Americas · Island & archipelago
Trinidad and Tobago
A two-island Caribbean state with a forest reserve protected since 1776, a UNESCO biosphere reserve and community-run sea turtle patrols.
Affiliation disclosure at the end of this page.
Trinidad and Tobago is a southern Caribbean state of two main islands. It has one of the longest records of legal forest protection in the Americas: Tobago's Main Ridge Forest Reserve was established by ordinance in 1776 and marked 250 years of protection in 2026 1. In October 2020 UNESCO added north-east Tobago, including the Main Ridge, to its Man and the Biosphere network 23.
The islands' best-known community conservation work concerns sea turtles. Village groups on Trinidad's north and east coasts and on Tobago patrol nesting beaches, guide visitors and collect data. Some of these groups started in response to poaching 456. This profile draws mainly on media and NGO sources, and on monitoring data published by the groups themselves. Independent evaluations of outcomes were not found.
Geography and conservation history
The Main Ridge rises to 572 metres along the spine of Tobago. Its protection dates from a 1776 ordinance aimed, as Global Voices puts it, at "attracting frequent showers of rain". Global Voices reports that UNESCO describes it as the oldest legally protected forest reserve set up specifically for conservation 1. Global Voices' 2020 report called it the oldest tropical rainforest reserve in the western hemisphere 2. During the 250th-anniversary events in 2026, the Tobago House of Assembly unanimously declared 30 April Main Ridge Day 1.
UNESCO announced the North-East Tobago Man and the Biosphere Reserve on 28 October 2020. According to Global Voices, it covers 83,488 hectares, of which 68,384 are marine. It includes 15 communities with about 10,000 residents and records 1,774 species, 41 of them endemic 2. A formal launch was set for 7 June 2022 3.
Landscape and ecology
Five of the world's seven sea turtle species nest in Trinidad and Tobago. The leatherback is the best known 4. Nesting runs mainly from March to September. Key beaches include Grande Rivière, Matura and Fishing Pond on Trinidad, and Turtle Beach (Courland Bay) and Stonehaven on Tobago 4. Discover Trinidad & Tobago, a travel publication, describes Grande Rivière as the world's second-largest leatherback nesting site; we have not found an independent count to confirm this 4.
Pressures are well documented. Speaking at the 2026 anniversary events, Tobago officials cited illegal dumping in the Main Ridge area. Global Voices also lists sargassum, coral bleaching, rising temperatures and a 2024 oil spill among wider pressures on the island 1. For turtles, SOS Tobago names poaching on isolated beaches, coastal lighting, coastal development and sea-level rise 6. UN News identifies bycatch in fishing nets as the main current threat to leatherbacks off Trinidad 5.
Communities and livelihoods
Nature Seekers began in Matura, on Trinidad's east coast, in 1990. According to UN News, up to 30% of leatherbacks reaching Matura beach were then being maimed or killed by poachers; the article gives no source for that figure and no later figure 5. Villagers trained as guides now patrol the beach, tag and measure turtles, and earn income from turtle-watching. The group has received funding from the GEF Small Grants Programme and, through UNDP, is exploring alternative fishing methods such as turtle excluder devices to reduce bycatch 5.
On Tobago, SOS Tobago began in 2000 as a project of Environment TOBAGO and was registered separately in 2001. It runs night and day beach patrols, tags leatherbacks and hawksbills, and excavates nests 6. In its own data, recorded leatherback nest excavations at index beaches ranged from 27 in 2009 to 208 in 2017. Year-to-year variation makes trends hard to read from those figures alone 6. In Charlotteville, the Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville has trained local fishers to monitor reefs and sharks 5.
Tourism model and development
Turtle-watching is the clearest case of tourism and conservation being linked. Access to the main nesting beaches, especially Grande Rivière and Matura, is restricted during the season. Visitors need permits, usually arranged through guides or hotels 4. Community groups including Nature Seekers, the Grande Rivière Nature Tour Guide Association, the Fishing Pond Turtle Conservation Group, SOS Tobago and NEST Tobago are listed under the umbrella of the Turtle Village Trust 4. SOS Tobago also trains tour guides and publishes turtle-watching guidelines 6.
When the biosphere designation was announced, ERIC's chief executive called it a tool for Tobagonians to use and said success would require government, the private sector and civil society to work together. Patricia Turpin of Environment Tobago urged residents to work with those running the programme 2. We found no published management plan or report on the reserve's results since its 2022 launch.
Initiatives and their evidence
| Initiative | Led by | What it is | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Ridge Forest Reserve | Tobago House of Assembly | A forest reserve legally protected since 1776, which marked its 250th anniversary in 2026; 30 April has been declared Main Ridge Day.1 | In progress |
| North-East Tobago Man and the Biosphere Reserve | Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Tobago House of Assembly and UNESCO | A UNESCO biosphere reserve announced in October 2020 covering 83,488 hectares of land and sea and 15 communities; formally launched in 2022.23 | Announced |
| Nature Seekers, Matura | Nature Seekers (community-based organisation) | Community beach patrols, tagging and guided turtle-watching on Matura beach since 1990. Through UNDP it is also exploring turtle excluder devices to reduce bycatch.5 | In progress |
| SOS Tobago turtle monitoring | SOS Tobago | Beach patrols, tagging and nest excavations on Tobago's index beaches since 2000, with published hatch-success data.6 | Documented |
Challenges
- Illegal dumping in the Main Ridge area, cited by Tobago officials in 2026.
- Bycatch in fishing nets, identified as the main current threat to leatherbacks off Trinidad, and continued poaching on isolated Tobago beaches.
- Coastal lighting and development near nesting beaches.
- No public management plan or results report for the North-East Tobago biosphere reserve was found.
Open questions
- How is the North-East Tobago biosphere reserve governed day to day, and how are its 15 communities represented?
- What do recent nesting counts show for leatherbacks at Grande Rivière, Matura and Tobago's index beaches?
- How is turtle-watching permit and tour income shared within the communities that do the patrolling?
- What has been the lasting impact of the 2024 oil spill on Tobago's coast?
Further reading
External
Global Voices on 250 years of protection of Tobago's Main RidgeIndependent account of the reserve's history and the 2026 anniversary
The Regenera Luxury Magazine · affiliated with this publication
Asa Wright Nature Centre: measuring the forestA Northern Range nature centre turning six decades of protection into measured results
The Regenera Luxury Magazine · affiliated with this publication
Mt. Plaisir Estate Hotel, Grande RiviereA small hotel on the village’s leatherback nesting beach, where village guides lead turtle watching
Sources
- 1Two-and-a-half centuries of rainforest protection in Tobago — Global Voices, 19 May 2026. Media
- 2Northeast Tobago named a UNESCO 'Man and the Biosphere Reserve' — Global Voices, 5 November 2020. Media
- 3THA and UNESCO to launch Tobago biosphere reserve in June — Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 31 May 2022. Media
- 4Watching out for Trinidad & Tobago's turtles — Discover Trinidad & Tobago, 5 April 2022. Media
- 5FEATURE: UN-backed projects in the Caribbean highlight connection between life on land and life below water — UN News. Media
- 6Brief History of SOS Tobago (WIDECAST Annual Meeting 2018) — SOS Tobago / WIDECAST, 2018. NGO