CEDROS PENINSULA UNITED
690-1310/749-7559/690-1375/771-0070/690-1113
Vision: A self-sufficient community of people, driven by economic, political and social programmes that are in harmony with its human and natural resources, in which the people enjoy rights and respect befitting citizens of an enlightened democratic state, equal to all others in Trinidad and Tobago, so that the Cedros Peninsula, given its abundant natural resources, can hold its rightful place in Trinidad and Tobago and maximize its economic contribution to the development of all the people of our country.
Mission: To synergise the economic forces into an ongoing holistic development strategy that would cater for our overall development - short, medium and long term – forever mindful of safeguarding and improving our health and environment, placing emphasis on sustainability such as would optimise our renewable resources while maximizing the life span of our non-renewable resources.
Introduction
Any development strategy that seeks to genuinely address development issues in the Cedros Peninsula, must locate it as a frontier-type, trans-national community, defined in the first instance by geographical and natural characteristics, as well as its economic, social and cultural relationships with mainland Venezuela over the years. Inherent in this natural and social reality is an explosive economic dynamic if pursued with adequate political diligence will bear untold benefits not only for the people of the Peninsula but for all of Trinidad and Tobago.
Moreover, given the rapid erosion all around this land mass, especially since the establishment of the LNG in Point Fortin and the continuing land reclamation for its further expansion; given the global challenge of climate change which, Prince Charles, in his recent visit to Washington pronounced “the greatest challenge facing humankind today”, any development strategy of the Cedros Peninsula must also insist on ensuring that the land mass that constitutes the peninsula and inhabited by more than 15,000 people does not go under sea.
The peninsula is at certain points, less than three (3) miles across. Some areas are mostly wetlands fed by the seas from coast to coast and really below sea level. Other areas, especially in Icacos, are below flood-tide level.
The fact of the matter is that the people of Icacos, Los Gallos, Fullerton and Bonasse, which are all low lying areas, are very vulnerable to the rising seas. It’s a fear which many people harbour, and it may not take that many years to go under.
Halting erosion around the peninsula, necessary for the survival of the people that inhabit this small land mass, is, therefore, one of our foremost considerations. A Sea Defence Programme must be activated without delay; not only for the Peninsula but also for all of Trinidad and Tobago in the long run.
Another important factor influencing any development strategy for the peninsula is the fact that the rich resource base of the peninsula is more than adequate for creating a self-sufficient, thriving community that can generate wealth, opportunity and food, not only for those within its own territorial space, but for all of Trinidad and Tobago and beyond.
Yet another important factor that comes into play is the rapidly approaching paradigm shift in global economic and political relations, owing to the emergence of China as an economic super power and India following close on its heel. Such a paradigm shift necessitates a dynamic, multilateral recasting of our economic and political foreign relations such as would immediately activate a meaningful South-South business pact, driven by very practical, wealth generating initiatives.
This is not a replacement for the current South-North commercial traffic that has been cultivated over the years in which Port-of-Spain is the hub of activity, but rather a broadening of the axes of commerce, in which, at this particular historical juncture, the Cedros Peninsula becomes the take-off point for this South-South initiative.
The fact of the matter is that Cedros is strategically and historically poised to be a major commercial and tourism centre in this hemisphere. But this must be planned and managed to enhance and not destroy the naturalness of the peninsula. The people of the peninsula must, therefore, be part and parcel of this process!
And then there is the overriding factor that the reign of fossilised energy over world energy consumption is coming to an end!
While at a state to state level Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela have been collaborating, particularly in the energy sector, the small fishermen have been active in negotiating for the continuation of their trade at a people to people level.
Our initiatives will, therefore, target the ongoing relations which we, the people of Cedros have forged with our Venezuelan neighbours over the years and will rely on very practical, workable activities that need only the blessings of the two governments of the day.
