NcNORTH Caroni Plains

THE CROPPER FOUNDATION

In this case study:

Location & Topography The North Caroni Plains lie on the floodplain of the Caroni River and comprise an area of about 251 km2.It is bounded to the north by the Eastern Main Road at the foothills of the Northern range; to the south by the Caroni River; to the east by the Aripo River; and to the west by the San Juan River. The topography is generally flat to undulating, rising to 30 to 50 metres above sea level at the foothills of the Northern Range.

Section 1

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North Caroni Plains

Figure 1: Map showing the boundaries of North Caroni Plains in yellow Source: Land & Surveys Dept. (1946)

Drainage Area & Water Resources The North Caroni Plains form part of the Caroni River Basin. [Figure 2]The Basin is situated in the northwest-ern section of Trinidad between the Northern Range and Central Range and comprises an area of 883.4 km2 equivalent to 22% of the Trinidad’s land surface. 1 The Caroni River is the major river system within the Caroni Basin and has a catchment area of about 600km2. 2 The river drains the Northern and Central ranges to the west through the Caroni Swamp and into the Gulf of Paria. Nathai-Gyan and Juman (2005) suggests that the major part of the Caroni River water supply comes from perennial tributaries of the Northern and Central Ranges, with the major contribution from the 12 rivers that drain from the Northern Range; the lesser contribution coming from the six rivers that drain from the Central Range.

All these rivers are grossly polluted by sewage and industrial wastes in their lower reaches. 3 The Mausica River receives treated sewage from the Arima Sewage Treatment Plant as well as chemical and other effluents from the Mausica industrial estate. In a study of organic chemicals derived from industry in local watercourses, the water quality of the Mau-sica River has been described as being more similar to industrial waste water than to potable water supplies yet it is upstream of a major source of drinking water - Caroni-Arena Water Treatment Plant. 4

The Mausica, Arima, Guanapo and Aripo rivers flow south into the Caroni River upstream of the intake of the Caroni-Arena Water Treatment Plant which is located opposite the old Piarco Airport. The plant is part of the Caroni-Arena Water Project established in the early 1980s with the primary intent

of supplying the Point Lisas Industrial Development Project. The capacity of the plant is 60 to 75 million gallons per day (273,000 m3 d-1) and it supplies approximately 40% of the population of Trinidadwest to Port of Spain and south to San Fernando.

The northern tributaries - on their journey to theCaroni River– flow through valleys within which a number of activities occur. For example, the Arima River flows through the Arima Valley which is used for quarrying, agriculture and settlement. Therefore, the various land uses that affect the water quality in these northern tributaries have downstream effects on the Caroni River.

The quality of raw water abstracted from the Caroni

Figure 2: River Basins in Trinidad. Source: EMA (1998)

1 Nadra Nathia-Gyan and Rahanna A. Juman, “Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS)”, Wetlands Intenational, http://www.wetlands.org/reports/ris/6TT003_RIS2005en.pdf, Accessed January 13, 2009.2 Ibid3 EMA, “State of the Environment Report”, 1998.4 R. A. Moore and F.W. Karasek, “GC/MS identification of organic pollutants in the Caroni River, Trinidad”, Journal of Environmental and Analytical Chemistry, 17 (1984), 203-221.

River is therefore dubious and treatment focuses on suspended sediments (flocculation with alum, sedimenta-tion and filtration) and disinfection with chlorine. Water treatment includes use of activated carbon filters for removal of taste and some pollutants, and must be regenerated regularly to maintain its effectiveness. The plant was upgraded and expanded in 2000 and bank-side storage was built. 5

In addition to surface water resources, ground water is extensively utilised. Several large gravel aquifers lieat the base of the Northern Range foothills from eastern Port of Spain to Arima. They include the El Socorro,Valsayn, St Joseph/Maracas, Tacarigua, Arouca and Arima Gravels. They are recharged by their respectiverivers as they flow over the plain. Together these aquifers supply 40% of total groundwater extracted for use in Trinidad.

Flooding is a natural occurrence on the Caroni Plains during high rainfall events. However, flood events have been reduced through modification of the river channel and through construction of levees along the river bank. The latter are visible from the Uriah Butler Highway.

5 WASA, “Water Distribution and Management”, Water and Sewage Authority, http://www.wasa.gov.tt/WASA_AboutUS_history2.html, Accessed July 03, 2009.

