Trinbagonians are not paying the kind of attention to the environment as they ought to. So says newly appointed chairman of the Environmental Commission, attorney Chaitram Sinanan, 50, former head of the Legal Aid and Advisory Authority. While saying citizens are not observing measures to protect the environment, he argues the answer to this is in the enforcement of existing legislation.
Q: Mr Sinanan, do you have the perception that the average citizen is not aware of the functioning and operations of the Environmental Commission?
A: (In his office, corner St Vincent and New Streets, Port-of-Spain, Wednesday afternoon) Well it is not a perception, it is a fact they are not aware.
Isn’t that a failure of the commission to project itself to the wider community? And how do the people benefit from the existence of this court?
To some extent I would say yes, the court could have projected itself to the national community and made it aware of its existence.
What sort of action can people seek by way of redress in this court?
Basically any environmental issue, any breach of the environmental legislation, like loud noise from bars, such as the situation in the city recently where it was reported that the noise level was so high residents could not enjoy the peace and comfort of their homes.
To the uninitiated, exactly what is the Environmental Commission?
It is a civil court with all the powers of the high court which maintains that balance between development, youth and the environment. We try to maintain that balance to ensure the environment is protected as well as peoples’ needs and rights are also protected, to find that perfect dividing line.
Protecting the environment, but daily we read and hear of varied attacks on the environment and isn’t this another aspect of the commission’s failure to…?
It is not the duty, the function or the jurisdiction of the commission to go out there and force people to bring matters to the commission. We cannot do that because if we do we become a part of the proceedings, and then you cannot be the litigant and judge in your own court. It is for the public to bring matters to be heard before the commission, an independent body which weighs the facts and then make a determination in the best interest of the parties concerned.
You have been in the post almost one month now. Have you determined what aspect of the commission’s operations could be enhanced to make it more accessible to the general public?
I think once we make the public more aware of the existence of this organisation and its functions, instead of frustrating themselves wondering what they can do, they would avail themselves of the services we offer here.
Mr Sinanan, from where you sit, do you think the average Trinbagonian is concerned about the environment as we ought to be?
This is not a simple question. (A reflective nod of his head) Most citizens are concerned about the environment to the extent that it would impact on them personally. We, however, have some citizens who are in fact concerned about it in a general sense, with the global impact and the national impact. But by and large more than half our population will only be concerned in a personal capacity if they are affected.
Example?
If you ask somebody in South about the mining situation in Sangre Grande, what are you talking about? You go to Sangre Grande and ask a person about chicken farming in South, what are you talking about? And that is what we have found: people are concerned only when it personally affects them.
Some people are of the opinion that the court is an arm of the EMA. Is that so?
No. One of the reasons for the mix-up is that the commission was created under the Environmental Act, which is the same legislation which created the Environmental Management Authority. So save and except for that, there is no connection between the EMA and the commission, but the EMA will bring their matters to the court for adjudication or mediation.
Would you, Mr Sinanan, like to see legislation enhanced where people are more severely penalised for violating the provision in the legislation?
Clevon, generally the public has no regard for sanctions and it would be more a case of enforcing existing legislation rather than creating new legislation. For example we have the Litter Act and nobody pays attention to that; you are driving down the road and you’d see other people throwing refuse out their vehicle to the detriment of other road users.
Isn’t it paradoxical, Mr Sinanan, that we would ignore our laws here but when we go abroad we fall in line with our host country’s rules and regulations?
Policemen here will ignore what they may deem minor infractions like urinating in public, but if you do that abroad you will be penalised when you are caught. You are not going to cross a street unless the traffic lights tell you do to so or you would use a zebra crossing, unlike the situation here.
Is it that we are inherently indisciplined or the authorities allow us to get away with disobeying the law because the laws are not being enforced in a more meaningful manner?
It may have started with the powers that be, but it has now become part of our culture, unfortunately. And we see breaking the rule as being the norm.
Some people seem to get kicks by deliberately running afoul of rules and regulations?
Yes. And the arrogance with which they do it—you know, when they break a traffic light and you pop your horn because you are doing the right thing, they would abuse you and even beat you as if you are doing the wrong thing. The powers that be have created the legislation to ensure that anti-social behaviour is not tolerated but they cannot come and personally enforce it. So we have a twofold scenario: one, a culture and two, lack of enforcement.
You have police officers in their uniforms driving police or private vehicles that will pass zebra crossings even though pedestrians, including children, are waiting to cross.
And of course you all at the EC cannot do anything to curb that kind of attitude?
We cannot do anything in that we deal only with matters that come to us, and even if we see a breach of the environmental legislation we cannot do anything. We would call the EMA and tell them of our observation, but we cannot take action, like say, the police do to arrest lawbreakers.
Since taking up this position, have you been able to ascertain what are some of the weaknesses of the commission? And how do you propose to deal with them?
It is difficult to put that together in just one month, but I could tell you one of the things is that the physical environment in this (an animated hand sweep of the premises) building is not conducive to the functioning of an environmental court.
Therefore you starting off on the wrong footing?
(A cynical laugh) Yes, and we are in the process of sourcing alternative accommodation to move the commission.
Are you thinking about moving it out of the capital city?
Since I have been here, in all the current files pending before the court I have not seen any matter coming out of Port-of-Spain or its immediate environs. No matter at all. We have matters from South, from Central, from the East and those are the areas where major environmental breaches may be taking place. So it may be advisable to move the court out of Port-of-Spain, to a place that is more convenient to those people who really need greater access to the court.
Mr Sinanan, what sort of plans do you propose to have people utilise the services of the court in a more productive manner than is the case at this time?
Well, Clevon, we are going to sensitise those people by embarking on a public-relations blitz, targeting mainly those who have the need for the court’s services. Once that is done and people become more aware of the commission’s services available to them, they would start coming in the numbers we are capable of dealing with.
How confident, Mr Sinanan, are you that eventually people would avail themselves of the court after implementing your plans to have it more accessible to the general population?
Mr Raphael, I have a policy that wherever I hold an office I execute my mandate to the best of my ability, and my track record where I have been attached is there for all to see, as evidenced in places such as the Legal Aid and Advisory Authority, where I was the chairman.