Therefore, rather than being the sacrificial pawn in our Government’s big give away to Alcoa, given the strategic location of the Cedros Peninsula and its rich resource base, our Alternative Development Strategy shall, among other things:
Vastly increase the land and marine space in which Trinidad and Tobago may operate, as well as our global market share;
Bring in far greater revenue in the long run than Alcoa’s short term operations, while enhancing our human, health and environmental infrastructure;
Promote better management of our energy reserves to maximise their revenue generation, while prolonging their life span, allowing us a more secure passage through the transition from fossilised energy to solar and other energy resources;
Allow for better management of our population and many of the socio-economic problems related to migration from rural to urban areas by curtailing the overpopulation of our urban centres and surrounding areas;
Promote better health of our people; enhance our environmental; not destroy our beaches or forests; arrest the pollution of our seas and fisheries; and put in place a system for curtailing and even stopping the ongoing erosion of the peninsula;
And in the long run, increase the power and significance of Trinidad and Tobago as a sovereign nation state
The development strategy we propose articulates a preference for indigenous wealth generating, self-sustaining enterprises that will make use of our natural resources. The strategy is founded on the following pillars:
Our proximity to mainland Venezuela; the fact that Cedros is the shortest route to the vast resources of the Orinoco Delta; the historical socio-economic relations that have been forged between Cedros and Venezuela, both at the people and state levels (pueblo à pueblo and estado à estado levels). (In this regard we must learn from the experiences of both England and France, enemies and at war for centuries and now united by a metro system under the English Channel. Also the US and Mexico, the US and Canada and border states all over Europe to which neither language nor culture have been barriers for forging healthy, amicable relations.)
Our strategic location which makes us both a Latin and Caribbean state (entity), a fact which our economic policies must capitalise upon especially since the Latin American market is far larger and more dynamic than our smaller Caribbean market
The time-tested premise that development via one’s own natural and human resources, accessing foreign assistance only where absolutely necessary, and safeguarding oneself as much as possible from the vagaries of international market and other forces, is the surest route to sustainable development and the one from which our people and country shall reap greatest rewards.
The fact that wealth generation in the community, for the community, by the community in harmony with the resources of the community itself, wherever possible, in which the state is an active facilitator is the surest way to promoting self-sufficient, sustainable community development and strengthening the national economy.
Our continuing demand that the exploitation of the abundant proven and potential fossil reserves both off-shore and inland Cedros – that main reservoir running through Venezuela and Trinidad is still to be found on the Trinidad end – must be managed to service the long-term interests of all communities in T&T, with Cedros, this time around, getting its fair share to satisfy our own development plans.
The requirement that Government will provide the necessary infrastructure to promote development on all frontiers in the Cedros Peninsula, irrespective of the political, religious and other preferences of the people.
The fact that people to people relations is one of the surest way to handle conflict resolution issues and that both Governments should allow neighbouring communities – Cedros, Capure, Pedernales, Tucupita, Guiria – to forge community alliances in the social, cultural, economic and educational arenas.
The fact that the Cedros Peninsula, if only because of the seven (7) species of plant and animal life that are endemic to it, qualifies to be an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) and a Nature Park.
The need for maximum people’s participation in the affairs of the community, especially in matters of development, to be facilitated by a system of tele-democracy through a Cedros Technology Centre, networked through all our communities. Meaningful consultation and participation, beyond the preferences of partisan politics, is a necessary demand.
Territorial Integrity of Peninsula – Sea Defence Programme
A. The survival of the Peninsula is our pre-eminent demand. The threat of this land mass going under sea in the near future is real.
At the recently concluded UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal to review and update the Kyoto Protocol, health experts indicated that global warming is responsible for as many as 150,000 deaths annually around the world.
The conference advanced evidence to indicate that global warming is intensifying. Artic sea ice has shrunk by almost 20% over the last quarter century and accelerating. If the emission of carbon dioxide continues at present rate, it will not be long before the Greenland icecap melts and the world’s coastal cities drown.
What about the islands and especially Trinidad and Tobago which on a per capita basis is the world’s second largest emitter of Carbon Dioxide … second only to Qatar? What makes our situation worst than others is that our CO2 emission levels keep rising and on the industrial front there are no meaningful measures in place to stem the tide.