GeologyThe Andean mountain chain in South America was formed in the middle of the Miocene period. 6 The tectonic forces building the Andean mountain chain were also influencing the northern part of Trinidad. Trinidad became highly disturbed by the compressional and tangential tectonic movements, leading to the for-mation of all types of structures including simple anticlinal mountains like our Northern Range. 7 At the base of the Northern Range lies the Caroni Plains on a belt of lowlands stretching across the island from east to west, and about 5 to 7 miles wide. 8

Underlying the Caroni Basin is the Cedros Formation. The rocks that comprise the Cedros Formation are en-tirely sedimentary with representatives from the whole sequence between Holocene and lower Cretaceous.9 The sources of the sedimentary material that comprises the formation are deposits from the Orinoco River System. The mineral composition of the formation includes loose fine-grained quartz sand; poorly consolidated yellow, red and brown sands; clay shale; grey blocky clays; soft marl; glauconitic calcareous sandstone; and micaceous schist and phyllite. 10 Generally, the sands are poorly assorted and vary from coarse to fine-grained. Interbed-ded in the sands are lenses of hard iron cemented sandstones and conglomerates - these conglomerates contain pebbles of white quartz, chert, and procelainite. 11 Fragments of leaves and other carbonaceous matter are pres-ent in some clays but are not abundant. 12

6 A.G.A. Sutton, “Report on the general geology of Trinidad to accompany Geological map”, (Trinidad: Government Printing Office, 1955).7 Ibid8 Gerald Waring and G.D. Harris, “The Geology of the Island of Trinidad B.W.I. by Gerald Waring with notes on paleontology by G.D. Harris”, Edward Bennett Mathews (ed.) (Baltimore: John Hopkins Press, 1926).9 Nazeer Ahmad, “Caroni River Basin Study of Agronomist: Land use in the Caroni Basin”, (Trinidad: Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Water and Sewage Authority, 1976).10 Hans G. Kugler, “Treatise on the Geology of Trinidad Part 4: The Paleocene to Holocene Formations”, H.M. Bolli and M. Knappertsbucsh (eds.) (Basel, Museum of Natural History, 2000).11 Ibid12 Ibid13 Ahmad 197614 Kimlin A. Metvier, “The Impact of Agricultural Land Use Management Practices on the Soil Organic Matter Status and Carbon Dioxide Dynamics in some Trinidadian Soils”, (M.Phil. Diss. University of the West Indies, 2004).

SoilsInformation for this section is drawn from two main sources: a report produced by Nazeer Ahmad on land use in the Caroni Basin 13 , and a study undertaken by Kimlin Metvier on the impact of agricultural land use management practices on the soil organic matter sta-tus and carbon dioxide dynamics in some Trinidadian soils.14 Streams that flow through the Northern Range transport large volumes of soil and rock material which is de-posited sequentially according to its mass. The heavier or coarse fractions that are deposited first along with material that slumps off the sides of the hills, give rise to terraces on the foothills of the Range. The soils that form here are considered immature; they are coarse textured with layers of generally water-worn gravel, stones and boulders at varying depths. Pedologically the soil material is much like the materials found on the slopes of the hills being rich in quartz and mica. Gener-ally terrace soils occur in small parcels often with stony phases, they have low fertility and water storage capac-ity, shallow profiles and crusting is sometimes evident. There are two types of terrace soils:

Terrace soils with free internal drainage These are found on the gentle and moderate slopes forming only 7% of soils in the area. While drainage and erosion are not a problem, these soils are not very fertile. Two soil types included in this category of soils are the St. Augustine series and Santa Cruz series.

Terrace soils with impeded internal drainage Impeded internal drainage causes these soils to be waterlogged during the rainy season. Areas with this soil type are prone to flooding, for example, areas near the Piarco International Airport. These soils are also notvery fertile. Overall, terrace soils are not suitable for arable cultivation because of a number of soil properties which include low soil fertility, low water storage capacity or flooding, some susceptibility to drought effects, and restricted use of machinery because of stony phases. These soils are, however, suitable for construction purposes because of their low shrink-swell properties.

Alluvial SoilsDeep alluvial soils with restricted internal drainage are also found on the North Caroni Plains between the Churchill Roosevelt Highway and the Caroni River, and comprise 5% of the soils in the country. Alluvialmaterial comes from sediments deposited by the river system during flood events. Like many other alluvial soils, fertility is good and flooding is not a problem; agricultural communities like Bamboo Settlement have developed in the area.

