The climate change countdown | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 159 (September/October 2019) For decades, climate scientists have warned us about the consequences of global warming — and small island states like those in the Caribbean are especially vulnerable. 2017’s Hurricane Maria was just a taste of what the coming decades will bring, reports Erline Andrews, unless significant resources get directed to efforts to protect threatened coastlines and reefs
Get a kick | On this day By James Ferguson | Issue 158 (July/August 2019) Kick ’Em Jenny sounds like a comic name, but for the scientists who study this underwater volcano, first recorded eighty years ago, it’s no laughing matter. The Caribbean was shaped by its volcanoes, says James Ferguson, which created our mountainous island landscapes — but can also wreak havoc
Kairi wild | Offtrack By Caribbean Beat | Issue 157 (May/June 2019) Trinidad may be an industrial powerhouse, but it’s also home to wildnerness areas with a rich biodiversity, from forested mountains to mangrove wetlands. Photographers Jason Audain and Brendan Delzin share images and stories capturing the island’s wild beauty
The parrotfish dilemma | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 157 (May/June 2019) Among the most colourful marine species, parrotfish play a key role in keeping reefs and beaches healthy. They are also delicious, making fishing bans to protect them unpopular. Without these protections, learns Erline Andrews, they may be overfished into extinction
Andromeda Gardens, Barbados | Wish you were here (Mar/Apr 2019) By Caribbean Beat | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) Postcards from the Caribbean’s most extraordinary places
Karasabai, Guyana: Makonaima’s treasure | Offtrack By Annette Arjoon | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) Karasabai, a Macushi community in Guyana’s Pakaraima Mountains, is rich in wildlife and legend alike, writes Annette Arjoon-Martins
Diva Amon: as deep as it goes | Discover By Erline Andrews | Issue 156 (March/April 2019) The portion of the sea below two hundred metres is our planet’s biggest habitat, and the least known. Erline Andrews meets Trinidadian marine biologist Diva Amon, pioneering deep-sea research in our region
Q&A with Ian Harnarine | Screenshots (Jan/Feb 2019) By Jonathan Ali | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) Filmmaker Ian Harnarine talks about his new short, Caroni
The plastic wars | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 155 (January/February 2019) Plastic pollution is a growing danger to the environment, to wildlife, and to ourselves. As Jamaica implements the first major plastics ban in the Caribbean, Erline Andrews learns about its possible impact — and pitfalls
The secret life of sunscreen | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 154 (November/December 2018) The blazing rays of the tropical sun can take a heavy toll on your skin — which is why most beachgoers and swimmers in the Caribbean slather on a layer of protective sunscreen before they disrobe. But the very chemicals that protect human skin can be toxic for corals — and the Caribbean’s reefs pay the price. Erline Andrews investigates
Jaws of life | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 153 (September/October 2018) Pop culture has given sharks an undeservedly scary reputation. What’s truly frightening, reports Erline Andrews, is a sea without sharks, vital for a healthy marine ecosystem. And after decades of neglect, the countries of the Caribbean are finally waking up to the importance of shark conservation — for the environment, but also for their economies
A plague from above | On this day By James Ferguson | Issue 153 (September/October 2018) It’s not just a story from the Bible: thirty years ago, thanks to unprecedented weather conditions, a massive swarm of locusts crossed the Atlantic and ended up in the Caribbean. James Ferguson investigates how, and what became of them
Clearing the trail | Escape By Paul Crask | Issue 152 (July/August 2018) Dominica’s Waitukubuli National Trail is the jewel in the Nature Isle’s ecotourism crown. 2017’s Hurricane Maria devastated the trail — along with the rest of Dominica — but now an unusual breed of “voluntourists” are helping restore it. Paul Crask meets two of them
The Graeme Hall Swamp: Return Of The Birds By Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 45 (September/October 2000) The Graeme Hall Swamp in Barbados was slowly filled in over the course of a century, in the process losing much of its wild inhabitants. Now they are coming back. Roxan Kinas explains
Let It Rain By Sean Drakes | Issue 50 (July/August 2001) Photographer Sean Drakes took his camera equipment and crew into Trinidad's Northern Range and came back with this page-stopping record, and the admonition, Let It Rain: keep our forests pristine
Francis Morean: Medicine Man By Peter Rickwood | Issue 38 July/August 1999) Herbalist Francis Morean goes back to Trinidad's Spanish and Carib past to retrieve the remedies of old. By Peter Rickwood
What follows the storm in Dominica | Green By Paul Crask | Issue 149 (January/February 2018) In September 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated Dominica’s houses, businesses, and infrastructure. But the storm also took a toll on the Nature Isle’s forests and wildlife — a major blow for an economy that depends on eco-tourism. Paul Crask reports
After the storm | Perspective By Caribbean Beat | Issue 148 (November/December 2017) In the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, here’s how you can help the islands most badly affected
Redonda rescue — saving its native species | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 147 (September/October 2017) Tiny Redonda, with its steep and barren cliffs, is home to colonies of seabirds, rare lizards found nowhere else — and, until recently, hordes of invasive goats and rats. But a new restoration project aims to return Redonda to its original inhabitants. Erline Andrews learns more
The energy of the future: renewables in the Caribbean | Green By Erline Andrews | Issue 146 (July/August 2017) Year-round sunshine, endless breezes, gushing rivers: most Caribbean countries have ample natural resources to harness renewable energy. So why is the region so dependent on fossil fuels? Erline Andrews investigates
Aloe vera: the thorny balm By Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 145 (May/June 2017) The spiky Aloe vera plant is a favourite of Caribbean gardens, its bitter gel used as a moisturiser, stomach remedy, and ingredient in healthy tonics. You might imagine you could build a whole industry around this handy plant — and Aruba has done just that. Shelly-Ann Inniss visits the island’s biggest aloe farm, and learns how this wonder of the kitchen and medicine cabinet is an economic wonder, too
Born blue: Suriname’s blue poison dart frog By Caribbean Beat | Issue 145 (May/June 2017) Suriname’s blue poison dart frog is a living treasure of the rainforest
