Trinidad and Tobago could eventually generate more than $8 billion annually from the benefits of reforestation under a new national programme that combines forest restoration with digital mapping technology.
The announcement came from Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Ravi Ratiram during Tuesday’s launch of the ReLeaf TT pilot project, a national reforestation programme aimed at restoring degraded forest lands.
He described the programme as a significant step towards rehabilitating the nation’s forest resources.
“To commence this programme we are looking at a pilot project to start this programme comprising of 102 hectares of land which will be replanted with more than 236,000 trees which will also provide employment opportunities within our Forestry Division.”
Minister Ratiram stressed that ReLeaf TT is about more than simply planting trees.
He said the project seeks to restore degraded landscapes and strengthen the natural systems that support communities, biodiversity and environmental sustainability.
“ReLeaf TT provides a structured pathway to undertake that rehabilitation at scale while strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Forestry Division to deliver and monitor restoration over the long term. Importantly, the work will be grounded in science.”
The project will also incorporate digital technology to ensure that restoration efforts are measured and tracked.
“The objective is to establish healthy and functioning forest ecosystems that can endure beyond the initial planting exercise. This is where innovation becomes critical through a dedicated digital application, as you would have seen presented by Dr Melville, each tree planted under the ReLeaf TT will be geographically mapped and recorded.”
The Minister also highlighted the programme’s projected economic benefits.
“We actually did a projection showing investment into our national reforestation programme, when we spend a certain amount of money today how much we will actually see in return. And when we look at the economic analysis, in eight years for the first thinning 15 years, 20, 25 and 30 years with these trees being planted we are talking about generating over $8 billion per annum in the years to come.”
Minister Ratiram also underscored the importance of transparency and accountability in the programme’s implementation.
“We are therefore creating a digital record of the restoration taking place across these landscapes, allowing planting location to be documented and supporting the monitoring and management of the programme over time.”
Minister Ratiram also commended the nation’s forestry workers, acknowledging their longstanding contributions to conservation and rehabilitation efforts, often without public recognition.