Whereas erosion is claiming our scare land around the coasts, no where is it more telling than in the Cedros Peninsula which, at points, is little more than three (3) miles across, a lot of which is swamp lands.
The huge ground swells that were recently experienced around the island (October 16th , 2005) exacted untold damage along the Peninsula’s coastlines. Many trees, long-standing land masses and even houses were destroyed. Icacos Point was particularly hard hit and so too was Columbus Bay.
The four (4) islets – Cazabon depicted eight (8) in his 1857 painting – are now three (3), the smallest one, second from shore, falling victim to the barrage of huge waves that pounded our coastlines on October 16th , 2005. A chunk of the Los Gallos Point, which also featured in that Cazabon painting, also went under.
Those swells, moreover, have undone many of the natural and artificial barriers that were resisting the onslaught of the sea in certain areas, paving the way for the North Winds that usually pound us from November through February, in conjunction with ground swells, to have a free ride through the peninsula.
Keeping together the little land mass we have in the peninsula rather than promoting industries that will further erode our coastlines, thereby shrinking the extension of our exclusive economic zone, must be a national priority.
We, therefore, call upon the Government to immediately establish a task force with the appropriate international and national expertise, to come up with workable proposals for halting erosion and to come up with a Sea Defence Programme to safeguard our territorial integrity. Such a programme can be tied in with our proposals for in-shore aquaculture.
Fisheries
B. There is no doubt that the small, pirogue-type fishing, the foundation and mainstay of most coastal communities, is in the throes of a crisis. A victim of the Deep Sea Trawling Industry, sea piracy, pollution of the seas and estuaries from industrial waste, an ever expanding oil and gas marine sector which has been destroying prime fishing grounds, continuing destruction of wetlands, the breeding grounds for many species of marine life, not to mention insufficient support from a state that does not seem to understand the overall importance of the survival and enhancement of the fisheries sector, particularly to life in all coastal communities and national life in general.
(1) Fishing Agreement - We are at a loss as to the state of negotiations with regard to our Fishing Agreement with Venezuela. In the past, Government used to secure passes allowing small fishermen to shrimp in defined areas of Venezuelan waters during the shrimping season. This is no longer the case. This is an area that needs to be looked into.
For a long time now we have held that life and ultimate destiny of Cedros can be brighter if accessibility to the Orinoco Delta is made easier for us. And we may even extend that logic to say that from the perspective of material resources, Venezuela and Latin America make much more economic sense to us than does the Caribbean. Initiatives into that hemisphere will better enable us to assist our Caribbean neighbours.
(2) Protection and Conservation of Sea-Beds - As an outpost for monitoring the exploitation of our marine resources, we have a situation where on any given day one can easily observe a fleet of more than thirty (30) deep sea trawlers – Trinidadian, Venezuelan and Taiwanese etc. – and sometimes more, bulldozing our sea beds. This has been going on for years. The beds must be exhausted and devastated by now. The fact that the trawlers are not leaving the area may have to do with either constant replenishment of the fish and shrimp stock by the rich Orinoco flow, and/or the involvement of some in other lucrative activities.
(We hasten to emphasize that small fishermen and the communities from which they come – and they come from all coastal areas in Trinidad and Tobago – need protection and incentives if they are to survive the onslaught of the deep-sea trawling industry, piracy on the high seas, incursions by the Guardia Nacional into the waters of Trinidad and Tobago and the spiralling costs of the necessary instruments of their trade. It is necessary to point out that the fate and fortunes of coastal communities – from baker, grocer, shopkeeper, vendors, laundryman, farmer, boat builder, consumer, the well-being of families and family life etc. – depend mainly and some solely, upon the catches of small fishermen. And the less viable the industry becomes, the greater the propensity for engaging in illicit activities. Therefore, the greater the viability of the small fishing industry, that much greater shall be the chances for enhancing security along our coastlines, the curbing of illicit activities and the regeneration of healthy community and family lifestyles.
