RALPH BANWARIE
Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat said he would be reluctant to take part in any clean-up campaign unless it was driven by adults.
Speaking on Friday at the Nature Seekers environmental exhibition at Matura recreation ground, Matura, he said no outside groups should be responsible for cleaning beaches and other public areas.
Rambharat said in T&T there are people who do not care and have no interest in providing children with a future that has a safe and sustainable environment.
He recalled that for his election campaign he gave out 100 dustbins and his objective was to emphasise personal responsibility. He said something as simple as a candy wrapper or juice pack, people fail to throw into a dustbin.
That talks about individual responsibility, he said.
Speaking directly to the students in attendance, Rambharat encouraged them to exercise “individual responsibility”.
The minister also announced plans to create a working group dedicated to Protected Areas Management in the country, and he would assume chairmanship of the body.
The one-day exhibition was used as an opportunity to educate the general public, particularly students from nine surrounding schools, on environmental issues and how these affect our natural resources.
Included among the exhibitors were the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries; Institute of Marine Affairs; Water Resources Agency of the Water and Sewerage Authority; Turtle Village Trust; Environmental Management Agency; The Green Fund; Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO); among others.