00:00The Relief TT program is an initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture to rehabilitate forested areas of Trinidad and Tobago.
00:07The program aims to rehabilitate approximately 102 hectares of land across six conservancies by planting approximately 236,000 trees.
00:17But Agriculture Minister Ravi Ratsiram says the program is not just about planting trees.
00:23The Relief TT is not simply about planting trees. It is about restoring landscape and rebuilding the natural system that
00:32sustains us.
00:34A healthy forest protects watershed, reduces soil erosion, supports biodiversity, stores carbon and contributes to the regulation of local climatic
00:48conditions.
00:48When these systems are degraded, the consequences extend beyond the forest itself.
00:57They affect agriculture, water security, communities and the wider economy.
01:04Ratsiram says these factors are why this program is necessary and important at this time.
01:09Forest restoration must be considered within the national development agenda.
01:17Trinidad and Tobago must continue to develop.
01:20We must expand economic opportunities, strengthen productive sectors and responsibly utilize our natural resources.
01:30Ratsiram says the objective is to create healthy and functioning forest ecosystems that will endure well beyond the planting stage.
01:37To accomplish this, the Ministry and planners are relying on a number of factors.
01:42Importantly, the work will be grounded in science.
01:48Forest rehabilitation is not simply a matter of putting seedlings into the ground.
01:54It requires proper site assessment, appropriate species selection, consideration of soil and hydrological condition,
02:05silvicultural management, maintenance and monitoring.
02:10Dominic Ramroop, TV6 News.
02:11For more information, visit us at www.fema.org.
