Role of Environmental Law Within the Framework of Sustainable Development,55 Her Honour
Sandra Paul proposes this question. The exploitation of natural resources in the Caribbean in
order to attain economic goals is still the objective of each state. Environmental legislation has
been rapidly expanding across the globe for the past 20 years. Trinidad has differentiated itself
in the Caribbean by creating the Environmental Management Act, 2000. This Act established the
Environmental Commission, as a superior court of record, with jurisdiction to hear and
determine environmental disputes or any other written law provided for under the Act.
Environmental law must interweave environmental interests with developmental policies and
programmes. This concerns regulation and control over the way natural resources are used,
which is achieved by measures concerning permits or sanctions, waste disposal regulations,
setting standards of emissions and effluents, resource management laws and penal provisions
upon violation of regulatory measures.
From the perspective of developing countries, the
regulatory and control mechanism in environmental law suffers from inadequate enforcement
because of over-riding concerns for achieving economic growth.
Compliance with
environmental law and enforcement of the regulatory mechanism is a major concern in
developing countries and especially in the Caribbean.
The problem is without serious enforcement of environmental legislation its existence is
inconsequential. In 2009, the EMA welcomed 12 new Special Reserve Police officers to help
enforce its environmental legislation on a fulltime basis. The last batch of environmental police
was reabsorbed into the police force, and for a few months the EMA was left without
environmental police officers. These officers deal with offences under the Litter Act, the Motor
Vehicles and Road Traffic Act. They must undergo special training including a workshop on
Noise Pollution Control Rules, 2001; the Certificate of Environmental Clearance rules, 2001; the
Water Pollution Rules (Amendment), 2006; the Environmentally Sensitive Special Rules, 2001
and the Environmentally Sensitive Areas Rules, 2001. This force is incredibly important to the
protection of the sea turtle. They are on the front lines deterring hunters, poachers and keeping
people from destroying the sea turtle’s habitat. The punishment for these crimes is monetary and
55
Honour Sandra Paul, ‘The Role of Environmental Law in Sustainable Development’ Environmental Commission of
Trinidad and Tobago at the Regional Needs Assessment and Planning Meeting of Chief Justices of the English‐
Speaking Caribbean (Jamaica, June 11 2004)
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