TT to get Integrated Coastal Zone Management plan

This was stated on Wednesday by Dr Joth Singh, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) at the opening of a two-day conference, “The Sustainable Development of Coastal Communities: Challenges and Solutions,” hosted by the University of the West Indies, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, at the Hyatt Regency.

Singh read the address of Minister of Housing and Environment, Dr Roodal Moonilal, who was absent because of having to take part in a debate in Parliament..

ICZM is a “continuous and dynamic process” which addresses sustainable development and protection of coastal areas”.

“The aim is to manage human activities within the coastal zone, and consequently address conflicts among the many different resource users.

“It is a process that unites government and the community, science and management and sectoral and public interests,” Singh said. It adopted a co-management approach in which stakeholders shared aspects of governance with government and community participation which is an essential part of the management process.

Singh said there has been increased conflict among various stakeholders in recent years and referred to the ongoing uneasiness between the petrochemical and fishing industry.

He said recently fisher folk in Claxton Bay opposed the construction of a port, and Pt Fortin residents opposed the loss of a recreational beach, due to oil and gas infrastructure.

Highlighting the importance of coastal areas to TT he cited Central Statistical Office data in the 2007 First Compendium of Environmental Statistics which stated that more than 70 percent of the TT population resided in coastal areas, 80 percent of activities of strategic national importance was located within coastal areas, 60 percent of small scale economic activity significant for the support of human lives was located within coastal areas, 80 percent of urbanised land was within, or adjacent to coastal areas.

Features which contribute to TT’s vulnerability to adverse impacts were: limited land space, limited technological capacity, limited human capacity, high coastal population density and lack of economies of scale.

He also said the impact of climate change could take different forms, including increased intensity of storms, hurricanes, and storm surges, decreased agricultural production, coastal inundation. In addition, activities in watershed regions also impact on coastal areas.

Featured speaker at the opening was Professor Daniel E Lane of the Telfor School of Management, University of Ottawa, Canada. He spoke of the “challenges and solutions” in relation to the topic. Among those in attendance at the conference were Mayor Barry Janyk of Gibsons, British Columbia, and Port-of-Spain Mayor, Louis Lee Sing.