Introduction
Since the emergence of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) and the resulting Covid-19 pandemic, researchers have been attempting to understand the global impacts. Given the integrated nature of human and natural systems, it is not surprising that these are wide-ranging, including not only impacts on human health but also disruption of social systems, the economy and the environment (Cooke et al., Reference Cooke, Soroye, Brooks, Clarke, Jeanson and Berberi2021; Diffenbaugh, Reference Diffenbaugh2022; Guo & Lee, Reference Guo and Lee2022). The complexity of these myriad interactions within social–ecological systems was in many cases related to the implementation of national emergency strategies and nationwide lockdowns, with restrictions on human movements to limit the spread of the disease.
There were some positive environmental consequences during these periods of reduced car, boat and air travel and reduced greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), including cleaner air and water (Diffenbaugh, Reference Diffenbaugh2022; Guo & Lee, Reference Guo and Lee2022; Muche et al., Reference Muche, Yemata, Molla, Muasya and Tsegay2022). Early studies suggested that in some areas decreased human activities also led to positive impacts on wildlife conservation (Manenti et al., Reference Manenti, Mori, Di Canio, Mercurio, Picone and Caffi2020; Zellmer et al., Reference Zellmer, Wood, Surasinghe, Putman, Pauly and Magle2020; Bates et al., Reference Bates, Primack, Biggar, Bird, Clinton and Command2021). Some areas saw increased species richness in temporarily less disturbed habitats and greater breeding success in certain species (Manenti et al., Reference Manenti, Mori, Di Canio, Mercurio, Picone and Caffi2020). More recent studies focused on Europe and North America have confirmed that during the strictest lockdowns some mammal species changed their movement patterns and were more often observed closer to roads in human-modified areas (Tucker et al., Reference Tucker, Schipper, Adams, Attias, Avgar and Babic2023). Reduced travel resulted in decreased wildlife mortality because of fewer vehicle and plane strikes (Muche et al., Reference Muche, Yemata, Molla, Muasya and Tsegay2022; Tucker et al., Reference Tucker, Schipper, Adams, Attias, Avgar and Babic2023). One study in Cameroon found a reduction in the hunting of some wildlife because bushmeat could not be traded to external clients (Kamogne Tagne et al., Reference Kamogne Tagne, Brittain, Booker, Challender, Maddison and Milner-Gulland2022) and consumption of some species, such as pangolins, was less because of the perceived risk of contracting the coronavirus from wild meat.
The global pandemic also resulted in negative outcomes for the environment, including increased pollution from plastic and other waste because of greater use of personal protective equipment, particularly face masks (Diffenbaugh, Reference Diffenbaugh2022; Gibbons et al., Reference Gibbons, Sandbrook, Sutherland, Akter, Bradbury and Broad2022; Muche et al., Reference Muche, Yemata, Molla, Muasya and Tsegay2022). In some countries, reduced livelihood opportunities because of lockdowns led to overfishing or increased hunting of some wildlife species and, in some cases, poaching of animals from protected areas (Bates et al., Reference Bates, Primack, Biggar, Bird, Clinton and Command2021; Diffenbaugh, Reference Diffenbaugh2022; Muche et al., Reference Muche, Yemata, Molla, Muasya and Tsegay2022). Deforestation and habitat destruction also increased in many countries causing many environmental impacts, for example increased GHG emissions, increased harvesting of forest resources and damage to biodiversity (Thurstan et al., Reference Thurstan, Hockings, Hedlund, Bersacola, Collins and Early2021; Diffenbaugh, Reference Diffenbaugh2022; Gibbons et al., Reference Gibbons, Sandbrook, Sutherland, Akter, Bradbury and Broad2022; Muche et al., Reference Muche, Yemata, Molla, Muasya and Tsegay2022). According to Eklund et al. (Reference Eklund, Jones, Räsänen, Geldmann, Jokinen and Pellegrini2022), there was an increase in the number of fires in protected areas in Madagascar because of the suspension of on-site management activities. A case study from South Africa highlighted threats to biodiversity during the pandemic from residential and commercial development because of land invasions in protected areas (Ehlers Smith et al., Reference Ehlers Smith, Ehlers Smith, Davies-Mostert, Thompson, Parker and de Villiers2023).
