Parrotfish. Image: Acquarius Sea Tours
Biodiversity

Conserving fish biodiversity helps protect coral reef health

Research from the Dominican Republic shows how greater fish biodiversity makes for healthier coral reefs: The health of coral reefs can be impacted as much by the diversity of fish that graze on them as by the amount of fish that do so, according to a new study by scientists …

Coral bleaching. Image: Ken Clifton
Oceans

Research finds that in the Caribbean, overseas territories are more vulnerable to coral bleaching than independent countries

According to a new study, independent Caribbean island countries tend to be less vulnerable to coral bleaching than overseas territories: “We were surprised to find that independent islands have lower social-ecological vulnerability than territories…. Territories — such as the Dutch islands of Sint Maarten and Saba — tend to be …

Black-capped petrel. Image: Don Faulkner
Biodiversity

Betty Petersen Conservation Fund awards grants to help conserve endangered birds in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Saint Lucia

BirdsCaribbean has announced the first three recipients of grants from the Betty Petersen Conservation Fund. The selected projects, which all focus on conserving endangered birds endemic to the Caribbean, are based in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Saint Lucia. In Haiti, Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) will be continuing …

Eagle Beach, Aruba. Image: Chris Ford
General

Green Antilles link roundup: January 6, 2019

Aruba’s Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort is the Caribbean’s first carbon-neutral resort — The resort has been a pioneer in sustainability in the hospitality industry for over 30 years. From organizing beach cleanups in the very early years, to installing energy efficient appliances and supporting turtle conservation programs, the resort knows the value …

Guaiacum officinale, an endangered Caribbean plant. Image: via Wikipedia
Biodiversity

Caribbean scientists receive training in endangered species assessment

Scientists from six Caribbean countries recently participated in a training course in The Bahamas on how to assess potentially threatened and endangered species for classification on the IUCN Red List: Fourteen Bahamian and eight Caribbean experts took part in a week of training in Nassau on how to assess threatened …

Solar panels, Haiti. Image via: CDC Global
Energy

Lack of international investment in Haiti’s renewable energy sector

HaitiLibre reports that data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) shows that there was an absence of foreign direct investment in Haiti’s renewable energy sector in 2017: The latest report of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on Foreign Direct Investment …

Scrap metal. Image: Andrew Malone.
Solid waste

Caribbean’s first comprehensive metal recycling plant commissioned in the Dominican Republic

Plans are underway for the first comprehensive metal recycling facility in the Caribbean to begin operation in the Dominican Republic by the end of 2018: ANDRITZ MeWa, a part of international technology group ANDRITZ, has received an order from Cibao Metal Recycling CIMER Srl, a subsidiary of the YeYo Ochoa …