There is cold comfort when the validation for pronouncements comes from the suffering of others. The flooding being experienced in Trinidad and Tobago, especially in north Trinidad, is nothing new, yet many people seem perplexed. We live in the Caribbean, where there are two seasons despite what the fete and party promoters announce; we have wet and dry seasons. For around half of the year, we experience heavy rainfall and are at risk for hurricanes. Though these are rudimentary facts that every child can tell you, every year when the rains come we are taken by surprise. Flooding may be called an “act of God or nature” and we cannot stop it, but we can take precautions to lessen or almost eliminate the devastation caused by flooding: it just takes some common sense.
It would be heartless not to sympathise with the victims of these floods, but before any blame is placed at the feet of the State the hard but necessary question needs to be asked: who sent them to build on the hillsides? I am not talking only about the shacks of the landless, I am speaking about the mansions and villas going up on the hills.
The vegetation that holds back the rainwater is being removed to build houses whose owners/contractors have no permission or where permission has been obtained through extra-legal channels. It is nothing short of daft to build houses in these places in order to have a great view and not expect that there will be consequences from stripping the hillsides bare. Not that the victims of the flooding all fall into this category and not that they deserve this, but a bit of common sense would have saved them the terrible situation in which they now find themselves.
Apart from the individuals who are building structures in ridiculous places, the private developers also carry much of the blame; and try as they might, they cannot escape the fact that they are unscrupulous and greedy. Yes, I said it and I mean it. Private development of multiplexes, private housing areas and the like are contrary to good environmental practice. Building these playgrounds for the rich and privileged in former wetlands and mangroves is nothing short of stupidity. Of course they had the permission to do it and this speaks to the corrupt and inefficient nature of the State agencies which are supposed to be in charge of zoning and building permits. It also speaks to our almost non-existent environmental laws that should trump any and all development proposals.
The State also comes in for blows for its failure to properly manage the flooding that has been with us every year. Once again, we are reminded just how far we have to go to become “developed” when we cannot manage the few rivers that are in our country. The Mamoral Dam project has been talked about year after year, but nothing has happened. Massive dredging and raising of the Caroni River subject to ecosystem protection is still elusive. There is nothing by way of proper watercourse maintenance during the dry season. Many of the watercourses managed by the defunct Caroni (1975) Ltd remain neglected.
Additionally, many rivers would do well with levees and concrete banks. This infrastructural development is not a priority, but pretty skyscrapers are. The State does little to encourage recycling; they do not have any educational programmes, no dedicated refuse collection services for recycled material and no green plan. Trinidad and Tobago is falling behind badly in environmental protection and sustainable living.
The average citizen also plays a great part in this perpetual embarrassment of flooding. Do not build your houses on watercourses, do not farm on river banks. Do not litter and dispose of rubbish in the rivers. Fridges and stoves do not make good fish food. Blocking and diverting rivers and waterways for your own recreation or farm is not advisable and will ultimately lead to problems. Every single citizen needs to become civic-minded and environmentally friendly. Throwing garbage anywhere and everywhere is simply not good enough. When the watercourses get blocked, the water does not disappear, it will find a place to run and, sadly, it often ends up in people’s living rooms and kitchens.
The Government should give greater power to the Town and Country Planning Division to order demolition of unsafe structures. Developers should have to demonstrate proper drainage and water management plans before they are given permission to build. The State needs to legislate to ensure that protected zones and ecosystems are, under no condition, to be touched or built upon. These will include swamps, hillsides, mountains, interior forests and flood plains.
Mega infrastructural work on a proper drainage and sewage system for the country should be the focus of this Government. Providing underground drainage and a sewage system to every home should be the great project of our lifetime. It is sad and unsavoury that people still have to build cesspits at their homes and have water running freely in dirt drains.
A sewage system will of course take a long time to complete; in the meantime, dams and retaining ponds need to be constructed and these will not only aid in reducing flooding, but in eliminating the water shortages that are experienced in the dry season.
Bare, stripped and mined hillsides and other lands should be replanted with trees, at the cost of developers and the mining companies. Fast-growing tropical trees with large roots and bushes should be planted and encouraged. Until these and other necessary steps are taken, the annual floods will be with us, causing destruction and loss and continuing to embarrass us as a nation. Every sector of society is responsible for flooding and it will take everyone to rectify it.
(Source http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/Wet_meh_down-134477558.html)
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