Vaas, J.

Participatory action research (PAR) is an approach for fully co-creating research into environmental problems with the public. We argue this is mostly done for manifest environmental problems that clearly threaten livelihoods and have highly predictable impacts. But the conventional PAR approach is not suitable when the impacts are poorly understood and pose a low threat to livelihoods. Such latent environmental problems do not have a clear conflict to be resolved; instead, the community’s inertia should be overcome. In this article, we develop what we call the PAR-L approach, for which we present a step-by-step guide and an evaluation framework. We then demonstrate this approach on the latent problem of the invasive alien Coralita vine (Antigonon leptopus) on Saba (Caribbean Netherlands) and find that it results in thorough understanding of the community inertia. Overcoming the inertia would require a project to run longer and a simultaneous knowledge-gathering effort, but PAR-L is a good starting point.

The invasive alien Coralita vine (Antigonon leptopus) overgrows large parts of Saba and St. Eustatius, posing a threat to agriculture and the unique nature areas. This dissertation seeks to understand why there is policy and management inertia regarding the vine, despite it being widely considered a nuisance, and how the  inertia could be overcome. Part of the explanation is sought in the polycentric governance arrangement of the islands and the Netherlands, and uncertainty about division of responsibilities and mandates within. Another part is the “latent” character of the Coralita problem, given the limited threat it poses to local livelihoods, and the uncertainties regarding its impacts. Thus, locals are inhibited from articulating an opinion as well. Next to that, Coralita is nested inside daily practices of declining agriculture, free-roaming goats and large stretches of land laying fallow. To overcome the inertia, an adjusted version of participatory action research is developed, centered on addressing a manifest problem (limited agriculture), and as a corollary the latent problem of Coralita. To elicit locals’ latent problem perceptions, a combination of Q methodology and landscape values is developed and applied. An analysis of newspaper articles and scientific publications regarding thirteen invasive alien species in the Netherlands, tentatively confirmed a manifest problem status to be something to strive for: it coincides with less inertia, but also more conflict. The dissertation ends with a scientific synthesis, and practice-oriented recommendations for Coralita management on both islands.

Having started in 2015, Utrecht University researchers Elizabeth Haber and Jetske Vaas (a.k.a. The Coralita Girls) thought it time to discuss their findings with stakeholders on Statia and Saba. The botanist and social scientist have always studied the alien invasive Coral vine (Antigonon leptopus) with a view of supporting the local communities in decision-making on management of the pesky vine. Plus, an invitation to participate in Sea & Learn once more was of course too hard to resist.

So mid-October they arrived on Saba, where they guided an invasive species hike, led ecologist-for-a-day-activities with primary school students and built Elephant ear umbrellas with SCF’s junior rangers. And they sat down with the SCF rangers, Island Council members and the Governor to exchange ideas on how to deal with Coralita in different areas. From maps of values Sabans attach to nature that the researchers collected over the years, a clear need arises to keep Mt. Scenery free from Coralita. Therefore, on the short term the small specks of Coralita onthe upper part of the Crispeen trail and next to Mr. Barnes' sheep pen should definitely be removed. In high erosion-risk areas, such as the Harbour gut and Middle Island Trail, it is highly recommendable to remove Coralita from the trees that prevent erosion. Wanting to set an example, Haber and Vaas organised a successful Tamarind tree clean-up on Saba on October 27th, acting on the winning slogan of a small contest: “Coralita, we’re gonna beat ya.”.

In Statia the team met with STENAPA, CNSI, LVV and Deputy Government Commissioner Stegers, sharing ideas for management approaches and priority areas. The attendees agreed that reforestation of the Coralita fields along the trail to The Quill on Upper Round Hill would be a good idea, as well as keeping a buffer zone on the lower slopes of Signal Hill. There was also enthusiasm for a testing-and-research area below the cliffs near Scubaqua, to test the effectiveness of mowing, covering the vine with a tarp or having pigs dig for the tubers. Also, the idea of Community Nature Rangers was suggested, with people in different neighbourhoods adopting trees to keep clear of Coralita.

Jetske ran a short participatory action research project on Saba, where a piece of land in St. John’s where lemon trees were planted on a former Coralita field. This showed the expenses involved with fencing against the feral goats, water for irrigation, and also the time required to maintain the area. But, it also set an example of what can be done when a group comes together. Based on this experience, Elizabeth and Jetske recommended Statia government to set up a similar pilot on a visible place, for example the Deep Yard in Oranjestad. Turning this in a fruit orchard shows that it is feasible and worthwhile to get Coralita off your land.