Many of the negative impacts on the environment were the result of conservation actors having to operate with reduced capacity (Bates et al., Reference Bates, Primack, Biggar, Bird, Clinton and Command2021). For example, in Italy lockdowns and restrictions prevented law enforcement authorities from conducting their regular patrol activities, leading to a surge in the illegal hunting of protected wildlife (Manenti et al., Reference Manenti, Mori, Di Canio, Mercurio, Picone and Caffi2020). In Samoa, conservation non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that were largely dependent on volunteers from international organizations suddenly lost their volunteer base due to their repatriation during the first peak of the pandemic (Tierney & Boodoosingh, Reference Tierney and Boodoosingh2020). Coral restoration projects in some countries were disrupted and, in some cases, abandoned because of pandemic restrictions (Montano et al., Reference Montano, Dehnert, Seveso, Maggioni, Montalbetti and Strona2022). Powlen et al. (Reference Powlen, Jones, Moreno, Cordero, Solomon and Gavin2023), in a study of protected area management and conservation in Mexico, found that the pandemic had led to a reduction in management capacity, resulting in a perceived increase in the level of illegal activities. In general, those involved with conservation organizations felt that lockdown restrictions and loss of revenue sources (e.g. from tourism) impeded their research, training, monitoring and law enforcement activities (Thurstan et al., Reference Thurstan, Hockings, Hedlund, Bersacola, Collins and Early2021; Ehlers Smith et al., Reference Ehlers Smith, Ehlers Smith, Davies-Mostert, Thompson, Parker and de Villiers2023).
Islands, many of which are renowned for their unique biodiversity (Whittaker & Fernandez-Palacios, Reference Whittaker and Fernandez-Palacios2007; Kueffer & Kinney, Reference Kueffer and Kinney2017; Russell & Kueffer, Reference Russell and Kueffer2019), offer valuable opportunities to study the impacts of the global pandemic. As in other parts of the world, many island jurisdictions responded to the pandemic by implementing border closures and controls, and social distancing restrictions (Brinklow et al., Reference Brinklow, Ellsmoor, Randall, Rouby, Sajeva, Shety and Sindico2021; Telesford, Reference Telesford2021; Umakanthan et al., Reference Umakanthan, Chauhan, Gupta, Sahu, Bukelo and Chattu2021; Agius et al., Reference Agius, Sindico, Sajeva and Baldacchino2022). Generally, such measures led to fewer cases of Covid-19 and lower mortality rates amongst island populations compared to mainland jurisdictions (Brinklow et al., Reference Brinklow, Ellsmoor, Randall, Rouby, Sajeva, Shety and Sindico2021; Agius et al., Reference Agius, Sindico, Sajeva and Baldacchino2022). However, they also had significant negative economic impacts, particularly for those islands dependent on travel and tourism for a significant portion of their income (Telesford, Reference Telesford2021; Agius et al., Reference Agius, Sindico, Sajeva and Baldacchino2022).
The Covid-19 containment measures put in place by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago were amongst the most restrictive globally. In particular, a complete border closure that restricted travel both into and out of the country, including citizens and permanent residents, was initiated in March 2020 and continued to mid 2021 (Budrie & Narinesingh, Reference Budrie and Narinesingh2022). Beginning in March 2020, there was a total closure of all air and sea ports for international travel, and any citizen seeking entry or exit from the country had to apply for an exemption from the Minister of National Security. All commercial flights to and from the island were prohibited, and any occasional repatriation flights or private charters were expensive. Returning nationals were also required to remain in quarantine for two weeks at government-sanctioned facilities (Budrie & Narinesingh, Reference Budrie and Narinesingh2022). Although Trinidad and Tobago has been recognized for its effective response to the global pandemic because of its domestic and international lockdown, amongst other measures, questions have been raised about the numerous burdens that resulted from the restrictions (Hunte et al., Reference Hunte, Pierre, St Rose and Simeon2020; Budrie & Narinesingh, Reference Budrie and Narinesingh2022), including the implications for the work of conservation actors on the island.
