The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is a Small Island Developing State and as such, faces much vulnerability with respect to climate change and sea level rise. Hence, planning in the coastal zone is a key area of interest for the islands sustainable development in this era of built development. As a result of built development and development along the coast, the practise of land reclamation has caused the removal of wetland vegetation which is an essential part of the coastal zone. Considering the physical definition of the coastal zone as described by Wade and Webber (2002) as the ridge to reef concept as well as supporting content from authors such as Cicin-Sain and Knetch (1998), the removal of such a crucial part of the coastal zone model triggers imbalances in every other part of the model thus providing the underlying reason for conducting this change analysis and site suitability analysis to demonstrate the use of GIS in resolving the issue of finding suitable areas for development instead of land reclamation. The following papers, reports, and articles attempt to outline the importance of preserving and monitoring the change that has occurred with the wetland vegetation in Trinidad and Tobago, over the time period 1990-2014 in the light of sustainable development.
Timeline
The following papers are the past studies that were done on wetland vegetation change analysis and one site selection analysis which was done in Trinidad and Tobago. In 2005, the Thematic Study on Mangroves, Trinidad and Tobago Country Profile published by the Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations the writers utilised regression analyses; and spectral imagery along with GIS technology to obtain past and c...
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... Country Profile." In Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 edited by M.L Wilkie: Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations., 2005.
Wade, B.; Webber, D. "Coastal Zone Management." Chap. 8 In Natural Resource Management for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean Edited by Ivan Goodbody and Elizabeth Thomas-Hope, edited by Ivan Goodbody, Elizabeth M. Thomas-Hope and Inc NetLibrary, 428-64. Barbados: Barbados : Canoe Press, 2002.
Walton, Mark E., Lewis Le Vay, Junemie H. Lebata, Joseph Binas, and Jurgenne H. Primavera. "Assessment of the Effectiveness of Mangrove Rehabilitation Using Exploited and Non- Exploited Indicator Species." Biological Conservation 138, no. 1 (2007): 180-88.
Wen, Ya-li, Fang-miao Hou, and Gerrit Hazenberg. "Institution, Legislation and Policy Analysis of China’s Wetland Protection." For. Stud. China 7, no. 4 (2005): 55-60.
Wright, David, Heather LaRocca, and Grant DeJongh. "Global Problems." The Amazonian Rainforest: Forest to Farmland? The University of Michigan, 2007. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
Walker, Robert, and William Solecki. "Theorizing Land-Cover and Land-Use Change: The Case of the Florida Everglades and Its Degradation." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 94.2 (2004): 311-28. JSTOR. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Galveston Island is a barrier island formed during the Holocene after a major glacial melt. Since that time, the island has changed in size and geographic location based on numerous factors including sediment availability and various hydrodynamic reasons. The island also suffers from erosion due to major storms, like hurricanes, as well as other natural disasters. Much effort has been put in place to reduce the amount of erosion and/or migration, including a seawall and jetties. These efforts are not 100% effective and while the island will continue to transform; with human intervention, we hope to mitigate this change to a minimum.
FAO: State of the World's Forests. Rome: Food and Agriculture Office of the United Nations; 2007. Print.
Over the past 100 years the Louisiana coastline has suffered greatly from biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors. The abiotic factors include things such as hurricanes or overnutrition that influence the surrounding biota. The biotic factors that contribute to coastal erosion are things like the immigration invasive species and the emigration or extinction of local flora and fauna that help preserve the wetlands. Additionally, there are anthropogenic factors such as pollution that can have strong negative influences on the abiotic and biotic factors of the wetlands. Each one of these factors cause ecological disturbances to the wetlands at a frequency and intensity that is unmanageable for the local flora and fauna. There are currently certain measures that are being taken into consideration to slow or stop the erosion of the Louisiana coastline.
Human activity is one of the leading causes of the disappearance of coastal wetlands. As the human population increases in coastal cities so does the demand for more land. Urbanization is causing enormous amounts of devastation to the existing wetlands. Unrestricted development is causing the erosion of soil, which is dumping foreign sediments into the wetlands polluting the water and disturbing the ecosystem. According to Lee et al. (2006) “Urbanization is a major cause of loss of coastal wetlands. Urbanization also exerts significant influences on the structure and function of coastal wetlands, mainly through modifying the hydrological and sedimentation regimes, and the dynamics of nutrients and chemical pollutants”. Restrictions on the development...
Costal areas are very popular areas to live within throughout the world. As costal development continues to develop quickly it poses threats to nearby coral reefs. Costal Development
Hijjar, Reem, David G. McGrath, Robert A. Kozak, and John L. Innes. "Framing Community Forestry Challenges with a Broader Lens: Case Studies from the Brazilian Amazon." Journal of Environmental Management 92 (2011): 2159-169. ScienceDirect. 06 May 2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
Perry, D. A. (1998). The Scientific Basis of Forestry, Annual Review of Ecology and System Thematic 29:435-466, Retrieved July 9, 2005 from: http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/policy/policy_and_events/index.cfm
It has been estimated that nearly half of the total areas of wetlands on Earth have been lost. The remaining wetlands still play important roles in their ecosystems and to the benefit of humans. The wetlands that remain occupy about 9% of Earth’s surface (land), but that 9% contribute largely to the planet, despite how small they seem to be. They support large amounts of biodiversity, improve and maintain water quality, and help prevent floods, meaning that if they are lost, things can go back fast.
WPF/World Preservation Foundation, 2010, Deforestation statistics, sponsored by WPF, viewed 3rd November 2013, Available at: http://www.worldpreservationfoundation.org/blog/news/deforestation-statistics/#.UoFtypQY3TV
Rainforests once covered 14% of the worlds land surface, however now it only covers a mere 6%. It is estimated that all rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. Trees are becoming more needed and used everyday. We need them cut down for many reasons such as paper and timber, while also needing them ‘untouched’ for other reasons like oxygen, we have to ask ourselves, which is more important? At the current rate, most of the rainforests are being cut down for resources like paper and timber, but less importance is being placed on main resources like oxygen.
This is alarming since recent data indicates these enormous forests are land-dwelling carbon absorbers that could help to slow worldwide climate alteration. The United Nations ' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates “eighteen million acres of forests have been destroyed worldwide;” and NASA forecasts “that if current deforestation rates are not reduced, rainforests could become entirely eradicated in a century.” The nations with substantial deforestation are Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Africa (The Democratic Republic of Congo included), and remote areas of Eastern Europe. Indonesia, the country with the greatest deforestation within the last century, has lost approximately forty million acres of indigenous
The broad biodiversity of the archipelago is under threat and it is essential that preservation of the islands be imposed. Biodiversity is important in any environment, because it boosts the productiveness within an ecosystem where each species has a certain role, or niche, they have to play to maintain the success of their habitat. A more diverse population will result in soil formation and protection, nutrient storage and recycling, climate stability, and efficient re...
...f of the CZMU. Although the CZMU’s mandate is to address coastal management with an integrated approach, it is worth questioning whether all interests are accounted for equitably? Barbados’ urban planning strategies employ the top-down approach and the department is reputed for pursuing economically profitable projects. To have both the CZMU and the Town and Country Planning department engaging in public participation consultation would be favourable to pursuing environmental policy in tandem with socio-economic equity.