As for removal methods, digging and mowing is still the best approach. The steep slopes of both islands result in a high risk of run-off with herbicides, potentially damaging other plants and coral reefs. This calls for constant monitoring and immediate removal when Coralita is found somewhere along trails, and therefore they recommended to make Coralita-monitoring part of trail maintenance. But apart from keeping the trails clean, for larger areas the best method to keep Coralita under control is getting people to use their land. To that end, Elizbeth and Jetske handed out seeds, encouraging people to grow vegetables. After all, the farmers are least fazed by the vine, since they weed regularly anyway. 

Jetske is back in Utrecht finishing her dissertation, while Elizabeth has just conducted a research campaign in which she tries to specify the impacts of Coralita. Although it has spread around the world, data on Coralita’s impacts on nutrients in the soil, light availability for other plants and effects on erosion is lacking entirely. By summer 2019 we should know more.

This news-item was published in BioNews-21.

Power point

Recommendations Coralita management on Statia

Reforestation efforts and Coralita management can reinforce one another, and we should have a Coralita-free buffer below Signal Hill. All attendees at the meeting organised by Elizabeth and me and facilitated by CNSI agreed on these matters. The 30th of October 2018, we had the pleasure to discuss with the deputy government commissioner, Stenapa and LVV our insights into Coralita so far and give short and long term recommendations for management. Read the highlights here!

We shared three hands-on ideas for Coralita projects: to establish a demonstration & motivation site, a research & test area, and an Adopt a tree programme. The demonstration site should be a centrally located and well-known location overgrown by Coralita, which would be transformed into a more attractive use. On Saba, we ran a pilot where we replaced Coralita with lemon trees. For Statia, we suggested to clean the Deep Yard and make it into a nice area for the community to use, sending a message that Coralita removal is possible and worthwhile. A research area would serve to answer remaining questions, such as “are pigs a viable removal method for Coralita?” or “after careful herbicide application, how quickly does Coralita recover?”. Gershon Lopes (LVV) suggested to use the area along the beach down from the Bay Path for this. A research area requires long term commitment, since to get reliable and informative results, you need to run tests for a couple of years. Lastly, we suggested an Adopt a Tree programme in which a person, organization or school class takes on the responsibility to keep one tree free from Coralita. In this spirit, Elizabeth organized multiple Coralita clean-ups on Statia, focused on the Tamarind trees below the King’s well.

Next to these approaches, we discussed priority areas for Coralita management on Statia. Firstly, there are some spots where it is creeping up the Quill, such as the trail head at Rosemary lane, the road to the Radio tower, and at the trail head of Upper Round Hill. For these areas, reforestation and removal of the vine should be combined, to keep it from spreading higher up the Quill. To that end, Coralita should be part of trail management, so it can be spotted and removed as soon as possible, which is the easiest and cheapest way to keep it in check. Secondly, there are some areas where Coralita should be monitored closely, namely Fort de Windt and Boven. At White wall there are some small specks of Coralita, and the gullies could be channels for the vine the spread. In the Venus Bay gully it isn’t present yet, to our knowledge, but here too the gully could be a moist place for the vine to settle.

We also spoke about erosion, which is a major concern for the Statia cliffs. Trees and shrubs have a much more elaborate root system than Coralita, and therefore are preferable over Coralita. However, compared to nothing, the Coralita bush at least hampers heavy rains from washing away the top soil. Coralita should thus be prevented from spreading to cliffs that currently have native vegetation, which makes the large stretch of Coralita below Signal Hill worrisome. The participants all agreed that a buffer zone, free from Coralita, is needed below Signal Hill, to keep it from spreading into the park. Also, Elizabeth noticed that the cliffs of Corre Corre Bay are covered with Sea grape. This is a very good erosion preventing and native species, which happens to produces grapes that birds and people alike can enjoy. Therefore, we recommend planting Sea grape above and on cliffs, to prevent erosion.
 
As for removal methods, we stressed the health and ecological risks involved with herbicides. Elizabeth has experience with this from when she worked for the Wisconsin government, and does not think spraying is the solution for Statia. Moreover, run-off from the steep slopes will damage the reefs. Therefore, digging it up and regular mowing is the best approach, keeping other plants and humans safe. The full presentation can be found below, and of course you can always contact us for further questions.

The aim of Utrecht University’s recently started NWO- funded research project “Invasive species in the Dutch Caribbean: foreign foes or alien allies?” is to build on these different views and provide possible management scenarios, indicating their costs and impacts.  

This news articles was published in BioNews 20

BioNews is produced by the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance and funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.