Two-and-a-Half Centuries of Rainforest Protection in Tobago

This story written by Janine Mendes-Franco originally appeared on Global Voices on May 19, 2026.

Amid grappling with various negative impacts of the climate crisis, including sargassum threats to mangroves, coral reef bleaching and hotter temperatures, Tobago has tried to find ways to pivot. Environmentalists have pointed to the potential of sargassum as a biofuel, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) recently partnered with government, private sector and community-based organisations to rehabilitate coral reefs and seagrass beds.

It is a process that often feels like taking one step forward and two steps back — just about a year after the IMA’s initiative began, Tobago found itself having to clean up a massive oil spill in its waters. Regional environmentalists called it “a cautionary tale” — a wake-up call about the fossil fuel industry, which caused the climate crisis in the first place. The bright spot, however, has always been Tobago’s Main Ridge, which recently celebrated the 250th anniversary of its legal protection, even as the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), the island’s primary administrative body, unanimously passed a motion at the Assembly Legislature declaring April 30 Main Ridge Day.

The start of the environmental movement

The mountainous spine of the island is home to the Main Ridge Forest Reserve, legally established in 1776 and on record as the oldest legally protected forest reserve geared specifically towards conservation. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) quotes Scientific American as saying that “the protection of Tobago’s forest was the first act in the modern environmental movement.”

In its own justification of Main Ridge’s value — which eventually resulted in Northeast Tobago, where it is situated, being named a Man and the Biosphere Reserve in October 2020, UNESCO explains: “[A]lthough Tobago is an island, the fauna are continental in origin, since Tobago was once joined to the South American continent […] Considerable endemism has resulted […] Support of this unique biodiversity and exceptionally diverse ecosystem is of great value to humanity. In addition, it protects against soil erosion, it encourages rainfall and provides significant carbon sinks.”

A popular ecotourism destination, Main Ridge reaches a maximum elevation of 572 metres (just over 1,800 feet) towards its centre, and provides an important habitat for native plants and animals, including several endemic species.

The preservation of the Main Ridge centuries ago set a precedent that continues to impact international environmental policy today.

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Why is it protected?

The ordinance establishing the Main Ridge Forest Reserve declares that it was established “for the purpose of attracting frequent showers of rain upon which the fertility of lands in these climates doth entirely depend.” Its passage through the British parliament — 11 years after being put forward — is credited to Soame Jenyns, who was responsible for trade, including trade linked to the output of British colonies, where sugar production was booming and plantation owners were clearing large swathes of land to increase yields. Jenyns, who closely followed the work of scientist Stephen Hales, which established a correlation between trees and rainfall, soon realised that the health of the island’s rainforest had a direct impact on the watershed, which in turn affected everything from water quality to agriculture and habitats.

Two hundred and fifty years later, secondary school students in Tobago recreated that 1776 parliamentary debate at the THA’s legislature building. As the student playing Jenyns put it, “Remove the forest, lose the rain.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the commemorative week to mark the Main Ridge’s anniversary, the secretary of environment, climate resilience and energy Darren Henry made the point that the decision to protect this rainforest was a matter of survival for Tobago, but it also left an indelible mark on global environmental history, setting the forest aside for conservation “with the understanding that the health of the land, the rainfall and the people were all dependent on it.” He also issued some words of caution regarding environmental degradation, specifically referring to illegal dumping in the Main Ridge area, which he said would be combated through increased public awareness campaigns and enforcement efforts.

In a post about the 250th anniversary, blogger Faraaz Abdool noted that the protection of the ridge “was done not for the glorious biodiversity within [but] for the ridge’s role as a watershed. While it was valued for the water it provided to the surrounding estates, we now understand the contribution of Main Ridge to far exceed what was considered a quarter of a millennium ago.”

He continued: “Tobago’s climate is governed by its rainforest. If it were gone, the island would be much drier and hotter. Denuded hills do little to attract rainfall, and it is this rainfall that is also responsible for transporting nutrients from the island’s rugged interior to its equally rugged coastlines — feeding prolific reef systems around the island. Although we may take note of a clear delineation of Main Ridge’s boundaries on a map and signposted along roadways, the nourishing fingers of this magical rainforest extend throughout the island and beyond.”

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Messages of support

Online, there has been a proliferation of congratulatory messages about the landmark anniversary and the many events and initiatives that happened around it. One tour guide thanked “all the many individuals and entities that keep this immensely valuable and unique space protected for our future generations.” The Tobago Performing Arts Company, which participated in the celebrations, made the point that “the forest stands because we choose to protect it.”

Some posts focused on the importance of collective action in keeping Main Ridge pristine, while others were deeply personal. In an emotive post, Facebook user David Rajpaulsingh said, “[T]he Main Ridge Forest has been more than a place to me…it has been home. In its silence, I found myself; in its breath, I remembered something deeper than words. And as it celebrates 250 years […] I realise I was never just walking through it…I was being held by it all along. Happy anniversary to my favourite place in the world.”

New treasures to be found

As is usually the case when nature is respected and allowed to thrive, the wonders of the Main Ridge continue to unfold. In another Facecbook post, Rajpaulsingh waxed poetic: “250 years of quiet magic in the Main Ridge Forest Reserve…and still, she keeps her secrets. Beyond the trails you know, over 100 hidden waterfalls move through her like whispered stories, unseen, unheard, yet always there. Not everything is meant to be found. Some things are meant to be felt.”

Abdool’s blog post echoed this admiration. “Those who have experienced the ascent into Main Ridge from either Roxborough or Bloody Bay,” he says, “would attest to the change in atmosphere that accompanies each bend in the road. Subtle changes in vegetation and birdsong follow as one rises into mist-ridden hills. As the road plateaus at the top, it feels like an entirely different world from the rest of the island. […] The soil is soft, perpetually moist, and dark. Webs upon webs of root systems crisscross every trail through this rainforest; its largest trees are hidden in lost valleys that managed to escape the wrath of 1963’s Hurricane Flora, which whipped the tops off most. At the highest points on the ridge, trees are short and stunted, with gnarled, moss-coated limbs.”

There has now been an exciting rediscovery within the forest: the existence of a rare tree — the Blue Copper — known in modern-day circles only through historical records, which has sparked great interest among dendrologists and forestry officers, who were inspired to name a trail after it.

According to Deputy Conservator of Forests William Trim, Tobago is quite familiar with a shrub that locals call “Blue Copper” — but this tree is different. Quite tall, it has buttress roots and towers over the forest canopy. Its fruit was traditionally used to relieve some ailments, and its wood for boat construction, but today its nectar sustains over 200 bird species that call the Main Ridge home. Its rediscovery is being hailed as proof of the success of the centuries-old effort to preserve the rainforest.

[AV]

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