Land Reform in Trinidad and Tobago


Trinidad and Tobago is one of the most industrialized countries in the Caribbean. Our wealth is primarily dependent on oil and gas resources. Trinidad and Tobago is attempting to address issues of food security and rural development. In order to do this, land and water resources must be examined and reconsidered. More than 50% of the land in Trinidad and Tobago is state-owned. This means that they should exhibit the best practices and ensure that the land is used sustainably. The Ministry of Planning and Development created a Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting Program in 2020 to address the land-use problems.

Figure 1: showing Port of Spain (Finance Americas 2020)

In 2000, Trinidad and Tobago ratified the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. This means that they agreed to implement Land Degradation Neutrality which is in keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals. This goal states that “By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world” (Ministry of Planning and Development 2020).

Figure 2: showing the UNCCD Logo (UNCCD 2020)

Though there are some natural causes of land degradation, most of it is due to human interference. Most of the human-induced land degradation is due to land use conflicts, squatting, illegal land use, and poor land practices in the agriculture sector. Quarrying, in particular, has devasting effects on our land. It leaves the land barren and deserted. These methods of land degradation result in:

·                    water erosion

·                    pollution

·                    soil loss

·                    deforestation

·                    increased runoff

·                    fragmentation

·                    landslides

·                    reduced soil fertility

·                    coastal erosion

·                    flooding

·                    sedimentation

·                    saltwater intrusion

 

Figure 3: showing land degradation (UNCCD 2020)

Trinidad and Tobago intends to rehabilitate quarry lands, forests, and agriculture-based communities but 2030. They also intend to dive into the carbon market in terms of soil in carbon and forest carbon sequestration. From the land reform initiative, the government intends to create many job opportunities for the country. The details of the project can be looked at in greater detail below, as this was a brief summary.

· “Rehabilitate 100 ha of spent quarry lands through community-based agroforestry.

·     Rehabilitate 100 ha of degraded forest and increase forest carbon stock by 5% by 2030.

·  Improve productivity and Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks in 500 ha of cropland by 2030, compared to the 2015 baseline.

·  Improve national data and develop a mechanism for the collection and management of land productivity, land cover and soil organic carbon (SOC) data for future monitoring needs.

·  Increase local, sectoral and national awareness of SSM/SLM and LDN in support of addressing the drivers of land degradation.

·   Generate gains in quarry rehabilitation from enforcement of existing lease agreements and establishing stronger support mechanisms including financial aid through projects and community involvement.

·  Protect and improve forests and biodiversity through sustainable forestry management, including aspects of land/forest management legislation, updating land use policy to incorporate LDN, foster functional inter-agency cooperative frameworks and upscaling of the reforestation programme.

·       Mainstreaming of sustainable soil and land management into national policy and institutional frameworks.

·       Implementation of sustainable soil and land management, including capacity building of farmers and other community stakeholders and the application and use of organic amendments and soil conservation practices.

·   Strengthening the monitoring and evaluation function (data collection and analysis) of responsible authorities through increased financial and human resources.

·      Ensure that LDN principles and counter balancing strategies are incorporated in land use policy development.

·    Design and implement a national communication campaign on SSM/SLM in support of LDN and land use policy reforms” (Ministry of Planning and Development 2020).

My question to you is: “Have you seen action being taken to mend the issues of land degradation?”

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