Trinidad and Tobago has diverse networks of governmental organizations, NGOs, community-based organizations (CBOs) and private businesses engaged in conservation activities that impact the biodiversity of the island (Wishart Chu Foon, Reference Wishart Chu Foon2022; Wishart Chu Foon et al., Reference Wishart Chu Foon, Brown and Pittman2022). Community-based organizations are more locally based than other NGOs, having links to specific communities and community-oriented goals such as community capacity-building, job creation and education tied to conservation initiatives (Government of Trinidad and Tobago, 2011). Networks are formed by organizations involved in environmental conservation that are working and collaborating with each other (Provan & Kenis, Reference Provan and Kenis2007), and the structure of these networks can result in different environmental conservation outcomes (Bodin et al., Reference Bodin, Crona and Ernstson2006; Bodin & Crona, Reference Bodin and Crona2009; Armitage et al., Reference Armitage, de Loe and Plummer2012).
The aim of this research was to explore the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the work of conservation actors or organizations in Trinidad and Tobago, and the ways in which they adapted to the situation. Based on analysis of data from a quantitative online questionnaire and follow-up, semi-structured interviews, this paper highlights the challenges and opportunities presented by the pandemic to conservation actors and the island environment. It also probed the role that conservation actor networks may have played in their Covid-19 responses, and considered the potential for improved responses and their practical implications for effective conservation in a post-pandemic world.
Study area
The twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago are located in the southern Caribbean region, and their diverse ecosystems support a high level of biodiversity in relation to its size (Beard, Reference Beard1946). Just over 40% of the land area is covered in forests, a higher proportion than for most other islands in the region (FAO, 2014). Major marine and coastal habitats include seagrass beds and coral reefs, the latter occupying 70% of the coastal waters surrounding Tobago (CARSEA, Reference Agard, Cropper and Garcia2007). The island is home to an estimated 2,500 plant species, 110 of which are endemic, and numerous vertebrate species (Government of Trinidad and Tobago, 2020).
The conservation of this rich biodiversity is considered essential as it has been exposed to multiple threats throughout the island’s history. As a Small Island Developing State, Trinidad and Tobago faces particular constraints linked to its small size, ecological fragility, economic vulnerability and overall resource constraints (Cherian, Reference Cherian2007). Ecosystem degradation is a result of industrial, commercial and residential use, expansion of roads as well as oil and gas pipelines which increase habitat fragmentation, unsustainable agricultural practices such as ‘slash and burn’ which can degrade watersheds, and forest fires which have prevented the natural regeneration of native forests (Government of Trinidad and Tobago, 2011). According to Global Forest Watch (2024), the island has lost 6.2% of its tree cover since 2000. The oil and gas sector is considered to be the major contributor to income and overall GDP (ECLAC, 2009).
In coastal areas, many of the other economic activities of the island such as fisheries and tourism are dependent on natural resources but at the same time are in direct competition for the coastal space which provides a habitat for rare birds, leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea and other species. The sustainable utilization of resources is of critical importance because it affects the environment, which in turn affects the economy and its further development (Tompkins & Adger, Reference Tompkins and Adger2004). As in other Small Island Developing States, conflicts in land use are very apparent given the island’s limited space presenting a challenge for natural resource management. Climate change adds another layer of complexity to the constraints and challenges that exist for conservation on the island, negatively affecting food security, livelihoods and local habitats (Shah et al., Reference Shah, Dulal and Awojobi2020).
Methods
This research used both quantitative and qualitative survey methodologies. Representatives of 64 conservation actors (NGOs, community-based organizations, government agencies and private businesses) were approached via email, telephone and social media and invited to participate in the study. These conservation actors had been identified in a previous study in Trinidad and Tobago (Wishart Chu Foon, Reference Wishart Chu Foon2022). One representative of each actor self-identified for participation in the research. Participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire through the Survey Monkey platform (Momentive, 2023), which consisted of 19 open- and closed-ended questions. After completing the questionnaire, participants had the opportunity to include their name in a draw for a gift card. At the end of the questionnaire, respondents were asked whether they would like to participate in a follow-up interview. Follow-up interviews with 10 participants were conducted virtually several months later at a time convenient for each participant. The interviews were recorded and later transcribed verbatim. Approval for this research was obtained from the Research Ethics Board of the University of Prince Edward Island prior to starting the research. It is important to note that participant responses were not linked to the names of those who chose to participate in the gift card draw or follow up interview. The research took place between December 2021 and July 2022. See Supplementary Material 1 for a copy of the online questionnaire and Supplementary Material 2 for the interview guide.
