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June 2011
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Take a close look at the good books
What do these have in common? The first four continue to contribute to the severe flooding this country regularly experiences. By the time you read this article, you would have witnessed or read about the flooding that occurred on Saturday 4th June in Port of Spain and environs. Unfortunately, the unsuspecting patron suffered the direct impact, finding his flooded and muddied car on Ariapita Avenue; the final straw after the unhappiness of West Indies losing the match! Unfortunately, this event appeared to be timed almost in celebration of World Environment Day (WED) on June 5th. You may also have read the full-colour supplement with wonderful encouraging messages from the Minister of Environment, Dr. Roodal Moonilal, and appreciated the beautiful “green” advertisements. In that supplement we were reminded that 2011 is International Year of Forests and the theme for WED was “Forest: nature at your service”. This is only fitting since our forests provide water, food, medicine and clean air and regulates climate, thus embodying the three sustainable development pillars: economic, social and environmental. Forests also play a major rule in regulating the impacts of floods and storms. In Trinidad and Tobago, numerous studies and comprehensive reports (done by local specialists and local and foreign consultants) have provided extremely good solutions to critical activities such as unmanaged hillside agricultural practices, illegal deforestation, improper garbage disposal and dumping of wastes into our watercourses. Why then do we continue to find ourselves in this situation year after year? It is time our decision makers take a close look at the various recommendations (within costly documents) sitting on shelves in their ministries. Many of us in the environmental field agree that we have most of the tools and do not need to re-invent the wheel. Solutions such as containment of rain/flood waters lie within the “Integrated Water Resources Management for TT;” regular collection of household and other garbage lies within the “Waste Management Strategy for TT” and managing plastics can be found within the Beverage Containers Bill (Draft), etc. These activities which have such severe negative impacts on the environment and quality of life for citizens of this country could be so easily alleviated, if our decision makers would simply institute the appropriate recommendations. Environmental management, which includes flood management, is a cross cutting task in T&T and we already have the various institutions in place, fopr instance, the Water Resources Agency, which has primary responsibility for water resources management; the Drainage Division, Ministry of Works and Transport, which is responsible for the construction and maintenance of storm water and flood control structures in the catchments of the major river basins; and the Forestry Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources, which is responsible for forest management, the promotion of watershed management, and the management of wetlands. Decision makers, we urge you to please be more pro-active and attack this problem at the “sources” rather than applying bandages at the areas downstream of impacts! So again: Small farmers clearing Northern Range hillside land for crops. A high-rise townhouse development in the Diego Martin hillside. The Planning Bill must be passed, adhered to, publicized and illegal activities curtailed! An old fridge dumped in the St. Ann’s River. Efficient collection systems/dump areas must be sustained! A successful water-bottling factory in Trinidad. Beverage Containers Bill must be passed, adhered to and publicized! An unsuspecting patron at the T20 cricket match at the Oval… not sure, but maybe we can pass a law that West Indies must win? –Dr. Judith Gobin is Lecturer, Department of Life Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
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