Cayman Islands and St Maarten on Wednesday declared their territorial waters covering some 49,190 square miles closed to all commercial shark fishing. During a three-day shark conservation meeting in the Dutch Caribbean country of St Maarten, the popular diving destinations announced protected areas for the endangered marine predators along with officials from Pew Charitable Trusts and billionaire ocean advocate Richard Branson. The two new protected areas for sharks in the Caribbean brings the global number to 14, according to Pew, a Philadelphia-headquartered non-profit organisation. Half of the protected zones for sharks are now in the Caribbean. And the islands of Grenada and Curacao are vowing to pass legislation to create sanctuaries in their waters as well. Virgin Group founder Branson applauded the Caribbean governments for creating new protected areas and encouraged other nations and territories to follow suit to establish a region-wide shark sanctuary. “The bold action taken by Caribbean governments to fully protect sharks in their waters is truly commendable,” Mr Branson said. Pew said other regional shark and ray sanctuaries have been created in the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Honduras, Saba and Bonaire. Luke Warwick, director of Pew’s global shark conservation campaign, said sharks play a critical role in maintaining the health of marine ecosystems. He said catching the top predators for their fins, liver oil, cartilage and other parts can have serious impacts on “more commercially significant fish species and the overall health of the marine environment”. “Sharks pose little danger to humans, but they do support profitable dive and snorkel tourism worldwide wherever they are still found in significant numbers,” Mr Warwick said. Roughly 100 million sharks are killed every year.