http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-03-22/tt-among-most-polluted-world

T&T among most polluted in world

Published:  Thursday, March 22, 2012

When we began this multimedia series Cleaning Up The Mess in 2010 we had high hopes for change. We wrote this on our Facebook page: T&T is among the most polluted small island states in the world. We dump more than 50 million plastic bottles in our dumps and one million glass bottles every month. Plastic, when exposed to heat creates one of the the deadliest toxins known to man.

 

This is what the people of Trinidad and Tobago are breathing in everyday. We look forward to the Beverage Bill being laid in Parliament by Housing and Environment Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal because when these bottles are exposed to heat, they produce one of the most toxic substances that exist. Doctors suspect it is related to the rising rates of cancer. We do not recycle—waste computers when damaged or dismantled produce hazardous toxins.

 

The Government over the past ten years has failed to enact any legislation that deals with recycling, from manufacture to purchase to disposal citizens must know where to dispose and how. The people of T&T eagerly look forward to the government’s waste management legislation, enforcement and a proper waste separation plan. When this is achieved, our job is done.

 

Now in the first quarter of 2012 we are more than a little disappointed at the lack of change. But we haven’t given up the fight. Today we start a new four-part series on recycling by marketing manager of Resin Converters Limited Gerard Charles. The transition from a third world nation into a developed one demands that the existing Government and all citizens insist that the accompanying negative fallout from our rapid development and progress be properly managed if it is to be maintained at an acceptable level that redounds to the benefit of everyone concerned.

 

Increasing pollution of our environment in its many forms has become a major issue as it is an undesirable side effect of our unbridled development and we are now faced with the challenge of finding lasting and sustainable solutions to the complex problems surrounding the efficient and responsible handling, disposal or re-conversion of waste products that are generated by our consumer driven markets.

 

One such waste product that has been constantly receiving much attention is plastic waste. This material has and continues to be a primary cause for concern as it has become so visible and plentiful in our environment because it does not degrade easily, floats in water and is not easily absorbed by the environment. Indeed plastics have, along with the oil industry, become the poster child for pollution and is synonymous with all that is considered bad for the environment.

 

The handling and disposal of plastic waste has created numerous challenges for both environmentalists and Governments alike as it is a material that is used in such great quantities for the manufacture of disposable products which are irresponsibly discarded. At a time when the need for a greater awareness and care of the environment is imperative because of rising concerns about the safety of plastics and the eyesore that it creates on the planet, we see increasing applications for this material in our everyday lives that increases our dependency upon it.

 

The classic images of plastic products blocking drains and rivers, and deposits of plastic debris floating or beached along our shorelines are powerful icons that assail us whenever we go about our daily lives here in T&T and has to an extent become so common on our landscape that it now appears to be an integral part of it.

 

Having the benefit of hindsight we ought to realise that if we, the manufacturers and importers of plastic products do not proactively address this vexing problem of plastics disposal in our environment, we can reasonably expect that a responsible Government will be forced to implement draconian measures to address this monumental waste problem that will be both costly and onerous.

 

 

To be continuedNews

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http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2011/01/20/conference-focus-pollution

http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2015-12-15/post-cop21-world-transition

Post COP21: A world in transition

Published:  Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Laurence Tubiana, COP 21/CMP 11 Presidency; UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres; UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; COP 21/CMP 11 President Laurent Fabius, Foreign Minister, France; and President François Hollande, France, celebrate the adoption of the Paris Agreement. PHOTO: IISD Reporting Services

DIZZANNE BILLYThe current model we are operating in is crucially unsustainable for the long-term survival of the human race. Impacts of climate change such as droughts, intense storms, and sea level rise have accelerated extensively.   However, we are in a transformational moment—The Paris

moment.   It presents an opportunity to create a different world, one where people’s lives could be significantly better through promoting cleaner and more efficient methods of powering growth.  After conflicting opinions appended an extra day of negotiations to COP21 in Paris, 196 countries have produced a final agreement.   This may bring us closer to putting the ghosts of the industrial revolution six feet under. Countries seem to be largely satisfied with the language of the text and agreed to work on the Paris document as a pathway to a green future.  

Will The Paris Agreement save us from climate change and provide a stable, healthy, and prosperous future for people around the world? These are the outcomes of the key focus areas.

Finance for adaptation and mitigation Finance is of paramount importance to the agreement as all mitigation and adaptation measures are essentially dependent on availability and access to funds.   The agreement refers to the provision of scaled-up financial resources with a floor of USD $100 billion—which now is extended to 2025—and balanced between adaptation and mitigation.  However, the agreement refers to ensuring efficient access to financial resources (which so far has been a major hurdle) for many vulnerable countries.   The adaptation gap remains an issue, as existing funds lag far behind actual adaptation needs. The good thing inside the agreement is the linking of mitigation and adaptation, saying that the more countries reduce emissions, the less other countries have to adapt.  

Loss and damage In the lead-up to COP 21, developing countries stood their ground with regard to the adverse effects of climate change which are beyond adaptation.   Formally called Loss and Damage, this issue is contentious because it brings into question liability and compensation for developed countries.  It does, however, cater for support directed toward “minimising” and “averting” loss and damage such as early warning systems and emergency preparedness; it is also now stands separate from adaptation.  

