Desmond Brown

Stories written by Desmond Brown
Desmond became an IPS contributor in February 2012 and now serves as the lead environment correspondent in the Caribbean. Prior to this, he co-produced and co-anchored the Caribbean Media Corporation's Radio News as well as the Caribbean Today Updates; Caribbean Newsline and Primetime Caribbean on CMC's Global Television Channel, CaribVision. Desmond was educated in Jamaica and worked for several major Radio and Television stations in the Caribbean. He has been a news anchor at CCN TV6 in Trinidad and Tobago; the Grenada Broadcasting Network; Caribbean News Service and Good News FM in Grenada; and LOVE FM & LOVE Television in Jamaica. He was also a co-presenter of Morning Edition and the Producer/Anchor of the News at Ten and the News at Noon on 6, all news programmes of CCN TV6 in Trinidad. | Twitter |

Antigua Prepares for Consequences of Superstorm Sandy

By Desmond Brown

Tourism-dependent Antigua may have been spared the ravages of superstorm Sandy, but the island is nevertheless feeling its effects on environmental, political and economic fronts.

Tiny Barbuda Fears Increasingly Hostile Climate

By Desmond Brown

Local scientists are warning the tiny 62-square-mile island of Barbuda is becoming one of the most vulnerable spots on earth to the consequences of climate change.

Amid Food Crisis, Caribbean Agriculture Going to Seed

By Desmond Brown

With the average age of a farmer in the Caribbean now 62 years old, there is growing concern that commercial agriculture is on a path to extinction – a dire scenario for a region already shouldering a massive food import bill.

Some Caribbean Hotels Back Away from Battered Coastlines

By Desmond Brown

The postcards portray sand, sea and sun. But key players in the Caribbean tourism industry are warning that it's time to shift gears away from the region's threatened coastlines and instead promote inland attractions like biodiversity.

Caribbean Islands Brace for Challenges of Climate Change

By Desmond Brown

Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas remembers how quiet - even uneventful – this tiny twin-island federation was for the first four decades of his life.

Voracious Lionfish on Caribbean’s Menu

By Desmond Brown

In a case of "if you can’t beat them, eat them," Caribbean countries have embarked on a new strategy to deal with the invasive lionfish, whose voracious appetite is wiping out fish stocks from Bermuda to Barbados in what scientists believe to be the worst marine invasion in history.

Caribbean Moves to Protect Rights of HIV-Positive Workers

By Walter García and Desmond Brown

Thirty years into the HIV and AIDS epidemic, Caribbean countries are slowly putting necessary legislation in place to ensure the rights of workers despite their HIV/AIDS and chronic disease status.

New Waste-to-Energy Facility Helps Barbados Toward Greener Economy

By Desmond Brown

When it comes to pursuing a greener path to economic development, the tiny Caribbean island of Barbados is not about to allow its small size and limited resources to get in its way.

A makeshift hatchery for leatherback turtles. Volunteers at Grande Riviere saved at least 500 hatchlings from heavy duty machinery used to halt erosion. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS

After Turtle Hatchlings Destroyed, Trinidad Govt Defends Its Actions

By Desmond Brown

Ordinarily they live for at least half a century. But at least 20,000 leatherback sea turtle hatchlings never made it past their nesting ground at Grand Riviere, a stretch of shoreline along Trinidad's north coast, in what's been described as "an engineering disaster" last weekend.

Hoping To Save Millions, Antigua Turns to Backyard Gardening

By Desmond Brown

As a boy, Hilson Baptiste remembers going to his neighbour's home and giving them a large slice of pumpkin grown in his family's backyard garden. In return, he would be given two fish for his family.

For Dominica, Adaptation Best Option to Combat Climate Change

By Desmond Brown

It has been dubbed the "Nature Isle" of the Caribbean, its craggy and dense rain forests, usually covered with fog, bearing testament to how cool temperatures can be here.

A farmer uses a hand-held sprinkler to water corn in Barbados. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS

Barbados Begins New Drive to Bolster Local Agriculture

By Desmond Brown

Mere weeks ago Arthur Smith, who has been farming here for more than 20 years, was dangling thousands of carrots in front of local consumers, but there were no buyers to be had.

ANTIGUA: Mysterious Pest Targets Valuable Palm Trees

By Desmond Brown

Something is decimating the coconut and other palm trees here and no one seems to know exactly what it is.

In Antigua, Fishing Brings Both Income and Ecological Destruction

By Desmond Brown

Eli Fuller is a third-generation Antiguan who, for the past two decades, has been exploring the Antigua and Barbuda coastline. But he laments the fact that he can no longer see the coral that he recalls were somewhat of an underwater jungle when he was a young boy, akin to what you'd see in the Amazon rain forest.