The deep-sea trawlers, however, have no such community base. They are not housed in communities and produce mostly for the export market. And they continue to destroy the sea-beds to the great detriment of the small fisherman.
The small fisherman needs a Big Brother, which can only be Government. If not, they become ready prey to the International Drug Cartels).
(3) Soldado Security Outpost – There is urgent need for a security outpost à la Trinmar platform but designed to be multifunctional and to be manned jointly by Trinidadian and Venezuelan security forces, be constructed off Soldado Rock, in the vicinity where Trinidad and Venezuelan waters meet.
This outpost, large enough to accommodate a heliport and the security forces that will be manning the platform, should be equipped with modern telecom services, radar, first aid infrastructure etc., such as will enable it to not only offer security services, but also berthing facilities for fisherman and seafarers in distress. It may also be used as a marine research base, as well as for monitoring over-exploitation of our fishing resources, particularly by deep-sea trawlers. This marine research base can be affiliated to the Cedros University Campus, which can be an arm of the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
(Our assumption is that all registered vessels will be equipped with the necessary telecom infrastructure such as will enable them to contact the base of operations. We hasten to point out that that this is not idealistic or far-fetched, for in the Soldado Field there are more than 50 oil platforms and quite a few are equipped for heliport services. We do not suggest that one of these be used, since such an approach will defeat the joint-venture idea. We are suggesting that such an outpost be located at the boundary line, where the waters meet. We suggest that location, structure, staffing, objectives etc. are mutually agreed upon by both Trinidadian and Venezuelan authorities.)
(4) Zone of Conflict & Conflict Resolution - We suggest that this security outpost be located off the Soldado Rock because that historically has been a zone of conflict in the past, each side claiming that the other was beyond the maritime boundary.
It is also a very strategic location from which to launch operations aimed at curtailing drug and arms smuggling, contraband activities, as well as afford protection to the bird life on Soldado Rock, it being one of our national bird sanctuaries.
The fact of the matter is that border states ought to have in place a matrix of relations, operating at all levels, that would transcend any type of turmoil that change in political climate, on either side of the border, may bring to bear on relationships between the two states.
(5) Joint Venture Farming of Gulf - Aquaculture is an area in which Venezuela has made significant inroads. We can learn much from them for our future inland aquaculture initiatives, and also work together with them in marine aquaculture, aiming at joint ventures in fish farming selected areas of our seas. Being a coastal state, we need to master this technology so as to train our fishing communities all around the island to become aquaculture farmers, especially in the light of the rapid depletion of our own fisheries reserves. We need to develop an ongoing program to replenish the sea beds and establish and implement proper conservation measures for our marine reserves. (Cuba, however, is better versed in aquaculture farming for Caribbean conditions. And then there is also the US, India, Taiwan etc. from which we can draw the necessary expertise for this particular initiative).
TOURISM & HEALTH RESORT DEVELOPMENT
C. Given the many miles of virtually untouched beaches in the Peninsula, its evergreen rainforests, exotic wildlife and wetlands, miles and miles of towering coconut groves, and a hard-to-be-found peace and serenity, Cedros is a ready invitation for resort development … from home-style bread and breakfast and guest houses, to high class hotel development. The hotel in Chatham can be restored and upgraded to international standards and there is adequate beach frontage along our coast lines for at least three major hotels.
Cedros is already a popular weekend and long-holidays destination. Many residents are already into guesthouse tourism and many others are fast getting into the business. Making it an international destination may, however, require a small airline to facilitate travel from Piarco International Airport.
A tourism package will include, among other things, sea-bathing, boating, fishing, biking, hiking, coastal tours, aqua-sports, eco-tourism etc.
Hand in hand with tourism can be added health resort development.
(1) Eco-tourism & Ferry Service To Venezuela – Given the diverse eco-systems that make up our wetlands and rainforests and all the interesting wildlife that inhabit them – indigenous and migratory – Cedros is undoubtedly an exceptional eco-tourist destination, being home to seven (7) species of plant and animal life to be found nowhere else in Trinidad and Tobago.
