National Protected Area Systems Plan for Trinidad and Tobago.

The National Protected Area Systems Plan (hereafter, NPASP) is a national policy which assigns the recommended protected natural areas (PNAs) across Trinidad and Tobago in consistency with the internationally recognized IUCN Protected Areas classification system. The objectives of the Systems Plan are to ensure the long-term conservation of biodiversity of the country, and thus provide the people of Trinidad and Tobago with the opportunity to benefit from and enjoy that biodiversity.
PNAs are designated in Trinidad and Tobago in the following potential classes of protection: scientific reserve, special conservation reserves, national parks, natural landmarks, habitat or species management reserves, protected landscape/seascapes and sustainable use reserves. An ecologically resilient PNAs system will be ensured in Trinidad and Tobago to provide sustained goods and ecosystem services to the people of the country. To this end, PNAs will be designated in a demographically and functionally connected manner, and thus the resilience of terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity will be increased to cope with natural disasters such as storms, drought, landslides, flooding etc. This NPASP proposes PNAs in terrestrial, marine and coastal areas and open-ocean waters and deep sea in Trinidad and Tobago.
The NPASP builds on national conservation experience and incorporates new priorities, such as increasing the number of seasonally-protected turtle nesting beaches; protecting important upper watersheds of both islands; identifying new terrestrial areas for both Tobago and Trinidad; conserving a diverse range of terrestrial forest ecosystems through improved forest reserve and wildlife sanctuary system; protecting viable wildlife populations against illegal and over-hunting and agricultural fires; restoring tree cover along entire designated areas and preventing vegetation removal; improving land use planning and management, including State-owned and private lands and forests; protecting important habitats for Trinidad’s endemic plants; addressing significant challenge for the long-term viability of species populations and resiliency for future environmental changes; improving climate resiliency for the forest communities; protecting important seabird habitats against the impacts of climate change, oceanic pollution and human-induced hazards; and designating Sustainable Use Reserves (SURs) and improving their management for higher levels of protection in areas; conducting ecological assessments.
The local PNA committees comprising of the State management agencies, community-level CBOs, NGOs, private landowners and traditional users of the sites, will be established to act as local- level PNA advisory boards. This approach ensures that the development of the PNAs and their management takes into consideration the needs and expectations of the local communities and traditional users. Public awareness will be raised on the threats facing the biodiversity of the country, interest in recreation in natural areas, and concern for iconic threatened wildlife.