Basic Wildlife Resources Fact Sheet
on the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
(compiled from a variety of sources mainly the T&T GEF Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan Project)
Geography
Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state located at the southernmost extremity of the Caribbean island chain. The two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, together comprise a total land area of 5,126 km2. Both are situated on the Continental Shelf of South America from which they became separated in geologically recent times. However, they have substantial differences.
Topography
Trinidad (4,826 km2) has three mountain ranges, the Northern Range, rising over 900m and representing the eastern most extension of the Andean Mountain System; the Central Range, an area of rolling hills with many limestone peaks and the Southern Range a series of anticlinal folds separated by complicated fault systems which have resulted in low hills. These three mountain ranges are interspersed by two fertile plains, the Northern Basin, lying between the Northern and Central Ranges, and the low-lying, rolling
Southern Basin with a shallow, inland fresh water lagoon, known as the Nariva Swamp, separated from the sea by 25 km sand barThe smaller Tobago (300 km2) has the Main Ridge that occupies the north-western two-thirds of the island and reaches 576m, and the Southern Lowlands that comprise a coastal plain of coral terraces terminating in a fringing reef.
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Marine Environment
In addition to these main islands, there are extensive marine-areas, 15 times greater than the land mass, covering approximately 104,000 nautical km2. These are comprised of The Columbus Channel, lying between the South Coast of Trinidad and the Orinoco Coast of Venezuela; the Gulf of Paria, separating Trinidad from Venezuela; The Caribbean Sea, off the north coast of Trinidad and the leeward coast of Tobago and The Atlantic Ocean, off the east coast of Trinidad and the windward coast of Tobago.
Natural History
The continental origin and position between the Caribbean island chain and South America, together with the topography, geology and tropical wet climate (average annual rainfall of 2200 mm), account for Trinidad and Tobago’s unusually rich landscape and biological diversity.
Terrestrial Ecosystems and Wildlife Habitat
(based on Beard 1946 classification).
evergreen seasonal forests, swamp forests,
semi-evergreen seasonal forests, palm swamps,
deciduous seasonal forests, herbaceous marshes,
littoral woodlands, mangrove woodlands,
lower montane rainforests, marsh forests,
seasonal montane forests, palm marsh forests and montane rainforests, savannahs elfin woodlands,
These ecosystems support a rich species diversity with a high degree of endemism (i.e. occurring nowhere else in the world) arising from the separation from the mainland. Of 2,160 species of flowering plants, 110 are endemic, including many palms.
wildlife species diversity
The flora is approximately 2500 species in 175 families:
| birds | 420 species |
| mammals | 108 species |
| snakes | 30 species |
| other reptiles | 30 species |
| amphibians | 25 species |
| butterflies | 617 species |
| other insects | 5000 est |
| reef building corals | 36 species |
(found mainly in the extreme north eastern coast of Trinidad and the reefs of south east Tobago)
Further detailed information can be obtained from the following organizations:Asa Wright Nature Centre (AWNC)
Ian Lambie, President
P.O. Box 4710, Arima, Trinidad and Tobago;
Tel/Fax: (868) 667 4655
Environment Tobago
David Rooks, President
P.O. Box 503, Scarborough, Tobago
Tel: (868) 639 1263
E-mail: steve@tstt.net.tt
Guardian Life Wildlife Trust Fund (GLWLTF )
80 Independence Square, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 625 2264 Fax: (868) 627 5433
E-mail: glwildlife@trinidad.net
Website: www.glwildlife.org
Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalist Club (TTFNC)
Mr. Carol Alexander, President
P.O. Box 642, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
E-mail: ttfnc@wow.net
Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust
Molly Gaskin, President
C/o 42 Sandown Road, Goodword Park Point Cumana, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 637 5145/622 0238/658 4200 ext.2512
Fax: (868) 658 2513/637 5145;
E-mail:wildfowl@petrotrin.com ;
mgaskin@petrotrin.com; Ksheperd@petrotrin.com (Karilyn Sheperd)
Environmental Management Authority
2nd Floor, The Mutual Centre 16 Queen’s Park West, P.O. Bag 150, Newtown PO
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 628 8042/44/46; Fax: (868) 628 9122;
E-mail: ema@ema.co.tt
Solid Waste Management Company (SWMCOL)
Head Office: #34 Independence Square, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 625 6678/86, Fax: (868) 623 6534
Branch Office: Port Authority Building, Scarborough, Tobago
Tel/Fax: (868) 639 3558
E-mail: swmcol@trinidad.net
Council of Presidents on the Environment (COPE)
Molly Gaskin, Chairman
C/o 42 Sandown Road, Goodword Park Point Cumana, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 674 4141
Fax: (868) 674 1995
Toco Foundation;
Michael Als, Coordinator
Galera Road, Toco; Trinidad and Tobago;
Tel/Fax: (868) 670 0068/633 7429
e-mail:
Trinidad and Tobago Biological Society
Larry Horrell, President
P.O. Bag 20, University of the West Indies Post Office
St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago ;
Tel: (868) 633 4412;
Fax: (868) 632 1198
Nature Seekers Inc:
Dennis Sammy, President
C/o Solomon Augillera; Eastern Main Road, Valencia;
Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 668 0171 (Dennis); (868) 667 9075 (Solomon)
Grand Rivere Environmental Awareness Trust (GREAT) Sherwin Ruiz, President
Mile Mark #39, Grand Rivere;
Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: messages only: (868) 670 8274 (Mrs. White);
868) 670 8458 (Mrs. Mulchan)
Centre for the Rescue of Endangered Species of Trinidad and Tobago (CRESTT) Janice Hernandez, Chairman
P.O. Box 1091, Level 4 Long Circular Mall, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 622 8572 (or c/o J. Hernandez FCB- 622 6411-3);
Fax: (868) 628 2800
The Caribbean Forest Conservation Association
Louis Guy, President
P.O. Box 679; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel/Fax: (868) 625 6033
Citizens for Conservation
Andrew Laurence, President
Stollymeyer’s Castle, Queen’s Park West
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 628 2009
The Crusoe Reef Society
Mark Franco, President
P.O. Box 890, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 628 2207,
Fax: (868) 628 1358
The Ornithological Society of Trinidad and Tobago
Elias Mitchell, President
C/o Trinidad Broadcasting Co. Ltd, 11 C Maraval Road,
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 622 1151/58
The Horticultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago
Judith Procope
P.O. Box 252, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel/Fax: (868) 662 4107
The Trinidad and Tobago Game Fishing Association,
Sid Johnson
C/o 43 Beechwood Drive, Goodwood Gardens;
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 624 5304; Fax: (868) 627 0391
The Trinidad and Tobago Orchid Society, Sharon Laurent
C/o CARIRI, Tunapuna Post Office, Tunapuna,
Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 662 7161/2, Fax: (868) 662 7177
The U.W.I. Biological Society,
Nichola Johnson, President
C/o Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, U.W.I.
St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 662 2002 ext. 3090
The Zoological Society of Trinidad and Tobago
Geoffrey Gomes
C/o Emperor Valley Zoo, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Tel: (868) 622 3530, Fax: (868) 622 7808