Cap-de-ville/Chatham, rich in wildlife and home to the Silver Hatchet, flocks of parrots in an area designated Parrot Jungle and red howlers -Monkey Jungle- and a wide array of birds, and ready access to the wetlands of L’Islet, is a ready destination for hikes and eco-tours; Granville, Coromandel, and the southernmost tip of the island, just great for wetland tours, beach hikes and coastal tours.
(2) Given our proximity to Venezuela and wildlife haven that is the fertile Orinoco Delta, Ferry Services, commercial and tourist oriented, are a reality that must come to pass.
In addition to the Ferry Service, a small air service can be developed from Tucupita, Guiria, Pedernales and Capure to Cedros, to service tourist and commercial needs.
(3) Duty Free Port – The beachhead to and from the Americas, a natural attraction to international tourists and a safe, crime-free to nationals under duress, Cedros is strategically placed to be the Duty Free Port of the Americas. The one is a natural complement to the other, and a natural complement to the harmonious type of development to which the people of Cedros are favourable.
It is necessary that we start diversifying our economic base, and a Cedros Duty Free Port is a definite asset towards the creation of year round tourism, this side of the island as well as a buoyant commercial environment.
A marina would be a natural outgrowth of such a development thrust.
AGRICULTURE
D. Given appropriate state support, Cedros can be made a major food-supplier of T&T and the regional and international market. Government will, of course, have to change its attitude and approach to agriculture. Government must understand where the world stands today in terms of food production and more importantly, the economic options that are available to us, especially since our oil and gas reserves are time-bound. Government must also understand that world is already in a transition mode to other energy resources as it prepares for the end of the fossil era. Therefore, we must approach agriculture, fisheries etc. not just with a view to feeding ourselves, but also for generating foreign exchange and adopt an attitude and approach to suit.
(1) Coconuts - Research and experience have confirmed that coconut oil is far better for health purposes than is soya oil which this country has been subsidizing and promoting above an indigenous industry. This industry ought to be revitalised and its down-stream by-products – especially in the medicinal, beauty and hospitality industries – ought to be encouraged. The state should play a major role in R&D, pertaining to diseases affecting the industry and in the sourcing and promotion of appropriate strains, suited to our conditions.
(2) Cocoa and Coffee - Cedros was once a major producer of cocoa and coffee, both of which are in great demand on the international market. It can become such again. There are people who are more than willing to dedicate their time and efforts to it. A compliant state is the missing ingredient.
(3) Agro-Processing and Fish Processing – Agribusiness, fish canneries and light manufacturing such as Coconut Processing Factory, Chocolate and Coffee Processing, and Vegetable Processing, are all industries which will be in harmony with the raw material infrastructure of Cedros. These are viable economic options which we must begin to promote; options that have the potential to generate foreign exchange earnings.
(4) Agricultural Infrastructure – Government must reopen all agricultural access roads and implement a purposeful programme towards eliminating praedial larceny, and stray animals if agriculture is to go forward in the Cedros Peninsula. Moreover, an incentive-inducing, responsive subsidy programme and pro-active agricultural agencies are necessary prerequisites for developing a viable agricultural sector.
(5) Agricultural Joint-Venturing - Just as we have relationships with Venezuelan companies in the energy sector, there is no reason why Petrotin and/or Caroni Ltd. and other state companies, for example, cannot work out joint venture relationships in animal farming, dairy farming and aquaculture farming projects with Venezuelan state companies, not only in Trinidad and Tobago, but also on Venezuelan land.