Questionnaire responses (N = 29) were downloaded from Survey Monkey and responses to individual questions were assigned a numerical code. Descriptive statistics were calculated using Stata 15 Data Analysis and Statistical software (Stata, 2017). Response to open-ended questions were coded according to the main themes. The 10 follow-up interviews were analysed qualitatively (Patton, Reference Patton2002; Roudgarmi, Reference Roudgarmi2011) and coded according to main themes such as Covid-19 impacts, organizational adaptation, and supports.
Results
Twenty-nine respondents from the 64 actors contacted completed the online questionnaire, of which 19 (66%) represented different NGOs. A further six respondents (21%) were from community-based organizations, a subset of NGOs in Trinidad and Tobago. Two representatives of government agencies participated in the research, and two further respondents who were not in any of the above categories. Most of the respondents had worked for their organizations for more than five years, with 12 respondents (41%) having worked for their organizations for 10 years or longer. When asked to describe the geographical focus of their actors’ conservation activities, 14 respondents (48%) indicated that their focus was primarily at the national scale. Seven respondents (24%) said they were mainly focused on the community or watershed scale. The remaining eight respondents (28%) had a regional or international focus. The primary type of conservation work in which actors were engaged was education or building public awareness (18 respondents, 62%) followed by protection (five respondents, 17%); a few respondents listed research, rehabilitation, funding and other conservation activities as the focus of their work (Table 1). It is important to note that although actors may have had a primary focus (spending more than 50% of their time on a specific category of work), they also were engaged in many other types of conservation activities.
Table 1 Participant descriptions of their primary type of conservation work in Trinidad and Tobago.
Impacts of Covid-19 on conservation actors
The main factor that affected the conservation actors was the country-wide or local lockdowns implemented by the government (21 respondents, 72%), a measure put in place to restrict the movement of people in the country, with the goal of limiting the spread of the coronavirus (Budrie & Narinesingh, Reference Budrie and Narinesingh2022). The work of the conservation actors was affected in multiple ways, with the inability to hold events (10 respondents, 35%) and do any fieldwork (nine respondents, 31%) being the most frequently reported impacts. One respondent commented:
Well, the lockdown caused us not to get anything done although I was able to send a couple people on the beach to see if there was any poaching done, what was going on. We were able to get a few days of monitoring the beaches. The lockdown was the main factor that kept us from functioning properly.
The requirement that employees work from home (four respondents, 14%) and the loss of paid visitors (three respondents, 10%), which negatively affected the functioning of the organizations, were also mentioned amongst the impacts. As one interview participant said, ‘… Funding became an issue. We didn’t have any funds to function …’
Sixteen respondents (55%) reported that these impacts began with the declaration of a global pandemic in March 2020, and 13 (45%) said that their work was affected from the start of the first lockdown in Trinidad and Tobago, which was in the same month. The majority of respondents (26, 90%) said that these impacts had persisted since March 2020 and were ongoing at the time of completing the questionnaire. Eleven respondents (38%) noted that collaboration with other actors was impacted through cancellation of planned outreach events, seven (24%) reported cancellation of fieldwork in this context, and five (17%) the need to move meetings to a virtual format. As one interviewee quipped, ‘… because we could not meet a lot of our target people in the flesh, we decided to meet them online.’ They described developing a short ‘wildlife adventure of the day’ programme on social media that connected with children, their families and other interested members of the public.
Impacts of Covid-19 on ecosystems
When asked whether the impacts of Covid-19 on the ecosystems in which they work had been positive or negative, 12 respondents (41%) said there had been both positive and negative impacts. However, nine respondents (31%) indicated that there had been positive impacts, whereas seven (24%) indicated that the impacts had been exclusively negative. Using an open-ended question, representatives of conservation actors were asked to explain what some of the positive impacts had been on the ecosystems where they work. The responses mainly related to fewer people being present in the ecosystems because of the lockdowns, which led to less disturbance and pollution from litter, summarized by one respondent as ‘less pollution and human footprint’. In a follow-up interview, one respondent said:
… a lot of times you would find a lot of litter when you go to the beach, and hiking. Litter everywhere. That definitely decreased with the restrictions. I think that was really good.
