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Nariva Swamp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Nariva Swamp is the largest freshwater wetland in Trinidad and Tobago and has been designated a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. The swamp is located on the east coast of Trinidad, immediately inland from the Manzanilla Bay and covers over 60 square kilometres (23 mi²). The area provides important habitat for waterfowl and is key habitat for the West Indian Manatee [1][2], Caimans, Anacondas, Boa constrictors, Red Howler monkeys, numerous species of parrots, including both the Blue-and-yellow and Scarlet Macaws.
One portion of the swamp, the Bush Bush Wildlife Sanctuary is historically important as a field site for the Trinidad Regional Virus Laboratory - now part of the Caribbean Epidemiology Center (Carec), which played a key role in the study of tropical mosquito-borne diseases.
Four major wetland vegetation types[3] occur in the Nariva Swamp - mangrove swamp forest, palm forest, swamp wood and freshwater marsh.
The Nariva Swamp is threatened by rice cultivation in the northwest and watermelon cultivation in the southwest. It has also been affected by channelisation in the swamp and deforestation of its watershed.
- ^ Regional Management Plan for the West Indian Manatee, Trichechus manatus. CEP Technical Report No. 35 1995
- ^ Khan, Jalaludin A. 2002. 2002 Status of the W. I. Manatee in Trinidad & Tobago
- ^ As defined by Beard (1946).
- Beard, J. S. (1946) The natural vegetation of Trinidad. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- Brown, N.A. 2000. Environmental advocay in the Caribbean: The case of the Nariva Swamp, Trinidad. CANARI Technical Report No. 268. PDF
- Sletto, B. 2002. Producing space(s), representing landscapes: maps and resource conflicts in Trinidad. Cultural Geographies 9: 389-420 abstract
- Theiler, Max and Downs, W. G. The Anthropod-Borne Viruses of Vertebrates: An Account of the Rockefeller Foundation Virus Program, 1951-1970. Yale University Press, 1973.