Environmental Park
E. Given our evergreen natural vegetation; our abundant fresh water springs; our many wild, untouched beaches; our exotic wetlands; the seven (7) species of plant and animal life that are endemic to the Cedros Peninsula, viz. (a) The Cedros Bee Orchid, Oncidium lanceanum; (b) A balisier by the name of Heliconia marginata, one of five species that occurs locally. (c) The silver hatchet fish, Gasteropelecus sternicla, which is found naturally only in the Chatham River and the adjacent Quarahoon River; (d) The Cedros Guabine, Erythrinus erythrinus, which is found only in an un-named stream that passes below the South Trunk Road just outside the village of Bonasse, at B1/71; (e) The slender toed frog Leptodactylus macrosternum; (f) The tree frog, Hyla minuscule; (g) The extremely rare reptile Thamnodynastes strigatus; and the need which all countries have for clean, green and serene spaces for all their citizens to enjoy, the Cedros Peninsula more than qualifies to be declared an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) and a Nature Park for all.
A Cedros University Campus
F. A Cedros University Campus affiliated to the University of Trinidad and Tobago and in association with Venezuelan Universities can be made into The Language Institute of the Americas, capitalizing on a situation in which many South Americans, and particularly those of the younger generation, want to learn English for occupational reasons. Venezuelans have been coming here over the years, as well as Columbians and others. Students from all other South and Central American countries will come if we make it possible for them at affordable rates. Only the very wealthy will go to USA or Europe.
We also need to develop and sharpen our language skills. Our writing and speaking of Spanish will profit greatly if we can work out a state to state or people to people relationship which will allow us to go to Venezuela to sharpen our Spanish skills and Venezuelans in turn can come to Trinidad, in greater numbers and at a much cheaper price, to learn English.
A logical outcome of this whole scenario will see the creation of an institution which can take the form of a Caribbean-Latin American Cultural Centre. This will be a natural complement to the people-to-people initiative, which will also incorporate sporting activities.
A Cedros University Campus can also be tied into the Agricultural, Fisheries and Marine sciences, as well as an on-the-spot training centre for off-shore petroleum engineering, environmental sciences and eco-tourism.
An Alternative Energy Research Institute, focusing on solar energy, with the mandate to operationalize a community-based alternative energy programme, can also be a major R&D undertaking of the Cedros University Campus.
Technology Centre
G. We shall give consideration to hi-tech industries that are eco-friendly, such as software industries, international call centres etc. We are establishing our own technology centre, which in addition to offering IT training and services to the community will provide the IT infrastructure for a system of tele-democracy, to provide for maximum participation of the communities that make up the Cedros Peninsula.
In addition, the establishment of community radio and TV to complement the technology infrastructure to maximise people’s participation in community and national affairs will be pursued.
National Transitional Programme
We now very briefly outline a few options which we believe should be at the heart of a Transitional Programme, given the imminent end of our oil and gas reserves. How many more years, very much depend on how we manage/mismanage our reserves.
Our recommendations are founded on the fact that in this era of globalization in which the responsibility of the state is to provide the wherewithal to cultivate an ingenious global citizen, create a democracy and society befitting 21st century homo sapiens, the entire world is our playing stage. We must, therefore, set our sight on building a trans-national state, multinational in scope and operations, owned and controlled by the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
If this is to be done, then we must build from the future, understanding that in building from the future we shall better master the present.
In this era of globalization, we must expertly use the political, diplomatic and economic instruments at our avail to increase the land and marine space in which we operate, in both state and private domains. That will involve the evolution of a well-informed synergy between state and private sector to expand the territorial frontiers in which our citizenry at large may effectively operate.
Bigger powers and bold leaders have expanded their frontiers through wars of conquest. We cannot and do not have any desire to imitate Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Hannibal, Julius Caesar, or even today’s sorry imitators. Diplomacy and joint-venturing initiatives must inform this expansionist drive. But we must cast out of our minds and spirits the idea and practice that we must be a surrogate, client state of another if we are to go forward.
Cultivating the largest idea of self possible, beyond the insular and regional into the universal, not as individuals or elite enclaves, but as a society, is an imperative in this thrust.
We have been suggesting that agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing and other areas of the economy need to be beefed up, and not just for the satisfaction of local and regional needs but the bigger international market, which means that we have to look at the production of greater volume.
