Media Room

The Environmental  Management  Authority  (EMA)  hosted  three  sensitisation  sessions  with staff of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) in July 2023.  The sessions involved over 70 officers from the ADB’s Technical, Credit and Business Development teams and aimed to sensitise staff on the EMA’s Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) process.

The  sessions,  which  were  conducted  by  officers  from  the  EMA’s  CEC,  Legal,  Permit Monitoring, Complaints and Public Education Units, addressed the CEC application process, the issuance and monitoring of the CEC and possible enforcement actions that may be taken in instances where breaches/non-compliance are identified.   By the close of the sessions,  there was  a  better  understanding  of the CEC  process  and  its associated  timelines,  as  well as  the applicable Designated Activities for agricultural activities which may require a CEC.

This training opportunity  was aligned  with the mandates  of the EMA and ADB to  promote sustainable development and by extension,  national food security.  Training sessions such as these are executed to increase the ease of doing business as it relates to the CEC process.

About the CEC process –

The Environmental Management Authority (EMA), under the Environmental Management Act Chapter 35:05 (EM Act), is charged with the responsibility of maintaining the delicate balance between  environmental  management  and  development.   Specifically,  to ensure  that human activities  are conducted  in  a  regulated  manner,  subsidiary  legislation  has  been  enacted  to regulate certain types of development. The CEC process is one mechanism used by the EMA to regulate development and mitigate environmental impacts. It is governed by the CEC Rules and the CEC  (Designated  Activities)  Order  (as amended).   Before embarking  on  any  new activity, modification/expansion of existing structures and processes, decommissioning or the abandonment  of projects  altogether,  persons  must consult these Rules, which clearly list 44 Designated Activities that require a CEC.  Some activities regulated by the CEC Rules include agriculture,   civil   works,   transportation   and   associated   infrastructure,   heavy   and   light manufacturing, natural resources and mineral extraction, as well as waste recovery, handling, recycling and disposal.  To learn more about the CEC Rules, visit https://www.ema.co.tt/our­environment/cec/.