consequently environmental sustainability is a key objective of economic development planning.
This policy assures that economic development is not undermined by the unsustainable use of
environmental assets.
The objectives of the Environmental Management Act, 2000 are as follows:
(a) Promote and encourage among all persons a better understanding and appreciation of the
environment;
(b) Encourage the i ntegration of environmental concerns into private and public decisions;
(c) Ensure the establishment of an integrated environmental management system in which the
Authority, in consultation with other persons, determines priorities and facilitates coordination among governmental entities to effectively harmonise activities designed to
protect, enhance and conserve the environment;
(d) Develop and effectively implement written laws, policies and other programmes for and in
relation to –
i. The conservation and wise use of the environment to provide adequately for
meeting the needs of present and future generations and enhancing the quality
of life;
ii. The Government’s commitment to achieve economic growth in accordance
with sound environmental practices;
iii. The Government’s international obligations; and
(e) Enhance the legal, regulatory and institutional framework for environmental management.
Sustainable development is the overlying theme in the NEP and EMA objectives. In Principle 3
of the Rio Declaration, sustainable development is defined as an increase of a country’s wealth
production, that is, its gross income, which does not entail parallel reduction or degradation of its
natural capital. Natural capital is the sum of all kinds of ecosystems into which living and
physical systems organize themselves. This economic and human development must be in
accordance with sound environmental practices as stated in the EMA’s objectives. It is clear that
it is the environment that provides this economic growth. Trinidad and Tobago’s most profitable
export is oil and the environmental consequences of producing oil are substantial. The question
is that with the economic goals of the Caribbean, is sustainable development possible? In The
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