T&T civil society gets support to pursue right to healthy environment
CIVIL SOCIETY in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is being supported to pursue the right to a healthy environment – from the right to clean air to safe and sufficient water, a non-toxic environment, healthy and sustainable food, healthy ecosystems and biodiversity, and a safe climate.
This focus will be complemented with initiatives on the rights to access information, public participation and access to justice, according to the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), which is leading EnviroRightsTT, a new two and a half-year project.
The project is being implemented in collaboration with Environment Tobago and EquiGov, and international partners, the Parliamentarians for Global Action and the Environmental Law Association Worldwide.
The United Nations General Assembly formally recognised the human right to a healthy environment in July 2022.
“Although the T&T Constitution does not explicitly recognise the right to a healthy environment, there is a strong institutional framework of laws and policies, which should support access to information, public participation and justice in environmental matters. Unfortunately, these are not widely understood, or being effectively utilised,”noted a March 13 news release from CANARI.
On access to information, the release said that the Freedom of Information Act became law 23 years ago,but there is need to improve transparency, openness, and communication between the citizens and public institutions.
“While public participation is enshrined in environmental policies in T&T, the practice varies. Although civil society is involved in several multi-stakeholder advisory committees and the public consulted in the development of policies and plans to some extent, these mechanisms do not provide effective voice and opportunity for marginalised and vulnerable groups to engage in decisionmaking,” it said.
“Engagement of stakeholders is largely limited to reacting to proposals developed by government. Further, co-management and collaborative arrangements are not utilised, therefore civil society is not fully recognised as a true development partner with a meaningful role in environmental governance, particularly i n shaping national economic development,” the release added.
It is against this background that the EnviroRightsTT project is to enhance the capacity of civil society in T&T to advocate for and support vulnerable groups to access environmental information, participate in decision-making processes and seek justice to protect the right to a healthy environment.
EnviroRightsTT is being supported by a TT$2.2 million (€300,000) grant, funded by the European Union.