With regard to agriculture and fisheries we have suggested joint venturing. Just as we have relationships with Venezuelan companies in the energy sector, there is no reason why Petrotrin and/or Caroni Ltd. and other state companies, for example, cannot work out joint venture relationships in animal farming, dairy farming and aquaculture farming projects with Guyanese and Venezuelan state enterprises. Given the abundant land resources of those two (2) societies, efficient management can produce the volume that we require for international markets.
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There is nothing wrong with taking a page from the USA and Europe, who, notwithstanding their sound industrial base, feed much of the world today.
Elements for a National Transitional Development Strategy
(1) An Alternative Energy Research Institute – T&T’s experience shows that the energy business is great business and will always be such. We, therefore, need to purse this business. If we are to do so, then we have to get into the R&D in a hurry. We have to set up a special institution to handle this endeavour if we are to create the appropriate academic and intellectual infrastructure to make the transition from an oil and gas economy to a non-oil and gas economy cost effective.
Bring in the Japanese, the Indian, Chinese and European scientists and use some of our energy monies to fund this venture. There’s no reason why a small country like T&T cannot be a major supplier of the wherewithal to supply not only local and regional needs, but also hemispheric needs. Such an investment now will bear savoury fruit for the future.
Instead of building smelters why not, for example, invest in industries which will build solar panels and other such industries?
2. A Natural Resource Management Plan – How many more years of oil and gas at current consumption level? And at future consumption levels? None can say for sure! The fact of the matter is that T&T must put in place, and with immediate effect, a natural resource management plan such that will allow for the longest life span possible for such resources.
The period ahead will be one where different sources of energy shall coexist together in driving the world economy. The more life we can extract from our own oil and gas will allow us greater breathing space in the transition period as the world works out the most efficient and eco-friendly combination of energy forms that shall make planetary survival possible. We have to be a responsible nation and do our part in reversing global warming.
3. Industrialization & the Guyana Alternative – Let it be said that we are not against industrialization per se. But the time and space have to be appropriate. The Cedros Peninsula is definitely not in that time/space zone. The peninsula can accommodate a few well-located industries in farming, fishing and tourism, but definitely not the heavy industries that are being proposed.
Again we advise that a page be taken from the USA’s experience, which through NAFTA and LAFTA and other international instruments effectively made the Third World their industrial estate and began creating a host of eco-friendly industries in their own space.
It must never be our intention to pollute another’s country, but we can establish Industrial Estates in areas which can tolerate them and where they can be economically viable to all partners concerned.
In this regard we have suggested Guyana, large enough to absorb the entire Caribbean land mass and, therefore, with land enough to tolerate industrial estates without posing dangers to the people. T&T, in a multi-lateral venture including Guyana, Venezuela and international corporations, can explore the building of industrial estates in Guyana. Such an undertaking will be powered by our electricity, generated right here in Trinidad and supplied via submarine cable. Even so, we must not engage our energy resources in aluminium smelters. The energy consumption for a smelter is just too exorbitant!
Venezuela can also be an active energy provider to such an undertaking. Such an approach will among other things, allow us a longer life-lease on our own energy reserves - we should manage these resources to last at least another 75-100 years; as well as a longer time span life for the various enterprises that shall comprise those estates.
4. Land – From Scarcity to Abundance - Guyana has an asset which we need which no other Caribbean state can offer … Land!
Our population density is 260 per square kilometer, which ranks us 27th in the world. This ought to be a matter of great concern. Notwithstanding global efforts at population management, world population continues to rise beyond control. T& is part of that global problem. And as housing, agriculture, industry, recreation and forestry compete for scare lands; we are losing lands all around our coastlines through the forces of erosion.
Industrialization plans have already bulldozed some 1,149 acres at Union Estate and has earmarked 3,162 acres at Cap-de-ville/Chatham; another 3,500 acres at the Oropuche River, and an additional 3,500 at the Point Lisas.
