Managing the spread of pretty pink coralita in the Dutch Caribbean
What do you do when an invasive but very pretty plant with pink flowers takes over a Caribbean island, and what we see as a problem is not regarded in the same way by the local residents?
In this interview Jetske Vaas reflects back on her PhD at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视, where she looked into appropriate ways of combating the invasive coralita plant, and tells us about her experiences working with local stakeholders on the Dutch Caribbean island of Saba.
You鈥檝e just handed in your PhD, well done! Could you tell us about your research?
鈥淚 focused on the management of 鈥榗oralita鈥 (Antigonon leptopus), an alien invasive species found on the islands of Saba and St. Eustatius in the Dutch Caribbean.鈥
What is an alien invasive species?
鈥淚t鈥檚 the thing ecologists worry about! The alien part implies it comes from somewhere else, and the invasive part that it has some kind of advantage over other plants. In practice it means it spreads really quickly. With its pretty pink flower, coralita was introduced as an attractive garden plant. It now smothers whole vegetations.鈥
But managing coralita is a little different from usual, right?
鈥淵es. Residents dislike it because it overgrows their gardens and gets everywhere, but because agriculture on the island is limited it鈥檚 only seen as a vague annoyance. In my research I investigated why people don鈥檛 act on this dislike, and through this find appropriate ways to manage its spread鈥.
What were the main insights you drew from working with the island鈥檚 residents?
鈥淭hat we shouldn't focus on the fact that it鈥檚 an invasive plant as a reason for why they need to remove it. Absolutely nothing will get done with this approach. Its periodic removal should instead be a means towards an end that鈥檚 worthwhile to the island鈥檚 residents.
This could be through developing small-scale agriculture, which the government is trying to encourage to reduce the island鈥檚 dependence on imports. But it could also be through gardening, or building and maintaining children鈥檚 playgrounds鈥.
What are the major challenges of your research?
鈥淚t was hard to make my research both scientifically interesting and relevant and valuable for the day to day reality of the people living on Saba and St. Eustatius. The methods we use are not always suited to differences in the way people live across the world. Although they always produce results, they may not capture the way people view and interact with nature. I struggled with this鈥.
How was it working so closely with societal stakeholders?
鈥淭he residents of Saba and St. Eustatius are so used to foreigners coming and starting projects which don鈥檛 achieve what they set out to do. Yet they still engage and participate. I found this really cool.
What was challenging was the island is really small. My role as a scientist - an objective outsider - in a community of only a few thousand could sometimes offend people. I had to get to know the island鈥檚 residents; birthday parties, going to church, and visiting schools. This said, it鈥檚 what I most enjoyed in the end!鈥
Jetske will defend her PhD thesis on 5th December from 14:30 to 15:15 at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 Hall.
Further reading
Vaas, J., Driessen, P.P.J., Giezen, M., van Laerhoven, F. S. J & Wassen, M. J. (2019). . Geoforum 99, 120-131.
Vaas, J., Driessen, P.P.J., Giezen, M., van Laerhoven, F. S. J. & Wassen, M.J. (2017). . Ecology and Society 22 (4).
Jetske's was a blogger for NEMO Kennislink's Faces of Science.
Forum for keeping stakeholders up to date during the course of the project.
A blog series of Jetke's field work on the island of Saba.