There is now a fine of $100,000 and two years imprisonment if you are caught driving on Las Cuevas beach (or any other beach) and you harm turtles, according to the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) Act. Turtles were declared an Environmentally Sensitive Species and it looks like the EMA is now cracking down on folks who use their cars to drive on turtle nesting beaches.
Las Cuevas beach is an important turtle nesting beach. During the height of leatherback nesting season more than 40 turtles go there nightly to lay their eggs. At least three species of turtle nest here: Leatherback turtles, green turtles and hawksbill turtles.
Drivers often trespass through private land surrounding the beach and use the turtle nesting area as a rally ground. Many claim to not know that Las Cuevas is a turtle-nesting beach–despite the signs from civil society groups warning drivers of the threat to turtles.Those signs now have the company of EMA signs prohibiting driving on the beach clearly stating the penalties. Nobody can say they "do not know" anymore.
There is hardly ever anybody in authority on the beach to remove anti-social drivers. The result is that beachgoers and turtle conservationists sometimes get into conflict with people driving on the beach. The outcome of those encounters can be dramatic. I once saw an irate beachgoer take a cricket bat to the head of a reckless ATV racer who narrowly missed running over a child. I can't condone violence but I'll admit to thinking: "Serves you right," and cracking a snug smile when I saw it happen.
However, it is violence that causes silence. Most times the drivers win because of the fear that Trinis have of speaking out against fellow Trinis. You never know what the other person is "carrying," so it is better to keep your mouth shut.Jungle law, the strongest wins. It is the tragedy that happens when the State leaves an enforcement vacuum and makes citizens fend for themselves.
This is why I'm so proud that the EMA is taking an interest in Las Cuevas. It is time to take back Las Cuevas beach so we can all enjoy it–two-footers, four-flippered beings, two-footed and two-winged ones. Everybody.The paradigm shift is that the local community group Las Cuevas Eco Friendly Association (LCEFA) is now on the scene. The members of this group do turtle watching tours, turtle tagging and data collection.
They have been working together with the EMA, Turtle Village Trust, the private landowner, Tourism Development Company and Papa Bois Conservation to raise awareness about the turtles at Las Cuevas. They are now the eyes and the ears of the conservation effort.
In the past the private landowner tried to stop people from trespassing on his land. He put concrete blocks across the road, but somebody removed them. The landowner is not from Las Cuevas so the local community did not feel empowered to act. Local community involvement was the missing link.
The landowner has now dug a trench across the access roads through his land to stop the trespassing. The EMA has erected signs prohibiting driving on the beach. The LCEFA patrols the beach.The community-based LCEFA is now empowered with the knowledge that they have the backing of the landowner and the EMA. The EMA has a $100,000/two years in prison baton to swing at offenders.
I asked Dr Scott Eckert of WIDECAST, a turtle NGO, why driving on the beach is harmful."If turtles or seabirds are nesting on the Las Cuevas beach, then vehicles are a problem. For turtles, vehicles can rut up the beach, making it difficult for hatchlings to crawl to the sea...they often become entrained in the ruts and crawl parallel to the surf until killed by the sun or avian predators," he said.
"Vehicles also crush hatchlings that are waiting just under the surface to emerge when sand temperatures cool down in the evening (emergence time is controlled by the hatchlings detecting a drop in sand temperature). Particularly serious in such cases is that the crushed hatchlings prevent those below them from emerging and they suffocate in the nest.
"For shallow nesting sea turtles such as hawksbills, driving over them will crush the entire nest."Finally, driving on the beach can add to destabilisation of the beach by damaging beach slope and structure or by killing stabilising vegetation."In general the public should be banned from all driving (and horse riding on any beach with sea turtle or seabird nesting. If it is necessary for a vehicle to operate on a beach in an official capacity, then ATVs can be used as they have a 'soft' footprint.
"For most ATVs the amount of compaction pressure under each wheel is less than that of a human (or a horse...which also should be banned from beaches). However they should be operated primarily in the 'swash' zone where wave over wash will remove their tracks after each tidal cycle."