NEW YEAR'S MESSAGE - Environmental Management Authority

NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE
DR. JOTH SINGH, MD/CEO
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY
The Environmental Management
Authority (EMA) marks the close of
the year 2010 against the backdrop of
international, regional and national
developmental circumstances that have
required continued emphasis on the
inalienable requirement of sound
environmental regulation, management
and education.
We are grateful for the support of the
Minister of Housing and the
Environment, Dr. the Honourable
Roodal Moonilal and the guidance of
our recently-installed Board of
Directors under the Chairmanship of
Professor Julian Kenny.
We also welcome closer working relations with our sister agencies such as the Communitybased
Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) and the Forestry
Division and look forward to deepening our collective engagement of the key issues as we
move forward.
In December we marked the receipt of our 3,000 th Certificate of Environmental Clearance
(CEC) application. This milestone is not only significant as an institutional statistic, but as
indicative of a high level of awareness of the developmental frame within which the CEC
process is meant to apply.
Emphasis continued to be placed on application of the Noise and Water Pollution Rules.
Additionally, the government has placed as priority items the long-awaited Beverage
Containers legislation and Air Pollution Rules.
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The enforcement of environmental legislation also occupied our attention as higher numbers
of Notices of Violation (NOVs) relating to CEC and Noise Pollution breaches were served
in 2010.
In 2010, our Compliance Unit investigated over 1000 complaints varying from noise to
illegal dumping of waste. Additionally, over 250 applications for noise variations were
received.
We were also able to acquire a better understanding of the scope and nature of the country’s
hazardous waste profile through completion of a National Hazardous Waste Inventory – a
process engaged as part of the country’s commitment under the Basel Convention.
Key interventions were also led in the areas of lead remediation and biosafety and important
work was undertaken on biodiversity reporting and assessment of the Buccoo Reef as an
Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA). Important work was also conducted to further
strengthen community and other action to preserve existing ESAs in the Aripo Savannas
and in the Nariva Swamp. The EMA also looks forward to the designation of the Ocelot
and the Golden tree frog as Environmentally Sensitive Species in 2011.
Significantly, Green Fund funding was approved for pursuit of the Nariva Reforestation
Project which has importance for the livelihood opportunities of neighboring communities
and the international trade in sequestered Carbon under the Clean Development Mechanism
of the Kyoto Protocol.
In January, we embarked on a concerted programme of awareness-building in the area of
biological diversity, in keeping with global observance of International Year of
Biodiversity. This helped tailor the form and substance of programmes such as the Primary
Schools’ Hands-On Competition under the theme: “Nature in my Neighbourhood” and our
annual Eco-Song Competition for secondary schools under the banner: “Biodiversity is life,
biodiversity is our life”.
For World Environment Day, the EMA hosted its first ever, highly successful Green
Lifestyle Show which brought together 30 exhibitors showcasing green products. This was
followed by our Biennial Green Leaf Awards.
With youth at the forefront of our environmental awareness and education thrust, the third
annual Youth Environmental Workshop was hosted in Grande Riviere. The EMA Youth
Ambassadors meanwhile continued to play an important role in spreading the environmental
message throughout the national adult and youth communities.
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The EMA was also involved in co-leading efforts associated with the Prime Minister’s
Clean and Beautify Trinidad and Tobago programme and International Coastal Clean-up
activities.
As we look forward to 2011, the EMA sees an increasing role for itself in the country’s
pursuit of a future rooted in the principle of sustainable development.
A Green Business Forum is being planned for the first quarter of the New Year at which
government agencies and business enterprises engaged in a wide range of commercial and
industrial activities will hammer out cohesive approaches for fostering Green
Business in Trinidad and Tobago.
We also propose to join the rest of the world in observing International Year of
Forests 2011 by launching the inaugural Film Festival on Forests and other public
information interventions.
During the course of the New Year, further development is also expected to take
place in the area of air quality testing in designated areas of the country.
I extend to the national community thanks for their support during 2010 and best
wishes for the New Year and the assurance that the EMA will continue to play its
part in the achievement of sustainable development in Trinidad and Tobago.
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