One respondent explained that there was ‘no high visitor traffic on beach so turtles could of [sic] nested peacefully’. Another stated that ‘the rain forests, birding sites and other wildlife habitats naturally existed with no human interference’. One interviewee mentioned that there were fewer bush fires ‘because people weren’t allowed to go out camping’. Hunting was also suspended.
Some felt that, with fewer people present, ecosystems were able to recover. One respondent commented that there were ‘limited interactions by humans, so some mangroves were allowed to grow, while some animal populations got the ability to expand their foraging grounds’. In a follow-up interview, one person stated:
…The whole ecosystem, the whole earth, I believe breathed a collective sigh of relief. Like it got a break. The roads were clearer. The beaches were cleared. Ninety percent I would say would be very positive because of lack of human intrusion into these areas and the animals responded by coming out. It’s like they had ‘coming out party’ or a ‘humans not home party’.
Similarly, in an open-ended question participants were asked to explain what they perceived as the negative impacts of Covid-19 on the ecosystems they are working to protect. Their responses can be categorized under two themes: an increase in illegal activities and an increase in the clearing of forests. One respondent stated that ‘poachers functioned day and night with little possibility of being caught’. Another said that some sea turtles were slaughtered because they were not able to monitor the situation. With loss of jobs, some local people became more reliant on forests for food and resources. One respondent replied that ‘some of the spaces were cleared for agriculture due to loss of jobs by some persons’. Loss of income was also linked to increased poaching.
Adaptation to pandemic restrictions
Respondents said that the main way that their organizations adapted to the challenges presented by the global pandemic was moving outreach events to an online format (16 respondents, 55%). In a follow-up interview, one participant explained:
We had to switch completely to virtual. While we would focus on the educational aspect while we were still case based, we made the virtual aspect purely educational. … That was interesting in a sense, but we mainly had to focus on the educational aspect of our conservation organization. As opposed to actively conducting conservation activities in real life.
Four respondents (14%) stated that their organizations closed their offices or facilities temporarily and required that staff work from home. One interviewee said, ‘Our staff had a huge disruption because they could not be physically in the office.’ At the time of completing the online questionnaire, the majority of respondents (18, 64%) reported that their work activities had not yet returned to normal. When asked for further details, they commented that restrictions remained on the number of people who could meet together, many people were hesitant to meet in person, there were still no visitors and they could not access beaches for fieldwork.
When asked which changes they would retain going forward, 19 respondents (66%) said that they would continue to hold virtual outreach events. One interviewee stated that this was ‘… because the people are from different communities. It would be easy to meet online.’ Four respondents (14%) replied that staff would continue to work from home. Another interviewee described how they had developed an online bee-keeping course during lockdown that is now available to people in six Caribbean countries. Such virtual educational opportunities would also be retained as the pandemic restrictions lifted.
When asked about what would have helped their organizations to better adapt to the pandemic situation, two responses were most common. Twelve respondents to the questionnaire, (41%) said that having some external financial help would have enabled their organization to adapt better. Eleven respondents (38%) stated that having some flexibility in the Covid-19 restrictions, such as allowing field monitoring or patrols, would have allowed them to continue to carry out some of their conservation operations during the pandemic. Three respondents (10%) mentioned that having some help in the form of resources or equipment would have also enabled conservation actors to adapt.
In an open-ended question, participants were asked to explain who would have been best placed to provide help in adapting to the changes brought about by the pandemic. Of those who responded, almost all said that the national government or some specific government ministries would have been best placed to provide help. A few respondents mentioned that international grant funding agencies would also have been well placed to respond. In a follow-up interview, one participant commented negatively on the lack of support from the government:
They were main body, but they didn’t do a very good job. They started too late. They did not use a means test to figure out what kinds of interventions were needed with which parts of groups. There was no transparency in how support was given, particularly to small and medium size industries. There was no support given to the non-profits who have such an important role to people and those who were affected by the pandemic.
