Bush Maco Trinidad & Tobago and a new Wildlife Policy for T&T

The following announcement  comes from the Bush Maco website. A new effort to document, track and share your Trinidad &  Tobago nature sightings. Bush Maco is just starting out, so they need your support and feedback. Many people can document much more than just one or two can. This is the power of citizen science. Your observations will be used to track the natural cycles of animal and plant species.

Fantastic news for wildlife in Trinidad and Tobago....the Wildlife Policy has been approved by Cabinet! Well done to the hardworking team who wrote it and to all the members of public who contributed to improving this policy through the public consultations!The National Wildlife Policy was formally approved by Cabinet in December, 2013. A Draft Wildlife Policy was developed for Trinidad and Tobago by a Cabinet-appointed Technical Committee and was made available to the general public for comment and public consultations were held during the period January to March, 2013 throughout Trinidad and in Tobago. Additionally, The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources facilitated special meetings for major stakeholders to elicit views and recommendations on the Draft Policy.

These comments were then reviewed and used to revise the Draft by the Technical Advisory Committee. Once final adjustments were made, the Draft Policy was sent to Cabinet for consideration and on December 19, 2013 Cabinet adopted the National Wildlife Policy for Trinidad and Tobago.

The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, the Forest Division and the Tobago House of Assembly express gratitude to all those who participated and contributed to the process of finalising the Policy and as such, enhancing the policy framework for the sustainable management of wildlife resources of the country.  Development of an appropriate legislation and administrative framework for the implementation of the Wildlife Policy is currently underway.

Summary of the National Wildlife Policy

The Wildlife Policy provides guidance on the sustainable management of undomesticated animals and plants, whether introduced, resident or migratory, their parts or derivatives, and their habitats. It addresses issues related to endangerment and provides guidance on the management of threatened species. It also addresses key policy issues on the management of game species, wildlife habitat and the engagement of civil society in the management of wildlife.

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