Tobago wins Caribbean Nature Park of the Year in “Green Caribbean Awards 2019”

July 1st, 2019

MEDIA RELEASE

Tobago wins Caribbean Nature Park of the Year in “Green Caribbean Awards 2019”

SCARBOROUGH Tobago, Thursday April 25, 2019: Tobago’s Main Ridge Forest Reserve has been named the Caribbean Nature Park of the Year in the Caribbean Journal’s “Green Caribbean Awards 2019”.

Caribbean Journal (CJ) is the world’s largest website covering the Caribbean, with original content and video focusing on travel and tourism across the entire Caribbean, and is the global leader in covering Caribbean travel and trade news. According to the Journal, the Green Awards are meant to “celebrate those who are already working to protect and strengthen this beautiful corner of the world”.

In the article posted on their website on Monday April 22, Caribbean Journal emphasized that being “green” not only encompasses renewable energy, local and sustainable tourism, and consideration of the environment, but for the Caribbean means “an ethos that remembers that the natural world of this region is one of the earth’s most treasured resources”.

Tobago’s Main Ridge Forest Reserve, which was recognized by Caribbean Journal as the Caribbean Nature Park of the Year,was declared a Crown Reserve in 1776 making it the oldest legally protected forest reserve in the Western Hemisphere established for a conservation purpose. It was also nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in August 2011, and was voted the “World’s Leading Eco-Tourism destination” by the World Travel Awards in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

The Caribbean Journal described the Reserve as “a living example of the power of conservation and one whose continued stewardship sends a daily message to the rest of the region. It’s also one of the most remarkable places to visit in the region, a haven of biodiversity and a portal into the natural splendor of this gem of the Southern Caribbean.”

The Main Ridge Forest Reserve is one of the island’s attractions that form part of its thriving eco-tourism product – one of the four pillars for growth of the tourism industry identified by the Tobago Tourism Agency. Visitors to the reserve can enjoy its lush tropical beauty through guided tours, nature walks, bird watching and mountain biking.