People and the Northern Range
Look north. Trinidad's Northern Range helps us get our bearings. If we can see the hills, we know where we are. What could be a more reliable landmark?

But the Northern Range provides so much more than a sense of direction for all of us, whether we are fishermen in Toco or seasoning farmers in Paramin. For the thousands who brave highways, bus-routes and back roads to get to school, work and homes packed cheek-to-jowl from Port of Spain all the way up the Eastern Main Road. For those who live near the Desperadoes in the Laventille Hills and the paranderos in the Lopinot Valley.

Even if you don't live in its shadow, the Northern Range is the source of the Caroni River which provides the water supply for much of the island.

The Northern Range: what is in it for us?
So much. Food from hillside gardens, fishing and hunting. Non-timber forest products and stone for construction. River limes. Medicinal plants. Water. Some of the places we cherish most, not just for their natural beauty, but for how they make us feel - our beaches, wooded areas and rivers.

The Northern Range also protects us from the ravages of severe rains, even hurricanes. When covered with vegetation, it helps to
control flooding, contain soil and improve the quality of the air.

It is a thriving ecosystem, harbouring a wealth of animal and plant species on its mountainside and in its rivers. It provides numerous communities of people with space for living and basis for livelihood.

It's like a backbone for Trinidad supporting our well-being. It's a good thing it will always be there to provide for our own immediate needs, and for needs of others in the future.

But will it?

Will it be in a condition to do this? Will it continue to provide for us the full set of benefits we now enjoy from it? And with what change in quantity and quality of those benefits?

What happened to San Fernando Hill?

What is the issue?
Several forces are impacting on the Northern Range. Each of them is likely to affect its capacity to continue to deliver its services to us. What is the accumulated impact of these forces? What might happen in the future? What do we stand to lose? How do we relate to forest and stream, soil and stone, wilderness and wildlife, plant life and people - this ecosystem - to make sure we continue to have its goods and services to enjoy?

These are the questions we hope you'll help us to explore so that together we can suggest responses.

What is the project about?
It is an attempt to contribute to the base of knowledge for
decision-making, and to suggest possible responses to the issues.

To do this the project will attempt to present an assessment of the Northern Range that integrates :

· people's needs and nature's capacities
· development pressures and environmental realities
· scientific reasoning and community knowledge
· natural science and social science understanding
· public interest and private interests
· present situation and future prospects
· the many activities, actors and ideas

This project is one of about twenty-five such local assessments being undertaken across the world as part of a global programme called The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) to which we will contribute relevant findings and insights.
The conceptual framework and method of the MA will provide some guidance to the project.

How will this be done?
The work of the project will:

· explore the various forces and activities - ones that we can control and ones that we cannot - that impact on the Northern Range
· assess the way in which its capacity is being affected to provide the benefits we enjoy: like provision of water and timber and wildmeat; like regulating the amount of carbon dioxide in the air or slowing down flooding; like offering space for housing and opportunities for recreation; like the simple satisfaction we get from beautiful landscapes
· examine how our well-being - now and in the future - may be affected if the Northern Range cannot continue to provide those goods and services
· identify options for responses that we might make - as individuals, communities, businesses, public authorities.

Who is conducting the project?
People and the Northern Range is being organised by:

· The Cropper Foundation
· The University of the West Indies
· Environmental Management Authority
· The Trust for Sustainable Livelihoods
· The Tropical Re-Leaf Foundation

Representatives of these organisations along with others comprise a Technical Steering Committee. We are seeking to involve knowledgeable persons (from public authorities, corporate sector, civic and professional organisations, and communities) in an Advisory Group for the project.

The work of this assessment of the Northern Range will be carried out by many individuals who are contributing their time and knowledge on a voluntary basis.

Some financial support for workshops, materials, and publications comes from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The organisers provide various forms of support to the project. We are also approaching other sources in Trinidad & Tobago for some financial support especially for the community component.

For the Northern Range Assessment Report, click here.

For further information about People and the Northern Range, please contact:
Sarika Maharaj
THE CROPPER FOUNDATION
Building #7, Fernandes Industrial Centre
Laventille, Port-of-Spain
Trinidad & Tobago, W.I
Tel: 1 (868) 626-2628
Fax: 1 (868) 626-2564