Following elections in January, 2005, the People's National Movement holds 11 seats in the THA while the Democratic Action Congress holds one seat.
Tobago has a land area of 300 km² (116 mi²), and is approximately 42 kilometres long and 10 kilometres wide. It is located at latitude 11°N, longitude 60°W, slightly north of Trinidad. The population is 54,084 (2000). The capital of Tobago is Scarborough, with a population of about 17,000. While Trinidad is multiethnic, the population of Tobago is overwhelmingly Afro-Tobagonian, although with a growing proportion of Indo-Trinidadians and Europeans (predominantly Germans and Scandinavians). Between 1990 and 2000 the population of Tobago grew by 11.28%, making it one of the fasting growing areas of the country.
This forested area has great biodiversity including many species of birds, mammals, frog and (non-poisonous) snakes. It is also one of the most approachable area of rain-forest since it is relatively small and there are Government appointed guides who provide an authoritative guiding service through the forest at very reasonable cost. The guides are very knowledgeable about the plants and the animals and can call down rare and exotic birds from the canopy by imitating their calls.
Tobago is linked to the world through the airport at Crown Point, and the Scarborough harbour. Domestic flights connect Tobago with Trinidad, and international flights connect with the Caribbean and Europe.
The Head of State of Trinidad and Tobago is the president, currently Professor Emeritus George Maxwell Richards. The President is elected by an Electoral College consisting of the full membership of both houses of Parliament. The parliament consists of two chambers, the Senate (31 seats) and the House of Representatives (36 seats). The members of the Senate are appointed by the president. The 16 Government Senators are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, the 6 Opposition Senators are appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and the 9 Independent Senators are appointed by the President to represent other sectors of civil society. The 36 members of the House of Representatives are elected by the people for a maximum of five years.
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is a unitary state, with a parliamentary democracy modelled on that of the UK, from whom it gained independence in 1962. Under the 1976 republican Constitution, the British monarch was replaced as head of state by a President chosen by an electoral college composed of the members of the bicameral Parliament, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The general direction and control of the government rests with the Cabinet, led by a Prime Minister and answerable to the House of Representatives. The 36 members of the House are elected to terms of at least 5 years. Elections may be called earlier by the president at the request of the prime minister or after a vote of no confidence in the House of Representatives. In 1976, the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18. The Senate's 31 members are appointed by the President: 16 on the advice of the prime minister, six on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and nine independents selected by the President from among outstanding members of the community. Local government is through nine Regional Corporations and five municipalities. Tobago was given a measure of self-government in 1980 and is governed by the Tobago House of Assembly. In 1996, Parliament passed legislation which gave Tobago greater self-government.
Little Tobago, the small neighbouring island supports some of the best dry forest remaining in Tobago. Little Tobago and St. Giles Island are important seabird nesting colonies.
Although Tobago lies to the south of the hurricane belt, it was nevertheless struck by Hurricane Flora on September 30, 1963. The effects of the hurricane were so severe that it changes the face of Tobago's economy. The hurricane laid waste to the plantations of Banana, Coconut and Cocoa, which largely sustained the economy. It also wreaked considerable damage to the largely pristine tropical rainforest that makes up a large proportion of the interior of the northern half of the island. Subsequently, many of the plantations were abandoned and the economy changed direction away from cash crop agriculture towards tourism.
The Tobago forest reserve claims to be the oldest protected forests in the western world. It was designated as a protected Crown reserve on April 17 1776 following representations by Soame Jenyns a Member of Parliament in Britain who had the responsibility for the development of Tobago. It has remained a protected area ever since.
Tobago is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, part of the nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
The principal economic forces in Tobago are tourism and government spending. Conventional beach and water-sports tourism is largely focussed in the south-east around the airport and the coastal strip. However ecotourism is growing in significance and much of this is focussed on the large area of protected forest in the centre and north of the main island and also on Little Tobago, a small island off the north east tip of the main island.
The Tobago House of Assembly is the local government body responsible for the island of Tobago within the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. The THA was established in 1980 to rectify some of the disparities in the relationship between the two islands. In addition to the normal local government functions the THA handles many of the responsibilities of the central government, but lacks the ability to collect taxes or impose local laws or zoning regulations.
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is a nation located in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Venezuela. It is an archipelagic state consisting of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and 21 smaller islands, the most important being Chacachacare, Monos, Huevos, Gaspar Grande (or Gasparee), Little Tobago and St Giles Is. The larger and more populated island is Trinidad, while the island of Tobago is smaller (303 square kilometres; about 6% of the total area) and less populous (50,000 people; 4% of the total population). Citizens are officially called Trinidadians or Tobagonians or Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, but are informally referred to as Trinis or Trinbagonians.