Like it or not, unless we can speedily reverse population trends, Guyana is destined to play an important part in our future survival. We might as well recognize that fact now and do what has to be done at the inter-state level. If we project ourselves just thirty (30) years hence, then we shall realize that building that Guyanese Bridge is an historical imperative.
5. State and Private Sector – The state will have to pioneer a trans-national strategy, if only because private corporations are becoming less and less nationalistic in this era of globalization. Moreover, given the fact that many of our private corporations prefer to live off the state, if appropriate measures are not put in place to develop and strengthen this group with our own energy reserves, it is very unlikely that T&T’s entrepreneurial class will rise up to the challenges of globalization … especially when oil and gas are no more!
The few that are braving the bigger world are the exception rather than the rule. The state, therefore, in conjunction with local and foreign capital will have to play an even greater role over our economy and society.
The fact that at a time when our energy reserves are seriously time-bound, our entrepreneurs stand by idly to allow a foreign enterprise to steal the best piece of meat from their plate, is evidence enough that they are not ready to direct the economic future of T&T and may never be able to do so.
But the state will need a strong entrepreneurial class, multinational in orientation, if T&T is to successfully negotiate the economic and political challenges ahead. The state should, therefore, at least attempt to empower the private sector and work along with it to ensure that a national entrepreneurial class, strong enough to withstand the globalization currents and able enough to be a competitive multi-national player, can partner it along the journey.
That 8% - 10% of our known energy reserves which Alcoa’s Aluminium Smelter will consume, if channelled into national enterprises by our own businessmen over a well-managed period of time, will go a long way in equipping them with the expertise and resources to be formidable players in a multi-national setting.
And we need such an entrepreneurial class so as to ensure that T&T is spared the ill-fated economic and social catastrophes of many Third World countries. But we do not need one or two such businesses; we need a class of such men and women to be able partners of the state.
6. International Tourism – This is an area in which we ought to actively engage our resources. There is no harm in T&T owning a chain of international hotels in a business arrangement where citizens, institutions such as trade unions, employers associations, businesses etc. are time sharers; to which any citizen, no matter the location, can travel in our airline at discount prices and holiday there also at discounted prices; to which our artistes may be engaged, at the various locations, throughout the year.
Tourism being the major industry in the world today, will provide job opportunities for our people at various global destinations, put life blood into our national airline, provide abundant avenues for our artistes and cultural emissaries etc.
These, very briefly, are but a few ideas to advance the possibilities and capabilities of a trans-national state. In such a scenario T&T will never need to prey on itself and not to ever make a national sacrifice of any area and people.
If we can be a little more judicious in our development strategy, then the people of Chatham will be spared the Government’s sacrificial sword and there will be far less industrial wasteland to salvage after oil and gas are forever gone!
Conclusion
The above proposals are being advanced in a situation where, on a global scale, the reign of oil and gas is coming to an end. With regard to our own reserves, reports are that they may endure for another 9 to 15 years. Some reports suggest more, others far less.
The fact is that our energy reserves will not be around forever, and given the fact that so many of our industries are configured for fossilised energy, one wonders when its reign comes is ended in T&T, will we be just another industrial wasteland, victim of our own mismanagement?
And should Alcoa and the T&T Government have their way, will a desolate, abandoned scrap-yard of iron, polluted seas, eroded coastlines, destroyed forestry, contaminated watersheds and a dead and buried agriculture be our inheritance? Most importantly, what about our people? Sure enough some few would have made their millions, others billions, Alcoa trillions!!! But why make the people of the peninsula the sacrificial lambs on the altars of a greedy few?
And rehabilitation? What will be the cost of rehabilitation? Where will the monies come from?
Our proposals are intended to avoid such a scenario ever happening. They are for the benefit for all of T&T and for the long term security, not just for the people of the peninsula, but for all people of our twin-island state.
We struggle in the hope that good sense will prevail and that the authorities will take our proposals seriously.
Our proposals lay the basis for a win-win scenario for all of T&T, a scenario in which our health, environment and natural resources will be protected and one in which not a single family will have to be removed.