To understand the importance of networking amongst conservation actors, participants were asked in the online questionnaire whether their connections with other actors helped them to better adapt to the pandemic. The responses were split evenly, with 52% (14 respondents) responding ‘No’ and 48% (13) responding ‘Yes’. On the positive side, one interviewee elaborated:
I have very good partners in terms of some of the government agencies … A lot of it has to do with my network. I have a good network of people. So, I could call—even though they themselves were going through what they were going through in the government system, I was still able to call on them, to kind of lean on them, and able to get responses. I am very, very blessed and happy that I have a group of people that I can pick up the phone and say ‘hey, I need this’ and they’ll help me out.
On the more negative side, one participant in a follow-up interview explained:
We were hardly in touch. We were trying to get together perhaps to start doing some proposals for the projects we may have had in mind, but everything seemed to fall by the way. We didn’t get very far with anything.
In the online questionnaire, those who said ‘Yes’ to the previous question were asked to explain how their networks with other actors had helped them to better adapt to the Covid-19 situation. The most common ways that such connections helped was through being able to hold virtual meetings, joint online events and assist each other with capacity building, all of which strengthened their work. One respondent stated:
[W]e were able to partner with local NGOs, community-based organizations and consultants in other countries in the region for on-the-ground support in project implementation where … staff have not been able to travel.
Discussion
Trinidad and Tobago is rich in biodiversity but also faces challenges of ecosystem degradation due to various historical and current approaches to economic development. Concerns regarding conserving and restoring this biodiversity have led to the establishment of many conservation organizations, including NGOs, community-based organizations, government agencies and private businesses. With the global Covid-19 pandemic and resulting government lockdowns, both the activities of these actors and the ecosystems in which they operate were impacted. Similar to other parts of the world, some of these impacts were positive and others were negative.
Starting with the lockdowns in March 2020 and continuing to July 2022, the period explored in this research, actors were not able to carry out their normal activities, leading to in-person events and fieldwork being cancelled. Employees were required to work virtually from home, and with there being no visitors to natural areas, some actors received little income, which negatively affected their ability to function. The cancellation of in-person, collaborative outreach events and fieldwork had negative impacts on networking amongst actors. Global reviews of research on the impacts of Covid-19 on biodiversity conservation initiatives (Thurstan et al., Reference Thurstan, Hockings, Hedlund, Bersacola, Collins and Early2021; Gibbons et al., Reference Gibbons, Sandbrook, Sutherland, Akter, Bradbury and Broad2022) have highlighted similar negative effects. On the more positive side, actors were able to adapt to the challenges of the global pandemic by developing online outreach activities and by holding virtual meetings within their organizations and in collaboration with other actors in their networks. As most respondents were from groups whose main focus included education or public awareness, these new processes enabled them to continue with some of their conservation work in an online format, thereby potentially reducing the need to lay off staff.
At the time of the research, participants perceived both positive and negative impacts of the restrictions introduced in response to the pandemic on the ecosystems where they work. Many felt that with fewer people moving around the country and visiting natural areas, pollution, litter and disturbance of wildlife and protected areas decreased. In some cases, this allowed ecosystems to recover in the short term. However, the inability of some actors to carry out their fieldwork also appears to have led to increases in illegal activities such as poaching and forest destruction, which will have longer-term impacts. Some respondents speculated that the increase in such illegal activities may have been related to loss of income experienced by people who lost their jobs because of restrictions during the pandemic. These perceptions of both negative and positive impacts on the environment could be related to the particular focus of work of each actor, but they are also similar to findings from other parts of the world (Bates et al., Reference Bates, Primack, Biggar, Bird, Clinton and Command2021; Thurstan et al., Reference Thurstan, Hockings, Hedlund, Bersacola, Collins and Early2021; Diffenbaugh, Reference Diffenbaugh2022; Gibbons et al., Reference Gibbons, Sandbrook, Sutherland, Akter, Bradbury and Broad2022; Muche et al., Reference Muche, Yemata, Molla, Muasya and Tsegay2022; Powlen et al., Reference Powlen, Jones, Moreno, Cordero, Solomon and Gavin2023). Further research is needed to evaluate the persistence of the perceived positive or negative impacts on ecosystems in the long term.
