CCC on BBC World
Added to website: 06 November 2006
The FastTrack team’s visit to Tobago between 8-10 October included, amongst others, interviews with representatives from Buccoo Reef Trust, CCC, Tobago House of Assembly and The Travel Foundation. The BBC team also took the opportunity to film a coral reef survey in action.
The Buccoo Reef Trust works in the Caribbean to develop capacity in the areas of tropical marine sciences through research, education and participatory conservation to enable Caribbean people to sustainably manage their coastal and marine resources. Gerald MacFarlane, Founder and Director, commented: ” Tobago is a relatively unspoilt Caribbean island and has some of the best reefs in the region. Coastal development, reef fisheries and tourism are however increasing year on year, and are now threatening these fragile ecosystems. We are already witnessing degradation of some of the inshore reefs in the South-West of the island, mainly because of land-based sources of pollution. If nothing is done to address watershed and coastal area management, the degradation of reefs will extend around the island. We are therefore particularly appreciative of our partners, namely the Tobago House of Assembly, CCC and UNDP, to collaborate and assist the Buccoo Reef Trust in executing this important national and regional project.”
Dr Owen Day, a co-director of the Buccoo Reef Trust, added: “The forthcoming collaborative project in Tobago is the first substantial and concerted effort to strengthen local capacity to protect the island’s fringing coral reefs. The Buccoo Reef Trust will guide and work alongside CCC to collect essential baseline information about the extent and status of the reefs, as well as to provide technical support for monitoring programmes and GIS tools for local managers. The partnership will also undertake programmes of community awareness about conservation and the opportunities for implementing simple and practical solutions. These efforts will form part of the Integrated Watershed and Coastal Area Management Project ( www.iwcam.org), a regional project funded by the Global Environment Facility starting in 2007, which will assist governments and NGOs in 13 small island developing states to improve the management and protection of Caribbean coastal ecosystems.”
Commenting on the BBC’s visit, Peter Raines, CEO of CCC, commented: “FastTrack Producer, Carmen Roberts, and Cameraman, Peter Kavanagh, packed a lot in during their brief visit to Tobago. I hope that the ‘FastTrack’ feature will inspire viewers to visit Tobago, support the Buccoo Reef Trust and join CCC projects to take an active part in effective conservation.”
The BBC World ‘FastTrack’ feature on Tobago is scheduled to be broadcast week beginning 18 November 2007. For broadcast dates, keep an eye on the CCC website or BBC World website
Support from our partnerships
British Airways is committed to supporting conservation and has supported both Coral Cay Conservation and The Travel Foundation for a number of years with complimentary flights. British Airways has offered assistance to community and conservation projects around the world since 1984. Our aim is to support programmes across the British Airways route network which focus on the five corporate priorities of Education and Youth Development, Supporting the charitable work of our staff, Sustainable Tourism, Heritage and The Environment. We currently support over 130 community and conservation projects worldwide through the provision of complimentary flights, complimentary cargo, excess baggage waivers and the provision of surplus onboard British Airways blankets. For further information please visit www.ba.com/communityrelations. Our Communities and Conservation programme is just one aspect of the airline’s overall approach to environmental management.
Keren Lovett, British Airways Community Relations, BAWEXAS has worked in partnership with Coral Cay Conservation since 2002 as both organisations share many common values. We are delighted to support them and their activities as part of our ongoing programme for the promotion of responsible tourism and conservation.
Steve Allen, Managing Director, WEXAS - The Traveller’s Club
