The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the Grande Riviere Nature Tour Guiding Association say that only a few hundred turtles were lost in this weekend’s river re-route efforts and that more nesting ground would have been lost had they not taken action.

I (and the Trinidad Express) stand corrected on the figure, but why is it that none of the officials are speaking to why the erosion went on so long (since December 2011) without intervention? Or why they chose hatching season to finally go in?

Dr. Joth Singh, CEO of the EMA is claiming that the impact was not as severe as originally reported and that the authorities have been made to look negligent. On the other hand, he also says that the impact was not anticipated and that the excavator operators didn’t follow instructions.

So, whose fault is it? Who will be held responsible?

Because, whether it was hundreds or thousands of hatchlings that died, the fact is that leatherback turtles are endangered and, when as few as 1 in 1,000 survive to return to T&T (one of the most important sites worldwide), just one is too many. 

(photo source)