Page 10 Anyone driving along the Western Main Road, near Dhein's Bay, during a downpour, can see the river of red earth flowing down the hillside, across the road and into the sea. What they do not see is the effect that runoff has on the coastal environment into which it flows and is deposited.
Rain washes soil from slopes which have been bared by bush fires, logging and construction.
Such runoff substantially increases the amount of sand, silt and clay entering coastal waters. Sediment smothers sea grasses, reducing their food-making potential and making recovery impossible in some cases. The loss of sea grass communities in the Gulf of Paria will only accelerate already declining fishery resources. Sea grass beds are among the ocean's ore productive ecosystems. They form the only group of submerged flowering plants in the sea and thrive in many shallow-water coastal habitats.