The Literal vs. Legal Protection of the Sea Turtle in Trinidad and Tobago
By Sasha Mangar
The international and domestic legislation protecting the sea turtle in Trinidad is impressive, but
the case law and enforcement of these laws are practically nonexistent. The five species of sea
turtles in Trinidad and Tobago are the leatherback turtle, green sea turtle, olive ridley sea turtle,
loggerhead sea turtle and hawksbill sea turtle. The leatherback sea turtle has an estimated
reduction rate in its global population of 80% in the last 10 years50. These five species are
protected under the Environmentally Sensitive Areas and Species 2001 (ESS) and CITES.
Trinidad is part of a few notable environmental treaties such as The Convention for International
Trade in Endangered Species 1984 (CITES), The Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas
and Wildlife 1990 (SPAW) and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity 1996.
The national policies in place to protect the sea turtle are the national environmental policy,
national wetlands policy, forest policy, protected areas policy and climate change policy.
Trinidad has set up a legal framework for sea turtle management which include Conservation of
Wildlife Act, Fisheries Act, Environmental Management Act (EMA) and Environmentally
Sensitive Species Rules (ESS).51
The sea turtle is an endangered species, and five species of the sea turtle can be found in
Trinidad. This populous makes Trinidad partially responsible for the fate of these majestic
creatures. The leatherback turtle is critically endangered and Trinidad is famous for being one of
its breeding grounds.
It has also benefited economically through tourism because of the
leatherback turtle, giving Trinidad an incentive to protect its habitat. Enacting international and
domestic legislation is the first step to protecting this valuable natural resource.
The
embarrassment that Trinidad faced in the global community during 2012 due to the negligence of
the EMA, which destroyed hundreds of rare turtle eggs showed the need for more pervasive
50
Scott A. Eckert, ‘Global Status of the Leatherback Sea Turtle: the Perspective from Trinidad and Tobago’ Wider
Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network. (2012)
51
Dr. Joth Singh, ‘Status Update on Sea T W'F