Background
© UNESCO / Jacob Bock
(North-east Tobago UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Stock Footage Database)
The UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme
The global Man and the Biosphere Programme promotes solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use. They are learning areas for sustainable development under diverse ecological, social, and economic contexts.
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As all global Biosphere Reserves, our North-east Tobago UNESCO Biosphere Reserve has the goal to harmonise:
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conservation of biological and cultural diversity, with
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green economic development, and
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social improvements, and
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sharing our experiences through research and networking with our global partners.
Biosphere Zoning
Our Biosphere Reserve consists of three areas or zones:
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The core zone are our legally protected areas: the Main Ridge Forest Reserve, Little Tobago, and St Giles in which human activity is strictly limited and where monitoring of conservation priorities take place.
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In the buffer zone, which is between the protected areas and the villages, “soft” activities such as, ecotourism, sustainable agriculture and fishing, education and training are strongly encouraged.
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The transition zone contains all villages, roads and infrastructure from Belle Garden to Charlotteville to Moriah.
Here, agricultural, tourism, cultural performances, and commercial activities synonymous with human settlement take place.
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It is important to note that the designation as a Biosphere Reserve is not a legal process; being a Biosphere Reserve did not change any laws applicable to the people living in Tobago.
Site Description
North-east Tobago is Trinidad & Tobago’s most iconic conservation landscape; the area’s rare and largely intact Caribbean Island Ridge-to-Ocean landscape, its biodiversity, range of ecosystems, and special-interest species are significant on a regional and global scale.
Designated 2020 as a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve and covering over 835 square kilometres, North-east Tobago encompasses three protected areas, one of which is the oldest protected tropical forest reserve in the world (the first Natural National Heritage Site of the country), a multitude of proposed Cultural National Heritage Sites, a planned Marine Protected Area of coral reefs and open ocean, three Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and 15 communities which are home to approximately 10,000 residents with a rich historical and cultural heritage.
This cultural heritage is a living example for the region’s deeply rooted, historical, socio-economic and spiritual relationship between communities and natural resources; and decades of regionally outstanding educational, research, and networking activities.
Tobago Biosphere Management Alliance
The Tobago Biosphere Management Alliance (TOBIMA), is a multi-sectoral Non For Profit Organisation, incorporated in Trinidad and Tobago on 18 April 2023.
This organisation is envisaged to be the implementing organisation for the North-east Tobago UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve. The management of the Biosphere Reserve by a NGO was agreed upon by an Executive Council Note in September 2017 and confirmed through various stakeholder consultations between 2019 and 2022.
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The Institutional and Corporate Governance Framework for TOBIMA was established in 2023 with funding of the IDB Invest (Inter-American Development Bank) and meets all required international standards.
TOBIMA consists of a Stakeholder Council which represents the interests of Government, NGOs, and the Private Sector, a Board, consisting of technical experts, an executive Programme Management Unit, and implementing partners (NGOs, THA Departments and Private Sector) that get all necessary resources to implement projects in our communities.
Main Objectives
To successfully facilitate, communicate, coordinate, and co-manage interventions regarding regenerative development, research, capacity building, education, and networking on landscape, human- and eco-system levels for the benefit of North-east Tobago’s cultural and natural heritage, communities, and people.
Main Strategy
Further Information:
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