Many actors planned to retain some of the new approaches adopted during the pandemic, including virtual outreach events and meetings, and remote working for some employees. Such adaptations at the organizational level can have multiple benefits, particularly for organizations focused on education and public awareness. Money can be saved by having employees work from home if it reduces the cost of renting office facilities. Online educational outreach events can extend the reach of NGOs, leading to increased interest in their work and possibly new sources of funding. Virtual meetings can also potentially engage more stakeholders and make it easier to connect with like-minded actors, although online events may exclude those who lack access to the internet. In addition, some conservation activities such as fieldwork or species monitoring cannot be done in a virtual environment.
Emerging from the pandemic it is important to reflect on lessons learnt that could be applicable to the future of biodiversity conservation on the island of Trinidad and Tobago. As highlighted by other authors, the pandemic can present new opportunities and renewed focus for government and other non-governmental stakeholders in the conservation arena (Thurstan et al., Reference Thurstan, Hockings, Hedlund, Bersacola, Collins and Early2021; Muche et al., Reference Muche, Yemata, Molla, Muasya and Tsegay2022; Powlen et al., Reference Powlen, Jones, Moreno, Cordero, Solomon and Gavin2023). While not mentioned by a lot of respondents in this study, the reliance of NGOs, community-based organizations and nature-based private businesses on funding from paying visitors, and on the contributions of international volunteers, highlights the need for more localized levels of funding going forward. This is of particular importance in islands, which are dependent on nature-based travel and tourism for much of their economy (Telesford, Reference Telesford2021; Andrianambinina et al., Reference Andrianambinina, Schuurman, Rakotoarijaona, Razanajovy, Ramparany and Rafanoharana2023). According to many respondents in this study, bridging financing from the government would have been helpful and would have enabled them to weather the economic downturn during the lockdowns and adapt to the changing circumstances.
Going forward, it is critical that the government of Trinidad and Tobago places increased emphasis on policy and action related to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. This should involve direct investment and improved collaboration with non-governmental stakeholders in carrying out conservation initiatives. Previous research has highlighted the importance of networks to conservation on the island and the central role played by both the government and NGOs in such networks (Wishart Chu Foon, Reference Wishart Chu Foon2022). Such networks can be used to fund the work of local community-based organizations and NGOs, which are critically important for the protection of species and their habitats. In retrospect, better network decision-making at the beginning of the pandemic may have resulted in greater flexibility in pandemic restrictions, which would have allowed conservation actors to carry out some of their fieldwork, thereby limiting the negative impacts on biodiversity. As highlighted by Bates et al. (Reference Bates, Primack, Biggar, Bird, Clinton and Command2021, p. 15), the global pandemic lockdown demonstrated ‘the important role of people as custodians of biodiversity’. Understanding and fostering the involvement of community actors has been shown to be important to conservation success in other contexts (Bryant et al., Reference Bryant, Bower, Bower, Copley, Dann and Matassoni2022; Montano et al., Reference Montano, Dehnert, Seveso, Maggioni, Montalbetti and Strona2022).
In the Trinidad and Tobago context, community-based organizations have links to specific communities and community-oriented goals such as community capacity-building, job creation and education tied to conservation initiatives (Government of Trinidad and Tobago, 2011). The impacts on ecosystems during the pandemic included increased poaching and habitat loss, which may have been brought about by food and livelihood insecurity. Given the spatial and ecological boundaries of islands, it is not surprising that the livelihoods of many islanders are highly dependent on local resources (Kueffer & Kinney, Reference Kueffer and Kinney2017). Connecting funding to community-based organizations and their locally based initiatives could help to address some of the negative effects of biodiversity conservation on local people. Empowering local communities by involving them in conservation decision-making through the use of integrated landscape approaches could also help to address other related issues of equity and justice (Kueffer & Kinney, Reference Kueffer and Kinney2017; Vasquez & Sunderland, Reference Vasquez and Sunderland2023).
Author contributions
Study conception and design, material preparation, data collection and analysis: both authors; writing: HCPB; revision: both authors.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge those who participated in this study, as well as the helpful suggestions made by anonymous reviewers. This research was funded by a grant from the University of Prince Edward Island to the corresponding author, HCPB.
Conflicts of interest
None.
Ethical standards
This research abided by the Oryx guidelines on ethical standards and was approved by the University of Prince Edward Island’s Research Ethics Board (reference #6010292).
Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, HCPB, upon reasonable request.
Open access