Figure 3: How flooding creates alluvial soils on floodplains

This section describes land use on the North Caroni Plains and focuses on agriculture as a land use. The nature and type of agriculture is described, and some of the issues affecting agriculture are also highlighted. Note that only a preliminary introduction to agriculture on the North Caroni Plains is provided and further details and observations can be gleaned from field visits, aerial photographs or satellite images (from Google Earth, for example.)

Land UseLike many other areas in Trinidad, the North Caroni Plains have a rich history of development and changing land use. 15 The original land cover was a variety of vegetation types such as seasonal evergreen forest and small areas of edaphic (soil) climax communities such as marsh forest, and savannas at Aripo, O’Meara,Mausica and Piarco. 16 Land use is now very varied with built-up residential, commercial, industrial andeducational use along the East-West corridor extending from Port of Spain in the west to Arima in the east.

Residential and EducationalExpanding populations in pocket settlements have coalesced along the Old Eastern Main Road to form the East-West corridor. The Old Eastern Main Road was an Amerindian trail in pre-European times. Some of the older settlements include San Juan, Petit Bourg, Champ Fleurs, St Joseph, Curepe, St Augustine, Tunapuna, El Dorado,Tacarigua, Arouca and Arima. Many large residential developments have recently arisen some on prime agricultural land, such as Valsayn, Trincity and Tacarigua while further east, Oropune, Maloney, La Horquetta and Santa Rosa are located on less suitable agricultural land. The demand for housing along the East-West cor-ridor has been rising. In 2002 the demand for housing units was about 30,000, accounting for about 25% of the national demand. 17 Within any one settlement a number of activities may occur. For example, in St. Augustine there is residential settlement, some small-scale commercial activity and a number of educational institutions. The Golden Grove Maximum Security Prison is another notable landmark near the Piarco Airport intersection. The University of the West Indies covers large areas adjacent to the Uriah Butler Highway including the Mt Hope Campus, Field Station, Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School for Business and the St Augustine Campus. Within the East-West cor-ridor there are numerous private and public educational facilities at all school levels.

Commerce and IndustryAlong the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway, industrial estates supporting a variety of activities are located atMacoya, Trincity, O’Meara and Tumpuna. The new Central Market facility is also at the Macoya junction.Ad hoc industrial and commercial development exists along the length of both the Eastern Main Road and Churchill-Roosevelt Highway at Champs Fleurs (Carib Brewery, Lever Brothers), Nestlé in Valsayn, Aranguez, Valpark Shopping Centre in Valsayn, Macoya and Trincity Mall in Trincity. Present and projected development in Trincity include a business district, office park, hotel and convention centre, entertainment and recreational facilities, retail shopping mall, transportation hub and PGA-standard 18 hole golf course, with lakes, a driving range and clubhouse.

AgricultureSugar cane was the dominant agricultural crop on the Caroni Plains since its introduction to Trinidad in the 1630s by the Dutch. The cash crop was the mainstay of Trinidad and Tobago’s economy until the 1970s and 1980s. At this time sugar cane cultivation on the Plains began to dwindle as more investment was put into the oil and gas sectors. Subsequently, areas that were previously under sugar cane cultivation like Pasea, Tacarigua, Trincity, Arouca, Maloney and Orange Grove, were converted to other land uses, including residential, commer-cial and small-scale agricultural settlements. Some of the more important agricultural settlements on the North Caroni Plains are described in the table below. 18

Section 2

15 A. De Verteuil, “The Great Estates of Trinidad”, (Trinidad: Litho Press, 2000).16 P.L. Comeau, “Savannas in Trinidad”, Journal of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club 90 (1989/90), 5-8.17 CSO, “Compendium of Environmental Statistics18 Jeet Ramjattan, Interview by Maurice Rawlins, (Laventille, Feburary 2009).

Table 1: Some agricultural settlements on the North Caroni Plains

Table 2: Some areas on prime agricultural land and their land uses

Farmers on the North Caroni Plains face numerous problems1. Land tenancy is a major issue for most farmers as they occupy state lands and have no long-term lease agreement. This makes it very difficult for them to secure loans from banks and have access to credit.

2. Labour shortages are a major problem because labour is often attracted away from agriculture to the construction industry, and to government programmes such as the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP) and Community Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP).

