Tour operators want Aripo Savannas preserved

Another call has been made to preserve the Aripo Savannas, in support of concerns raised by environmental lobbyists Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) over the extension of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway to Manzanilla.

In a statement, president of the TT Incoming Tour Operators Association Lorraine Pouchet says the association has noted developments at the designated environmentally sensitive area (ESA) “with horror.”

Pouchet said the Aripo Savanna was designated an ESA to conserve delicate habitat and rare species.

“The Forestry Division has been doing a good job of conserving this area for future generations with serious pressure from illegal squatting and quarries that continues to today,” she said.

She accused the Government of joining in with the illegality by going ahead with constructing the new highway even as the issue is being ventilated in a lawsuit filed by the FFOS. “Further to this, the construction is taking place far less than the recommended 120 metres to the Savannas, which is still too close but is a compromise position.

“The simple fact is that we see only one solution to our traffic and economic problems, that is, the construction of greater highways that only solve in the short term and add to the pollution causing climate change.”

She said the area was perfect for the development of eco-tourism while conserving national patrimony and generating foreign exchange.

“Instead all we get is millions spent on the destruction of our oxygen source to lay down heat-producing asphalt, through a development that will only exacerbate the very difficult squatter issue,” she said.

Pouchet called on the authorities to reconsider the decision to build the highway in the designated area and instead,find an alternative route to ensure development.

On Tuesday, Justice Kevin Ramcharan granted a temporary limited injunction to FFOS, halting work on Phase 1 of the $400 million highway. The order expires on Monday.

KallCo, the contractor hired by the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO) to build the highway, will only be allowed to survey the site, build a temporary site office and remove logs already felled with permission from the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture.

In a statement, NIDCO said it was confident it has complied with all statutory regulations and will be guided by the temporary restrictions issued by the court.

The company also said the Aripo Savannas “are and will remain an environmentally sensitive area notwithstanding the construction,” and the highway extension “does not in any way encroach upon the savannas as is being asserted in some quarters.”