Long-term goal on 1.5°C   Although they recognise the significant gap between the mitigation

pledges and what is needed to hold the decreased average global temperatures in the long run, countries have agreed to work toward a goal of 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing “efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.” This is a major accomplishment for developing countries and environmental NGOs who put up a united fight for vulnerable countries. A 1.5°C target is necessary to drive the ongoing ambition needed for the survival of many vulnerable nations.Five-year reviews This ensures that commitments made by countries will be reviewed every five years so that there will not be any regressing.  A regular five-year review cycle ensures ambition can be maintained, reviewed and scaled up. With a good ratchet mechanism, countries will have no choice but to have aspiring commitments over time. The first collective stocktake will be in 2018 and the first global stocktake under the agreement will be in 2023.  

Human rights   In the words of Diana Liverman, director at Institute of Environment, University of Arizona: “This recognition of rights and particular groups is a modest win for many concerned with climate justice, but will now have to be translated into action so that mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, finance and technology transfer explicitly consider how these policies affect, and hopefully benefit, human rights, women and other groups.”  Human rights is integral to the climate agreement because this means we can ensure that people impacted by climate change will be protected.   Human rights is now only in the preamble section of the agreement. It’s not as strong as we hope it to be.  

However, Tony Braum, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, told the eager audience that “we have together grasped this once-in-a-generation opportunity to lay the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and safe planet for our children.” He followed this up with a beautiful gesture, passing the microphone to an 18-year old girl from his country.  

Selina Leem stated that the agreement is for “those of us whose identity, whose culture, whose ancestors, whose whole being, is bound to their lands. I have only spoken about myself and my islands but the same story will play out everywhere in the world.   If this is a story about our islands, it is a story for the whole world. Sometimes when you want to make a change, then it is necessary to turn the world upside down.  

Because it is not for the better, but it is simply for the best. This agreement should be the turning point in our story; a turning point for all of us.” It has been four years since hard work began on this agreement in South Africa. Now, it is time to move forward with this agreement, which most delegations deem to be the best possible balance.  

Climate trackerDizzanne Billy is president of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) in T&T, where she works in the areas of education and public awareness on environment and development issues. She is a climate tracker with Adopt-A-Negotiator and an advocate for climate change action. This is the third, final article she is writing for the T&T Guardian from the COP21 climate talks in Paris.

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Lack of concern for environmental issues. Thursday, August 30, 2012. Mirror mum on possible sale to Jack. Thursday, August 30, 2012. Journalist Maxie Cuffie

Lack of concern for environmental issues

Published:  Thursday, August 30, 2012 

For almost two years since this T&T Guardian series on the environment began, environmental legislation has been anticipated, together with a serious look at the implementation of existing laws. Sadly this seems not to have happened. T&T has had no new environmental legislation for 12 years on a range of issues from recycling to cleaning up the toxic dumps that pass as landfills. This seeming lack of concern over environmental issues was highlighted as recently as July, when thousands of leatherback turtle eggs and hatchlings were crushed when the Ministry of Works’ Drainage Division entered the beach with bulldozers to move waterlogged sand from key nesting areas. This is the first in a three-part series addressing concerns about inconsistencies in environmental management at the EMA by conservationists who have been working closely with the authority. Last May, the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) expended considerable resources in hosting a sea-turtle symposium.   This symposium brought together a variety of stakeholders engaged in the

research and protection of sea turtles in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean. This followed an amendment to the Fisheries Act, which banned the hunting of all sea turtles, which, with the exception of the giant leatherback turtle, had been allowed in the past. At the symposium, EMA officials reported on the status of sea-turtle conservation in Trinidad and Tobago.   It was stated that the EMA was in the process of establishing a network aimed at fostering greater co-ordination between coastal communities, NGOs and government agencies involved in sea-turtle conservation, thereby ensuring better management of its populations and to oversee the implementation of the Sea Turtle Recovery and Action Plan (STRAP). At the time, senior executives of the EMA gave the commitment the EMA would be involved in the formation of the Sea Turtle Network, co-ordinating the meetings of the network and most importantly, designating the five marine turtle species as environmentally sensitive species, under the Environmentally Sensitive Species Rules, 2001.   To date, none of these deliverables have been addressed, especially in the light of the faux pas in managing the situation at Grande Riviere, which resulted in the destruction of an estimated one million sea turtle eggs and subsequent negative international publicity for Trinidad and Tobago. Various views on the apparent failure on the EMA’s part to manage the remedial works through the Certificate of Environmental Clearance   (CEC) Rules have been highlighted in the media. At the very least the proponent of such works should have been advised to apply for a CEC as part of their designated activities.  The STRAP for Trinidad and Tobago was prepared by the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) in 2010. According to this report, six sea-turtle species found in the Caribbean Sea are all listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The declaration of some of the country’s most important nesting grounds—Fishing Pond and Matura Beach in 1990 and Grande Riviere in 1997—as prohibited areas under the Forests Act, reducing catches at these beaches to nearly zero. It is imperative that the EMA prepares for the designation of the five species of sea turtles that visit the shores of Trinidad and Tobago. This move is critical for the further protection of the species which brings tremendous economic benefit to our country’s eco-tourism industry.   

There has been no follow-up on any of the deliverables promised since the sea-turtle symposium in May and the process of designating the five marine turtle species as environmentally sensitive species has not yet begun. The EMA has an obligation to honour its commitment to protect sea turtles. It is uncertain why there has been such a delay to establish the network between civil society and governmental agencies involved in sea-turtle conservation that will help to expedite the designation process.  

(To be continued)