CONSERVATION Annette Arjoon is dedicated to protecting Guyana's indigenous marine communities. Arjoon was founding secretary of the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society ( GMTCS), which works to protect the leatherback, olive ridley, green and hawksbill turtles, all of which nest on Shell Beach. The 44- year- old, raised by her Amerindian grandmother in Guyana's rural Pomeroon region, has worked to broaden the GMTCS scope to include programmes that benefit not just the turtles, but also the communities around the turtle- nesting beaches. " I am focusing on community development and finding alternative livelihoods and income so they no longer have to kill the turtles and take the eggs," says the joint winner of the 2008 Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence in Public and Civic Contributions. Arjoon saw the possibility that communities in Guyana's north- west could use sustainable non- timber forest products, such as handmade cocoa sticks, to earn income, and consequently supplement their diets with protein other than turtle meat and eggs. This idea grew into a product- line called North West Organics, promoting five goods native to the Guyanese Amerindian culture. " Helping indigenous communities here, helps protect wildlife and the rainforests, which in turn affects the rest of the Caribbean," she explains. Since 2002 the GMTCS has also successfully lobbied for a partial ban on trawler fishing around beaches during nesting season, and it was instrumental in the government's decision to identify the 100- mile- long Shell Beach as a protected area. " With a little effort we can bring about huge changes," says Arjoon. l Visit www. gmtcs. org. gy " When you volunteer for something and become involved, your desire for it strengthens; you become committed to the animal's welfare and it changes your life" . So says 56- year- old Gupte Lutchmedial of his near 20- year association with the West Indian manatees of Trinidad's Nariva Swamp. The protection and rehabilitation of these endangered aquatic mammals, which average an impressive 3m ( 10ft) in length and 400- 600 kg ( 880- 1,322lbs) in weight, began as a Rotary Club project in 1990. Lutchmedial was assigned to head up what, in 1993, became the Manatee Conservation Trust ( MCT). In 1996 the 500- acre estate on which the animals live came up for sale and was duly purchased by the MCT. " We're the only ever totally local, non- profit, group to purchase the habitat of an animal and make it sustainable [ in Trinidad]," says Lutchmedial proudly. Threats to the manatee population, currently estimated at 60, included: habitat encroachment by rice farming; hunters; entanglement in fishing nets, and being struck by boat propellers. The Trust set about conducting manatee dietary studies and encouraging vegetation favourites; doubling the manatees' grazing area through improved channel accessibility; carrying out population counts; introducing patrols; banning fishing nets and motorboats, and establishing a research station on site. Both Lutchmedial and the MCT have received Humming Bird ( Silver) Medals from the T& T government in recognition of their environmental contributions. The Trust's scope has grown to encompass the conservation and protection of the Nariva Swamp and adjacent environmentally sensitive areas. Other major projects now also include protecting nesting marine turtles on Manzanilla Beach, and the re- introduction of blue and gold macaws into Nariva Swamp. But the manatee remains uppermost for Lutchmedial. " If I am to be remembered for anything I hope it would be for my efforts to protect the manatee habitat," he says. l Visit www. manateetrust. org. tt 4 Annette Arjoon Marine Turtle Conservation Society 5 Gupte Lutchmedial Manatee Conservation Trust ll 38 ZiNG July - September 2009 Cynthia Watson The Manatee Conservation Trust is the only ever totally local, non- profit, group to purchase the habitat of an animal and make it sustainable in Trinidad

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