3. Competition for land for housing and commercial activity is one of agriculture’s biggest competitors. Often farmers sell off their land to residential and commercial real estate agencies because the returns from selling land are higher - at that time - than the returns from agriculture. Some prime agricultural land is currently under other land uses.

4. Competition from more attractive employment encourages farmers to leave the land to pursue jobs in the commercial field. Also, farmers are not encouraging their children in a livelihood of agriculture because it is simply not financially profitable.

5. Pollution of irrigation supply comes from a number of sources including soakaways, domestic grey water and factory runoff. This is a serious problem for farmers because of the dangers of using polluted water, and because farmers then have to find a new source of clean water for irrigation.

In 2008, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources of Trinidad and Tobago (MALRTT) conducted tests on the water quality of the streams used for irrigation in the NCP. The results showed that E. coli was present in the water, but levels were not high enough to affect human health.19 There are no regulations for monitoring of water quality by MALRTT. However, an advisory programme called Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) is run by MALRTT, through which farmers are informed about sustainable agricultural practices including the dangers of using contaminated inputs like polluted irrigation water.

19 Sundar Seecharan, Interview by Maurice Rawlins, (Curepe, March 2009).

Suggested activities to help understand issuesAn example of how the Five Whys exercise can be used is used is provided below.For more information on the Five Whys exercise refer to Guidelines for Learning Activities.

Note that this example is oversimplified, and in reality issues tend to have multiple causes. This activity should be repeated to include a variety of answers for ‘Whys’- this can help students to appreciate the multitude of complex factors surrounding any one issue.

Ahmad, Nazeer. Caroni River Basin Study Report of Agronomist: Land use in the Caroni Basin. Trinidad: Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Water and Sewage Authority, 1976.

Alkins-Koo, Mary. 2003-2007. Case Study - Back-ground. BIOL 2461, Dept. of Life Sciences, Univer-sity of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

Alkins-Koo, Mary. 2005. Ecological Assessment and Human Impacts. BIOL 2461, Dept. of Life Sci-ences, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

Alkins-Koo, Mary. 2007. Environmental Evaluation & Impact Assessment. BIOL 2461, Dept. of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies,St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

Anthony, Michael. First in Trinidad. Port of Spain: Syncreators Ltd., 1985.

Bacon, Peter R. 1976. Caroni River Basin Study Draft Report of the Marine Ecology and Terrestrial Ecology. Port of Spain, Trinidad: Government of Trinidad and Tobago Water and Sewage Authority, 1976.

Beard, J.S. 1946. The Natural Vegetation of Trinidad. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Comeau, P.L. 1989/90. Savannas in Trinidad. Living World (Journal of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club) 1989/90: 5-8

Central Statistical Office (CSO). 2007. First Compendium of Environmental Statistics Trinidad and Tobago. Port of Spain.

De Verteuil, A. 2000. The Great Estates of Trinidad. Trinidad: Litho Press.EMA. 1996. Trinidad and Tobago State of the

Environment Report 1996. Environmental Manage-ment Authority of Trinidad and Tobago.

EMA. 1998. Trinidad and Tobago State of the Envi-ronment Report 1998. Environmental Management Authority of Trinidad and Tobago.

Henry, Eli B. 1987. Rainfall climatology/ flood run-off Caroni Watershed Trinidad and Tobago.Oklahoma Climatological Survey, 1987.

Home Construction Ltd. “Residential”. HCL Group of Companies, January 2006 http://www.hcltt.com/develop/default.html (accessed February 5, 2009).

Home Construction Ltd. “Trincity Millennium Vision”. HCL Group of Companies, January 2006 http://www.hcltt.com/community/trincity/default.html (accessed February 5, 2009).

Kazlez, Alan M. “The Cretaceous Period – 1.” Palaeos. http://www.palaeos.com/Mesozoic/Creta-ceous/Cretaceous.htm (accessed January 20, 2009).

Kazlez, Alan M. “The Holocene.” Palaeos. http://www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Holocene/Holocene.htm (accessed January 20, 2009).

Kazlez, Alan M. “The Miocene.” Palaeos. http://www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Miocene/Miocene.htm (accessed January 20, 2009).

Kazlez, Alan M. “The Pleistocene.” Palaeos. http://www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Pleistocene/Pleisto-cene.htm (accessed January 20, 2009).

Kugler, Hans G. 2000. Treatise on the Geology of Trinidad Part 4: The Paleocene to HoloceneFormations. Edited by H.M. Bolli and M. Knap-pertsbusch. Basel: The Museum of Natural History.

Bibliography

Lands & Surveys Dept. 1946. Map of Trinidad. Land and Surveys Dept., Trinidad.

Library of Congress. 1987. Crops. Federal Research Division. http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-3223.html (accessed April 25, 2009)

Metvier, Kimlin Andrea. The Impact of Agricultural Land Use Management Practices on the SoilOrganic Matter Status and Carbon Dioxide Dynam-ics in some Trinidadian Soils. MPhil. Diss.,University of the West Indies, 2004.

Moore, R.A. and F.W. Karasek. 1984. GC/MSidentification of organic pollutants in the Caroni River, Trinidad. International Journal ofEnvironmental and Analytical Chemistry17: 203-221.

Nathai-Gyan, Nadra and Rahanna A. Juman. 2005. “Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS)”. Wetlands International. http://www.wetlands.org/reports/ris/6TT003_RIS2005en.pdf(accessed January 13, 2009).

Neuendorf, Klaus K.E., James P. Mehl, Jr. and Julia A. Jackson. Glossary of Geology. Virginia: American Geological Institute, 2005.

Northern Range Assessment (NRA). 2005. Report of an Assessment of the Northern Range, Trinidad and Tobago: People and the Northern Range. State of the Environment Report 2004. Environmental Management Authority of Trinidad and Tobago. 184pp.

Quentrall. Famous Parang Places in Trinidad. http://www.quentrall.com/Charity/Parang/Pages/History.htm (accessed February 12, 2009)

Ramjattan, Jeet. Interview by Maurice Rawlins. Laventille, Trinidad, 3rd February, 2009.

Ramnarine, Indar W. Tilapia Culture in Trinidad and Tobago: An Update. Department of LifeSciences, The University of the West Indies,St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, 2000.

Seecharan, Sundar. Interview by Maurice Rawlins. Curepe, Trinidad. 13th March, 2009.

Sutton, A.G.A. Report on the general geology of Trinidad to accompany Geological map.Trinidad: Government Printing Office, 1955.

The Cropper Foundation (TCF). 2009. Sustainable Development Terms and Concepts: A Reference for Teachers and Students. Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Trinidad and Tobago. Town and Country Planning Division. 1982. National physical development plan, Trinidad and Tobago. Chaguaramas: TCPD

United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). 2006. Terms of Environment: Glossary, Abbreviations and Acronyms. http://www.epa.gov/OCEPAterms/fterms.html (accessed July 09, 2009).

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Waring, Gerald and G.D. Harris. The Geology of the Island of Trinidad B.W.I. by Gerald Waring with notes on paleontology by G.D. Harris. Ed. Edward Bennett Mathews. Baltimore: John Hopkins Press, 1926.

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Bibliography

APPENDIX A: Acronyms used in this case study

CEPEP Community Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme

CSO Central Statistical Office

EMA Environmental Management Authority of Trinidad and Tobago

GAP Good Agricultural Practices

MALRTT Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources of Trinidad and Tobago

NCP North Caroni Plains

URP Unemployment Relief Programme

WASA Water and Sewage Authority of Trinidad and Tobago

APPENDIX B: Glossary of terms used in this case study

Alluvial Relating to and/or material usually sand and other coarse fragments deposited by flowing water.

Aquifer An underground geological formation or group of formations, containing water.

Catchment The area drained by a river or body of water.Area

Cretaceous 98 – 65 million years ago

Effluent The discharge of processed liquid from a man-made structure, into a larger body of water.

Flocculation Process by which clumps of solids in water or sewage aggregate through biological or chemical action.

Floodplain The flat or nearly flat land along a river or stream or in a tidal area that is covered by water during a flood.

Formation Refers to any specific sedimentary strata or rock unit(rock)

Ground All water found beneath the surface of the ground which is not chemically combined with anywater minerals present.

Holocene 12,000 years ago to present

Irrigation Applying water or wastewater to land areas to supply the water and nutrient needs of plants.

Lens (rock) A band of minerals in a rock, distinct from the surrounding composition of the rock

Miocene 23 – 5.33 million years ago

Stony phase Containing sufficient stones to interfere with or prevent tillage. To be classified as stony, more than 0.1% of the surface of the soil must be covered with stones.

Surface All water naturally open to the atmosphere, including rivers, lakes, streams, and estuaries.water

Tributary A river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake.